Key Takeaways
Lesson Description
Key Takeaways
• American history is shaped by continuity and change over time.
• Political debates often center on federal versus state power.
• Economic development transformed American society through industrialization and globalization.
• Social reform movements expanded rights and challenged inequality.
• Foreign policy evolved from isolationism to global leadership.
• Historical thinking requires identifying causes, effects, comparisons, and continuity/change over time.
Most Important Documents
Mayflower Compact (1620)
Declaration of Independence (1776)
U.S. Constitution (1787)
Bill of Rights (1791)
Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
Gettysburg Address (1863)
Most Important Supreme Court Cases
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
United States v. Nixon (1974)
Most Important Amendments
1st — Freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, petition.
4th — Protection from unreasonable searches.
5th — Due process, self-incrimination.
13th — Abolished slavery.
14th — Equal protection and citizenship.
15th — Voting rights regardless of race.
19th — Women's suffrage.
22nd — Presidential term limits.
Major APUSH Themes
American and National Identity (NAT)
Politics and Power (PCE)
Work, Exchange, and Technology (WXT)
Culture and Society (CUL)
Migration and Settlement (MIG)
Geography and Environment (GEO)
America in the World (WOR)
AP Exam Focus
• Analyze historical causation.
• Compare historical developments across time periods.
• Explain continuity and change over time (CCOT).
• Use evidence to support historical arguments in DBQs, LEQs, and SAQs.
• Connect historical events to broader APUSH themes.