History of the United States II: 1865 to the Present
History of the United States II runs from Reconstruction to the present day, covering industrialisation, the world wars, the civil rights era and modern American politics. It typically satisfies the second half of a US history survey requirement.
Start practice testAbout this exam
The exam covers political institutions and policy, social and economic change, culture, and America's changing role in the world. Roughly two thirds of the questions fall after 1915, so the twentieth century deserves most of your attention.
Questions often present a short quotation, a chart or a piece of legislation and ask what it tells you about the period. Being able to connect a policy to the conditions that produced it matters more than recalling a name.
Students who already follow modern American history through documentaries or reading often find this the faster of the two US history exams to prepare for.
Topic breakdown
Topic weights published by College Board.
How to study for this exam
- Group the century into blocks: Gilded Age, Progressive era, New Deal, postwar boom, civil rights, and the period after 1970.
- For each block, learn the main federal programmes and what problem they were meant to solve.
- Track foreign policy separately, from the Spanish-American War through the Cold War, since diplomacy is its own scored area.
- Take full timed practice tests near the end so the volume of material stops feeling overwhelming.
How the practice test works
- Choose all units or a single unit to focus on.
- Set the number of questions and a time limit, or practise untimed.
- Filter by difficulty to warm up or push yourself.
- Retake as many times as you like — every attempt is free.
- Your recent sessions stay on this device so you can review them.
Common questions
How recent does the material get?
The exam reaches into the past few decades, but coverage thins out for very recent years, so focus your effort on the twentieth century.
Is this harder than History I?
Most students find the workload similar. History II covers fewer years but more detail per decade.
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