CLEP US History II Exam

CLEP History of the United States II Examination Description

The History of the United States II: 1865 to the Present examination covers material that is normally taught in the second semester of what is frequently a two-semester course in United States history. The examination covers the time of United States history from the end of the Civil War to the present, with most of the inquiries being on the twentieth century.

The examination contains around 120 questions to be replied in an hour and a half. Some of these are pretest inquiries that won’t be scored. Whenever competitors spend on instructional exercises and giving individual data is notwithstanding the genuine testing time.

Knowledge and Skills Required for Taking the Test

Questions on the History of the United States II examination require candidates to demonstrate one or more of the following abilities.

• Identification and description of historical phenomena

• Analysis and interpretation of historical phenomena

• Comparison and contrast of historical phenomena

The subject matter of the History of the United States II examination is drawn from the following topics. The percentages next to the main topics indicate the approximate percentage of exam questions on that topic.

Topical Specifications

35% Political institutions, behavior, and public policy

25% Social developments

10% Economic developments

15% Cultural and intellectual developments

15% Diplomacy and international relations

Chronological Specifications

30% 1865–1914

70% 1915–present

The following are among the specific topics tested:

• The impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction upon the South

• 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