Begin with the chapter map
Move in order. Each part gives the next period a clear foundation.
View all 19 chaptersEffortless Math · CLEP HistoryTwo exams.
Two exams.
One clear starting point.
CLEP History I and History II overlap at Reconstruction, but they are not interchangeable. Pick the exam you are taking, then use its own timeline, blueprint, chapter map, and practice path.
Both exams contain approximately 120 questions and allow 90 minutes. The recommended credit-granting score is 50, though each college sets its own policy.
CLEP History I · Early colonization–1877
Complete guided reviewHistory of the United States I for Beginners✓ 19 connected chapters✓ 109 focused topics✓ Practice and explanationsExplore History I →CLEP History II · 1865–present
A separate exam, clearly mappedHistory of the United States II for Beginners✓ 16 connected chapters✓ 128 focused topics✓ Practice and explanationsExplore History II →
Complete guided reviewHistory of the United States I for Beginners✓ 19 connected chapters✓ 109 focused topics✓ Practice and explanationsExplore History I →CLEP History II · 1865–presentA separate exam, clearly mappedHistory of the United States II for Beginners✓ 16 connected chapters✓ 128 focused topics✓ Practice and explanationsExplore History II →≈120questions per exam
90minutes
50ACE-recommended score
2separate U.S. history exams
Choose the right exam
Where does your course begin?
If your class starts with colonial America, choose History I. If it starts at the end of the Civil War, choose History II.
IEarly colonization–1877
History of the United States I
Colonial societies, Revolution, Constitution, early republic, expansion, slavery, Civil War, and Reconstruction.
- 19 chapters
- 109 focused topics
- 30% early period · 70% 1790–1877
History of the United States II
Reconstruction, industrialization, reform, global conflict, Cold War, civil rights, and contemporary America.
- 16 chapters
- 128 focused topics
- 30% 1865–1914 · 70% 1915–present
CLEP exam track · Early colonization–1877
History I: Colonial America through Reconstruction
The strongest preparation does more than memorize names. It connects institutions, evidence, chronology, and competing interests across the colonial era, Revolution, early republic, expansion, Civil War, and Reconstruction.
19chapters
109topics
4parts
Use the blueprint
Spend more time on the later period without neglecting colonial foundations.
See the exam balanceTest and review
Open two complete timed tests or use the flashcards for quick retrieval.
Open History I toolsHistory I blueprint
Match the official emphasis.
Political and social developments each account for about one quarter of the exam. The later period receives the larger chronological share.
30%1500–1789
70%1790–1877
Complete learning map
Four parts, nineteen connected chapters
Open a part to see the chapters. Study the transitions between chapters; that is where many cause-and-effect questions live.
Part IIndigenous America and Colonial FoundationsChapters 1–4+
Start with Native societies and competing colonial systems, then connect labor, religion, trade, slavery, and imperial rule.
- 01Indigenous Americas and the First Encounters
- 02Chesapeake and Southern Colonies
- 03New England and the Middle Colonies
- 04Slavery, Religion, and the British Atlantic
Part IIEmpire, Revolution, and the Early RepublicChapters 5–10+
Follow the imperial crisis through independence, constitution-making, party formation, expansion, diplomacy, and sectional balance.
- 05The Seven Years’ War and the Imperial Crisis
- 06The American Revolution
- 07Confederation, Constitution, and Ratification
- 08Washington, Hamilton, and the First Party System
- 09Jefferson, Expansion, and the War of 1812
- 10Courts, Diplomacy, and Sectional Balance
Part IIIMarkets, Democracy, Reform, and ExpansionChapters 11–16+
Connect transportation, production, politics, reform, culture, migration, family life, and continental expansion instead of treating them as separate lists.
- 11The Market Revolution
- 12Jacksonian Democracy and Its Limits
- 13Religion, Reform, and New Social Movements
- 14Culture, Ideas, and American Identity
- 15Continental Expansion and Its Costs
- 16Immigration, Cities, Work, and Family
Part IVSectional Crisis, Civil War, and ReconstructionChapters 17–19+
Trace how expansion intensified the slavery conflict, how war changed the Union, and why emancipation did not settle the meaning of freedom.
- 17The Sectional Crisis, 1846–1861
- 18Civil War, 1861–1865
- 19Reconstruction and the Meaning of Freedom
Practice and recall
Two full-length tests and a complete flashcard deck
Open any tool here without leaving your place in the hub. Tests preserve the 120-question, 90-minute testing experience; flashcards support quick, targeted review.
CLEP exam track · 1865–present
History II: Reconstruction to the Present
This track starts with Reconstruction and gives most of its attention to the twentieth century. It connects politics, work, culture, rights, science, war, and diplomacy without flattening their regional and human differences.
16chapters
128topics
6parts
Begin with Reconstruction
Establish citizenship, labor, land, federal power, and resistance before industrialization.
View all 16 chaptersPrioritize the twentieth century
Keep the 1865–1914 foundation, then give the later era its official 70% share.
See the exam balanceTest and review
Open two complete timed tests or use the flashcards for quick retrieval.
Open History II toolsHistory II blueprint
Give politics and society their proper weight.
Political institutions and social developments together make up about 60% of the exam. The majority of questions concern 1915 to the present.
30%1865–1914
70%1915–present
Complete learning map
Six parts, sixteen connected chapters
Open a part to see the chapters. The sequence keeps domestic change and international conflict on one usable timeline.
Part IReconstruction and Industrial TransformationChapters 1–3+
Begin with contested freedom after the Civil War, then follow land, sovereignty, corporations, technology, and work through the new industrial order.
- 01Reconstruction and the Postwar South, 1865–1877
- 02The West, Native America, and the New South, 1865–1900
- 03Industrialization, Big Business, and the Changing Nature of Work
Part IIWorkers, Cities, Politics, Race, Empire, and ReformChapters 4–6+
Study workplace conflict, immigration, urban institutions, Populism, segregation, overseas expansion, and Progressive reform as connected struggles over power.
- 04Labor, Immigration, and the Industrial City
- 05Gilded Age Politics, Populism, and the Color Line
- 06Expansionism and the Progressive Era, 1890–1914
Part IIIWorld War I and the 1920sChapters 7–8+
Track wartime mobilization and civil liberties, then test how prosperity, reaction, diplomacy, migration, and modern culture coexisted.
- 07World War I and Its Aftermath, 1915–1920
- 08The 1920s: Prosperity, Reaction, Diplomacy, and Modern Culture
Part IVDepression and Total WarChapters 9–10+
Follow the expansion of federal capacity from economic collapse through New Deal experimentation and global wartime mobilization.
- 09The Great Depression and the New Deal, 1929–1939
- 10World War II: Strategy, Mobilization, Science, and Society
Part VCold War and Affluent SocietyChapters 11–12+
Connect containment and anticommunism to postwar growth, migration, education, media, science, family life, and unequal access to prosperity.
- 11The Early Cold War: Containment at Home and Abroad
- 12The Affluent Society: Demography, Work, Family, Culture, Education, and Science
Part VIRights, Upheaval, Conservative Ascendancy, and Contemporary AmericaChapters 13–16+
Move from the Black freedom struggle and Great Society through Vietnam-era movements, conservative ascendancy, globalization, and technological change.
- 13The Black Freedom Struggle and the Great Society
- 14Vietnam, Protest, Feminism, and Expanding Rights
- 15Nixon, Carter, Reagan, and the Conservative Ascendancy
- 16The Post-Cold War United States, 1989–Present
Practice and recall
Two full-length tests and a complete flashcard deck
Open any tool here without leaving your place in the hub. Tests preserve the 120-question, 90-minute testing experience; flashcards support quick, targeted review.
A practical four-stage plan
Read less passively. Retrieve more deliberately.
Orient
Confirm the exam, timeline, and blueprint before studying. History I and II should never share one undifferentiated checklist.
Learn
For each chapter, identify the actors, institution, mechanism, turning point, and limit. Put events on a causal timeline.
Retrieve
Close the book. Explain the distinction aloud, answer chapter questions, and revisit misses after a delay.
Simulate
Use a complete timed form only after content review. Diagnose the rule or distinction behind every miss.
Full-length practice
Four live tests, separated by exam.
History I and History II each include two complete 120-question practice tests. Open them above, stay in the hub, and review every answer after submitting.
full-length tests
Early colonization through Reconstruction, with 120 questions and 90 minutes per test.
Open History I tests →full-length tests
Reconstruction through modern America, with 120 questions and 90 minutes per test.
Open History II tests →Check the source
Official exam details
Use College Board for registration, current policies, and official exam information. Use this hub for structured independent preparation.
These materials are independently created and are not official CLEP examinations, are not endorsed by College Board, and do not produce an official scaled score. CLEP is a registered trademark of College Board.