AP U.S. History Multiple Choice Practice Questions

Make yourself comfortable with the style of questions that will be presented on the AP exam by using these practice questions for multiple choice, long essay, and DBQ questions. Practice eliminating at least two of the four answer choices for any multiple-choice question. Two of the three distractors will be so obtuse that you should, as you broaden your history knowledge, be able to eliminate them right away. The third will be somewhat close—it may just cover the same era as the correct answer. That leaves you with two enticing possibilities to decide between. Remember, you need the best right answer, so look carefully for any clues in the two remaining answer choices. Does either contain words such as all, most, or none? If the answer is yes, chances are that this answer is not correct. The AP exam does not like to make grand, overarching statements. Check the time period of the question and match it up with the remaining answer choices. Can you eliminate one of your answers because it is outside the time frame of the question? At this point, even if you have no means of elimination, it is in your best interest to guess—you’ve narrowed your chance of getting the right answer down to 50 percent.

Remember, the exam is no longer penalty scored. Incorrect responses are not deducted from your score, so you will benefit from guessing. Every correct answer adds to your score. No points are awarded for unanswered questions. Therefore, you should answer every question, even if you have to guess.

TAKE AN AP US HISTORY PRACTICE QUIZ

Multiple Choice Practice Questions

Questions 7 and 8 refer to the following quotation.

“When Europeans first touched the shores of the Americas, Old World crops such as wheat, barley, rice, and turnips had not traveled west across the Atlantic, and New World crops such as maize, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, and manioc had not traveled east to Europe. In the Americas, there were no horses, cattle, sheep, or goats, all animals of Old World origin. Except for the llama, alpaca, dog, a few fowl, and guinea pig, the New World had no equivalents to the domesticated animals associated with the Old World, nor did it have the pathogens associated with the Old World’s dense populations of humans and such associated creatures as chickens, cattle, black rats, and Aedes egypti mosquitoes. Among these germs were those that carried smallpox, measles, chickenpox, influenza, malaria, and yellow fever.”

—Alfred Crosby, “The Columbian Exchange”

7. Perhaps the most devastating aspect of the Columbian Exchange was

(A) the extinction of animals in the New World by invasive species

(B) the European diseases that decimated indigenous populations in the Americas

(D) the wave of explorers that ensued and began to populate the Americas and push the native peoples out of their homelands

8. Which of the following had a profound effect on the growth of agriculture in the New World?

(A) The introduction of maize, white potatoes, and sweet potatoes to the Americas

(B) The waves of settlers and explorers that began to populate the New World

(D) The rise of African slavery that originated as part of the Middle Passage

Answers and Explanations

Question 7

7. B

Diseases of the Europeans decimated indigenous populations in the Americas. While technology and other products did lead to new economic opportunities in the New World, diseases led to the deaths of countless native peoples.

Question 8

8. C

With the introduction of livestock into the New World, farming and agriculture began to thrive
in the Americas. The horse also revolutionized warfare, especially among the Plains peoples of the Southwest.