U.S. History Themes

These are a few themes that the collegeboard committee created and suggested. They should be thought of in conjunction with every topic covered in the APUSH material. Keep in mind that these themes may compromise essay topics on the test. It is important to create connections between topics and understand the WHY rather than a simple WHAT.

American Diversity
The diversity of the American people and the relationships among different groups. The roles of race, class, ethnicity, and gender in the history of the United States.

American Identity
Views of the American national character adn ideas about American exceptionalism. Recognizing regional differences within the context of what it means to be an American.

Culture
Diverse individual and collective expressions through literature, art, philosophy, music, theater, and film throughout U.S. history. Popular culture and dimensions of cultural conflict within American society.

Demographic Changes
Changes in birth, marriage, and death rates; life expectancy and family patterns; population size and density. The economic, social, and political effect of immigration, internal migration, and migration networks.

Economic Transformations
Changes in trade, commerce, and technology across time. The effects of capitalist development, labor and unions, and consumerism.

Environment
Ideas about the consumption and conservation of natural resources. The impact of population growth, industrialization, pollution, and urban and suburban expansion.

Globalization
Engagement with the rest of the world from the fifteenth century to the present: colonialism, mercantilism, global hegemony, development of markets imperialism, cultural exchange.

Politics and Citizenship
Colonial and revolutionary legacies, American political traditions, growth of democracy, and the development of the modern state. Defining citizenship; struggles for civil rights.

Reform
Diverse moments focusing on a broad range of issues, including anti-slavery, education, labor, temperance, women's rights, civil rights, gay rights, war, public health, and government.

Religion
The variety of religious beliefs and practices in America from prehistory to the 21st century; influence of religion on politics, economics, and society.

Slavery and Its Legacies in North America
Systems of slave labor and other forms of unfree labor (e.g., indentured servitude, contract labor) in Native American societies, the Atlantic World, and the American South and West. The economics of slavery and its racial dimensions. Patterns of resistance and the long-term economic, political, and social effects of slavery.

War and Diplomacy
Armed conflict from the precolonial period to the 21st century; impact of war on American foreign policy and on politics, economy, and society.