Exam type:
CLEP: 120 multiple choice questions in 90 minutes
Typical credits: 3 units

The material covered in the CLEP exam in History of the United States II: 1865 to the Present (which is reflected in the lecture notes and study guide which follow) is generally considered equivalent to a one semester lower division college course.

Getting Started

A) Spend at least two sessions with a good encyclopedia (United States of America - History). You might also want to go through the section on Government. If you have not recently studied the period from 1820 throught the Civil War, you might want to review that at this time. A good concise Columbia Encyclopedia is avilable free online.

B) As you read this material draw up a list for future cross referencing. This list would contain the names of prominent individuals, Supreme Court decisions, laws, amendments to the Constitution, major events (eg. The Spanish America War), political parties, industries, etc. The list will provide a useful outline for review, and you can look up the other references as you fill in your regular study sessions.

C) You can use any standard textbook published within the last 8-10 years (frequently available for just a few dollars at a thrift shop or used book store).

In order to stay focused, only follow those links within the lectures and outlines that seem to be directly related to the subject matter at hand. Follow other links as you have time. Take your own notes. If you print out the material, highlight key definitions and concepts for review. Add your own marginal notes.

Remember to keep your journal up to date.

Introduction

NOTE:For a painless way to learn history, spend 15 minutes every day at The American Memory site The American Memory and click on Today in History
Also look at:
The History Channel and click on This Day in History

Subject matter covered according to The College Board. Always check the College Board site for the latest information. Topical Specifications -- 30%

• Political institutions and behavior and public policy 35%
• Social developments 25%
• Economic developments 10%
• Cultural and intellectual development 15%
• Diplomacy and international relations 15%

About one-third of the questions deal with the period from 1865 to 1914, and about two-thirds deal with the period from 1915 to the present.

Chronological Specifications -- 70%

• 1865 - 1914 30%
• 1915 - present 70%

Among the specific topics tested are the following:

• The motivations and character of American expansionism
• The content of constitutional amendments and their interpretations by the Supreme Court
• The changing nature of agricultural life
• The development of American political parties
• The emergence of regulatory and welfare-state legislation
• The intellectual and political expressions of liberalism, conservatism, and other such movements
• Long-term demographic trends
• The process of economic growth and development
• The changing occupational structure, nature of work, and labor organization
• Immigration and the history of racial and ethnic minorities
• Urbanization and industrialization
• The causes and impacts of major wars in American history
• Major movements and individual figures in the history of American arts and letters
• Trends in the history of women and the family

In order to put the material you are going to study in perspective, print out and review the annotated syllabus of 30 lectures of the course American History 102 by Prof. Stanley K. Schultz of the University of Wisconsin. (NOTE: There are good related links at the end of each lecture.)

Unit 1: Reconstruction
Unit 2: Turn of the Century
Unit 3: Capital, Labor, TR & Wilson
Unit 4: Progressivism -- The Roaring Twenties
Unit 5: The Depression -- FDR -- World War II
Unit 6: The Fifties -- The Sixties -- Contemporary History

Free University Project
e-mail to: freeuniv1@yahoo.com
500 Kentucky Ave.
Savannah, GA 31404
tel: (912) 233-4288 fax: (912) 233-4815
Copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2006 Free University Project
Home Page URL = http://www.freeuniv.com
Some portions are also copyright the Annenberg/CPB Channel. Used with permission.