AP U.S. History for Dummies »

Greg Velm has worked with AP U.S. History curriculum and test experts. He is an author of a Northern California history book used in high schools.

Getting ready to tackle the AP U.S. History exam? AP U.S. History For Dummies is a practical, step-by-step guide that will help you perfect the skills and review the knowledge you need to achieve your best possible score! Discover how to identify what the questions are really asking and find out how to combine your history knowledge with context clues to craft thoughtful essays. Try your hand at two true-to-life AP exams, complete with detailed answer explanations and scoring guides.

You’ll find out how to put together a game plan, develop a study strategy, decode the Political – Economic – Social (PES) answer secret, and understand exactly what’s going to be on the stress. This easy-to-understand guide reviews all periods of U.S. history, from the country’s earliest inhabitants to the present day. Ease your mind on stress day and feel completely prepared by completing the two practice exams with answers and explanations. Find out how to:

• Prepare a study plan for the time leading up to the exam
• Decode your score and learn how to get the best score
• Put your knowledge to work
• Approach the different types of questions: multiple choice, document-based, and essay questions
• Navigate all exam topics, from the Native Americans to the present day
• Analyze and connect political, economic, and social themes
• Recognize trick words

Complete with lists of ten monster event topics AP wants you to know, ten unstoppable cultural trends, and ten key court decisions, AP U.S. History For Dummies will help you ace this test!

Part I: College Credit, Here I Come!

Chapter 1: Acing the Test for a College Credit Payday.

Chapter 2: Wringing the Highest Score out of What You Know.

Chapter 3: Psyching Yourself Up for the Big Test.

Part II: Answering the Questions: Three Kinds, Three Strategies.

Chapter 4: Going with Good Odds on Multiple-Choice Questions.

Chapter 5: Scoring Big on Document-Based Questions (DBQs).

Chapter 6: Creating Essays Teachers Love.

Part III: Early U.S. History: From Dinosaurs to the Civil War.

Chapter 7: Living on the Land: American Indians from 35,000 BCE to 1491 CE.

Chapter 8: Sailing to a New Home: 1492–1690.

Chapter 9: Growing Up and Getting Revolutionary: 1691–1775.

Chapter 10: You Say You Want a Revolution? Freedom and Change, 1776–1815.

Chapter 11: Rough and Tumble: The United States Grows Up, 1816–1845.

Chapter 12: From Sea to Shining Sea: 1846–1854.

Chapter 13: Fighting to the Death over Slavery: 1855–1865.

Part IV: U.S. History from After the Civil War to the Days of the Internet.

Chapter 14: Reconstructing and Moving Westward, 1866–1880.

Chapter 15: The U.S. Goes Big Time: 1881–1899.

Chapter 16: Into the World, Ready or Not: 1900–1919.

Chapter 17: Roaring, Soaring, and Fighting Depression: 1921–1939.

Chapter 18: Fighting for Good in World War II: 1940–1945.

Chapter 19: Cold War Wind at the Victory Dance: 1946–1960.

Chapter20: Rockin’ with the ’60s, Rollin’ with the ’70s: 1961–1979.

Chapter 21: Leading in the Modern World: 1980–Now.

Part V: Practice Makes Perfect: Two Tests Plus the Answers.

Chapter 22: Practice Test 1: Acing the Early Names and Dates.

Chapter 23: The Answers to Practice Test 1.

Chapter 24: Practice Test 2: Cruising the Big AP toward Modern Times.

Chapter 25: The Answers to Practice Test 2.

Part VI: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 26: Ten Monster Events the AP Wants You to Know.

Chapter 27: Ten Important Social and Economic Issues in U.S. History.

Chapter 28: The Supreme Court: Ten Greatest Hits.

Index.