AP U.S. History For Dummies (For Dummies (History, Biography & Politics))

411 Pages·2008·4.15 MB·English

by  Greg Velm

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AP U.S. History
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
by Greg Velm
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AP U.S. History For Dummies®
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of
the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through
payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923,
978-750-8400, fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department,
Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317-572-3447, fax [phone], or online at
http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The
Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered
trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used
without written permission. AP is a registered trademark of The College Board, which was not involved in the production
of, and does not endorse, this product.All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing,
Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS
OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND
SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PAR-
TICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE
ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD
WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR
OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT
PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR
DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS
A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR
THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMEN-
DATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK
MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.
For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S.
at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].
For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in
electronic books.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2008925785
ISBN: 978-0-470-24758-7
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
01_247587-ffirs.qxp 4/29/08 11:53 PM Page i
AP U.S. History
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
by Greg Velm
01_247587-ffirs.qxp 4/29/08 11:53 PM Page ii
AP U.S. History For Dummies®
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of
the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through
payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923,
978-750-8400, fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department,
Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317-572-3447, fax [phone], or online at
http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The
Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered
trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used
without written permission. AP is a registered trademark of The College Board, which was not involved in the production
of, and does not endorse, this product.All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing,
Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS
OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND
SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PAR-
TICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE
ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD
WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR
OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT
PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR
DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS
A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR
THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMEN-
DATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK
MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.
For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S.
at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].
For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in
electronic books.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2008925785
ISBN: 978-0-470-24758-7
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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About the Author
Greg Velmhas been teaching college and graduate-school students for more than 25 years.
Greg is the Chair of the History Commission in Sacramento and is the author of the rip-
roaring book True Gold: History and Adventure in the Gold Country from Indians to Arnold.
American Indians were around for thousands of years before Arnold Schwarzenegger made
all of California his movie set, but Greg has studied just about every minute of history from
there to here. If the dinosaurs had written books, Greg would probably read them.
By the time he got through his own graduate education at the University of California,
Berkeley, Greg had puzzled through thousands of pretty fiendish multiple-choice questions
and written miles of essays. As he struggled to survive the Exam Inquisitors, he usually
reflected on two lofty thoughts: “Why didn’t I study more?” and “How can I psych up enough
to survive this test?” Therefore, with his own students, he emphasizes test-taking skills as
well as history smarts. If you want to become rich and famous, it helps to pass the tests.
Greg thinks that history is an exciting adventure, so in addition to appearances on television
and radio, he’s an in-demand speaker. He’s been in the New York Times,Time,Youth,and Via
Magazine.Greg has lectured at Berkeley, the University of San Francisco, and St. Mary’s
College. Because he wants human history to have a future, Greg serves on the boards of two
environmental organizations.
Greg lives with his beloved wife near the American River in northern California. He tries to
make sure that his three grown sons have good jobs so that maybe someday they’ll send
money home. When he’s not living in the past, Greg rides mountain bikes through the Sierra
foothills and tries to outsurvive other old dudes in the shortest triathlons he can find.
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Dedication
To my mother, Miriam Berry, for teaching me that I was worthy of an exciting life. To my
father, Don Velm, for showing me the glowing spirit that shines throughout history.
Author’s Acknowledgments
Nobody ever writes a book by himself; his work is held up by the dedication of great people
who came before him. Historians who have made the past an enlightening adventure include
Will and Ariel Durant, Allan Eckert, Kevin Starr, Winston Churchill, H. W. Brands, Howard
Zinn, Robert Bucholz, David Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen, Eric Foner, Barbara Tuchman, and
Alton Pryor.
I get by with a little help from my friends and fellow thinkers Mike Tucker, George Rosenfeld,
Albert Lowey-Ball, Bob Greeley, P. K. Agarwal, Kendall Meredith, Terry Taylor, Mary Ann
McDonnell, John Azzaro, Irick Collins, Bodhi Garrett, Katherine Blank, Eric Warp, Stuart Bair,
Craig Lovell, Dan Egerter, Rick Kraus, Noel Neuburger, Erich Ryll, and Terry and Mo Burton.
Thanks to my dear wife Jeanette for encouraging me in my journeys into the past.
Nothing is as modern as history — it tracks the progress of all the other specialties and is
constantly reinventing itself when new research and understanding offer a clearer view of the
past. Never, from the ancient Library at Alexandria to the ivy towers of Oxford and Berkeley,
has collaborative scholarship been so alive as it is right now with the growth of information
on the World Wide Web. Thanks to the dedicated teachers who create beautiful history sites
and to the thousands of anonymous contributors to the 2,000,000 articles that make up the
ever-expanding and improving world of Wikipedia.
Thanks to Ken Umbach and to Matt Wagner of Fresh Books for helping guide me to this book
and to my editors at Wiley: Natalie Harris, Stacy Kennedy, Megan Knoll, and Kathy Simpson.
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at
www.dummies.com/register/.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development Composition Services
Project Editors: Natalie Faye Harris, Kristin DeMint Project Coordinator: Katherine Key
Acquisitions Editor: Stacy Kennedy Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers, Alissa D. Ellet,
Laura Pence
Copy Editors: Megan Knoll, Kathy Simpson
Proofreaders: Caitie Kelly, Betty Kish
Editorial Program Coordinator:Erin Calligan Mooney
Indexer: Sherry Massey
Technical Editor: Steven Collier
Editorial Manager: Christine Meloy Beck
Editorial Assistants:Joe Niesen, David Lutton,
Jennette ElNaggar
Cover Photo:© Eric Meola
Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies
Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel
Kelly Regan,Editorial Director, Travel
Publishing for Technology Dummies
Andy Cummings,Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User
Composition Services
Gerry Fahey,Vice President of Production Services
Debbie Stailey,Director of Composition Services
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction.................................................................................1
Part I: College Credit, Here I Come!...............................................7
Chapter 1: Acing the Test for a College Credit Payday............................................................................9
Chapter 2: Wringing the Highest Score out of What You Know............................................................19
Chapter 3: Psyching Yourself Up for the Big Test..................................................................................31
Part II: Answering the Questions: Three Kinds, Three Strategies.....41
Chapter 4: Going with Good Odds on Multiple-Choice Questions.......................................................43
Chapter 5: Scoring Big on Document-Based Questions (DBQs)...........................................................55
Chapter 6: Creating Essays Teachers Love.............................................................................................65
Part III: Early U.S. History: From Dinosaurs to the Civil War.........77
Chapter 7: Living on the Land: American Indians from 35,000 BCE to 1491 CE.................................79
Chapter 8: Sailing to a New Home: 1492–1690........................................................................................87
Chapter 9: Growing Up and Getting Revolutionary: 1691–1775.........................................................103
Chapter 10: You Say You Want a Revolution? Freedom and Change, 1776–1815.............................119
Chapter 11: Rough and Tumble: The United States Grows Up, 1816–1845.......................................137
Chapter 12: From Sea to Shining Sea: 1846–1854.................................................................................149
Chapter 13: Fighting to the Death over Slavery: 1855–1865...............................................................163
Part IV: U.S. History from After the Civil War
to the Days of the Internet........................................................173
Chapter 14: Reconstructing and Moving Westward, 1866–1880.........................................................175
Chapter 15: The U.S. Goes Big Time: 1881–1899...................................................................................187
Chapter 16: Into the World, Ready or Not: 1900–1919.........................................................................201
Chapter 17: Roaring, Soaring, and Fighting Depression: 1921–1939..................................................217
Chapter 18: Fighting for Good in World War II: 1940–1945..................................................................233
Chapter 19: Cold War Wind at the Victory Dance: 1946–1960............................................................245
Chapter 20: Rockin’ with the ’60s, Rollin’ with the ’70s: 1961–1979..................................................259
Chapter 21: Leading in the Modern World: 1980–Now........................................................................273
Part V: Practice Makes Perfect: Two Tests Plus the Answers........285
Chapter 22: Practice Test 1: Acing the Early Names and Dates.........................................................293
Chapter 23: The Answers to Practice Test 1.........................................................................................311
Chapter 24: Practice Test 2: Cruising the Big AP toward Modern Times..........................................325
Chapter 25: The Answers to Practice Test 2.........................................................................................341
Part VI: The Part of Tens...........................................................349
Chapter 26: Ten Monster Events the AP Wants You to Know.............................................................351
Chapter 27: Ten Important Social and Economic Issues in U.S. History...........................................359
Chapter 28: The Supreme Court: Ten Greatest Hits.............................................................................365
Index.......................................................................................369