• 53 questions

APUSH Period 3 Practice Test

Unofficial multiple-choice practice for Period 3 of AP United States History, also called Unit 3: 1754 to 1800.

The Albany Plan of Union (1754) called for a Grand Council chosen by the colonial governments and a president general named by the British government. Why did it never take effect?

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the College Board. Bank checked October 8, 2026.

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All 53 questions

Topic 3.2: The Seven Years' War 5

  • The Albany Plan of Union (1754) called for a Grand Council chosen by the colonial governments and a president general named by the British government. Why did it never take effect? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Albany Plan of Union, 1754"; course topic 3.2
  • For the Native nations of the frontier, why was the 1763 peace between Britain and France a disaster? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Treaty of Paris, 1763"; course topic 3.2
  • Royal Proclamation of 1763: "We do hereby strictly forbid ... all our loving Subjects from making any Purchases or Settlements whatever" on the lands reserved to the Indians. Which colonists did this order most anger? Royal Proclamation of October 7, 1763, Avalon Project, Yale Law School; Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Proclamation Line of 1763"; course topic 3.2
  • What did Great Britain gain in North America by the Treaty of Paris of 1763? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "French and Indian War/Seven Years' War, 1754-63" and "Treaty of Paris, 1763"; course topic 3.2
  • Which region, claimed by both France and Great Britain, was the scene of the 1754 clashes that opened the French and Indian War? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Incidents leading up to the French and Indian War, 1753-54"; course topic 3.2
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Topic 3.3: Taxation without representation 6

  • Besides colonial protest, what pushed Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Parliamentary taxation of colonies, international trade, and the American Revolution, 1763-1775"; course topic 3.3
  • The Declaratory Act (1766), section II, declares all colonial "resolutions, votes, orders, and proceedings" that deny Parliament's power to make laws for America to be "utterly null and void." Which colonial claim was Parliament rejecting? The Declaratory Act, March 18, 1766, preamble and section II, Avalon Project, Yale Law School; course topic 3.3
  • How did the First Continental Congress answer the Intolerable Acts in October 1774? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Continental Congress, 1774-1781"; course topic 3.3
  • Resolutions of the Stamp Act Congress (1765): "the people of these colonies are not, and from their local circumstances cannot be, represented in the House of Commons in Great-Britain." What did the delegates conclude from this? Resolutions of the Continental Congress, October 19, 1765, Avalon Project, Yale Law School; course topic 3.3
  • Why did Parliament's tea measure of 1773 anger colonial merchants? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Parliamentary taxation of colonies, international trade, and the American Revolution, 1763-1775"; course topic 3.3
  • Why did the British government turn to stricter customs enforcement and new colonial taxes after 1763? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Parliamentary taxation of colonies, international trade, and the American Revolution, 1763-1775"; course topic 3.3

Topic 3.4: Philosophical foundations 3

  • Declaration of Independence (1776): "whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government." What does the passage claim? Declaration of Independence: A Transcription, National Archives, second paragraph; course topic 3.4
  • Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776): "in America the law is king. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King." Which belief does the passage express? Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776), "Thoughts on the present State of American Affairs", Project Gutenberg; course topic 3.4
  • Why did French aristocrats and intellectuals embrace Benjamin Franklin when he arrived as an American commissioner in 1776? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Benjamin Franklin: First American Diplomat, 1776-1785"; course topic 3.4

Topic 3.5: The American Revolution 5

  • Besides British recognition of independence, which provision of the 1783 Treaty of Paris mattered most for the new nation's growth? Treaty of Paris (1783), milestone documents, National Archives; Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Treaty of Paris, 1783"; course topic 3.5
  • Treaty of Alliance with France (1778): the two nations agreed "not to lay down their arms, until the Independence of the united states shall have been formally or tacitly assured." What did each side promise the other? Treaty of Alliance with France (1778), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 3.5
  • What lasting change came out of the Continental Army's winter camp at Valley Forge in 1777-1778? National Park Service, Valley Forge National Historical Park, "What Happened at Valley Forge"; course topic 3.5
  • What part did the French navy play at Yorktown in 1781? National Park Service, Yorktown Battlefield, "History of the Siege"; course topic 3.5
  • Why did the American victory at Saratoga in 1777 matter far beyond the battlefield? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "French Alliance, French Assistance, and European Diplomacy during the American Revolution, 1778-1782"; course topic 3.5

Topic 3.6: Revolutionary ideals 4

  • Abigail Adams to John Adams, March 1776: "If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice or Representation." Which Patriot argument is she turning toward women? National Park Service, "Abigail Adams"; course topic 3.6
  • How did United States leaders, many of them slaveholders, respond to the Haitian Revolution that began in 1791? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The United States and the Haitian Revolution, 1791-1804"; course topic 3.6
  • Pennsylvania's Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery (1780) kept children born to enslaved mothers after the act in service until the age of twenty-eight. What does the law show about antislavery measures after the Revolution? Pennsylvania, An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, 1780, Avalon Project, Yale Law School; course topic 3.6
  • When Franklin and Adams reviewed Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence, which passage was struck as likely to meet with controversy? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Declaration of Independence, 1776"; course topic 3.6

Topic 3.7: The Articles of Confederation 5

  • Articles of Confederation, Article II: "Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence." Which feature of the Confederation Congress followed from this principle? Articles of Confederation, Articles II, III and V, Avalon Project, Yale Law School; course topic 3.7
  • In 1786 and 1787 indebted farmers and laborers in Massachusetts rose under Daniel Shays. What effect did the uprising have on national politics? Library of Congress, Creating the United States, "Road to the Constitution"; course topic 3.7
  • Northwest Ordinance (1787), Article 5: when a part of the territory has sixty thousand free inhabitants, "such State shall be admitted ... into the Congress of the United States, on an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever." Which principle for the western lands does this set? Northwest Ordinance, July 13, 1787, Article 5, Avalon Project, Yale Law School, and milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 3.7
  • Which power did the national government lack under the Articles of Confederation, leaving it with an empty treasury? Articles of Confederation (1777), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 3.7
  • Why did Maryland hold out against ratifying the Articles of Confederation until 1781? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Articles of Confederation, 1777-1781"; course topic 3.7

Topic 3.8: Convention and ratification 6

  • Constitution, Article I, section 2: seats in the House are set "by adding to the whole Number of free Persons ... three fifths of all other Persons." Which dispute at the Convention did this clause settle? Constitution of the United States: A Transcription, National Archives, Article I, section 2; course topic 3.8
  • Constitution, Article I, section 9: "The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight." What did this clause do? Constitution of the United States: A Transcription, National Archives, Article I, section 9; course topic 3.8
  • How did supporters of the Constitution answer opponents who warned that it would open the way to tyranny by the central government? Bill of Rights (1791), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 3.8
  • How did the Great Compromise of July 1787 settle the quarrel between large and small states? U.S. Senate, "A Great Compromise", July 16, 1787; course topic 3.8
  • What did the Virginia Plan, written mainly by James Madison, propose to the Constitutional Convention? Virginia Plan (1787), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 3.8
  • What did William Paterson's New Jersey Plan propose to the Constitutional Convention? Library of Congress, Creating the United States, "Convention and Ratification"; course topic 3.8

Topic 3.9: The Constitution 3

  • The Federalist No. 51 (1788): power "is first divided between two distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people." Which two principles make up this double security? The Federalist No. 51, Avalon Project, Yale Law School; course topic 3.9
  • James Madison, The Federalist No. 51 (1788): "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition." Which feature of the Constitution is he defending? The Federalist No. 51, Avalon Project, Yale Law School; course topic 3.9
  • Tenth Amendment (ratified 1791): "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Which fear about the new government does it answer? The Bill of Rights: A Transcription, National Archives, Article the twelfth (the Tenth Amendment); course topic 3.9

Topic 3.10: Shaping a new republic 9

  • George Washington, Farewell Address (1796): it is "matter of serious concern that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by geographical discriminations, Northern and Southern, Atlantic and Western." Which danger to the Union is Washington naming? Washington's Farewell Address, 1796, Avalon Project, Yale Law School; course topic 3.10
  • How did President Washington respond in 1794 to violent resistance to the federal whiskey tax in western Pennsylvania? Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, U.S. Department of the Treasury, "The Whiskey Rebellion"; course topic 3.10
  • Jay's Treaty (1794) was deeply unpopular. Why did President Washington put it into effect anyway? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "John Jay's Treaty, 1794-95"; course topic 3.10
  • Virginia Resolution (1798), written against the Alien and Sedition Acts: the states "have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil." What does the resolution claim? Virginia Resolution of 1798 and Kentucky Resolution, Avalon Project, Yale Law School; course topic 3.10
  • What did Pinckney's Treaty of 1795 gain for Americans living west of the Appalachians? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Treaty of San Lorenzo/Pinckney's Treaty, 1795"; course topic 3.10
  • What did Spain establish at San Francisco Bay in 1776? National Park Service, Presidio of San Francisco, "Spanish Period: 1776 to 1822"; course topic 3.10
  • Who were the main targets of the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798? Alien and Sedition Acts (1798), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 3.10
  • Why did President Washington proclaim neutrality in April 1793, when France and Great Britain went to war? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Citizen Genet Affair, 1793-1794"; course topic 3.10
  • Why did Thomas Jefferson oppose Alexander Hamilton's plan for a national bank? Federal Reserve History, "The First Bank of the United States"; course topic 3.10

Topic 3.11: An American identity 3

  • The Great Seal of the United States, adopted by Congress in 1782, carries the motto E Pluribus Unum, "Out of Many, One." Which idea about the new nation does the motto express? Original Design of the Great Seal of the United States (1782), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 3.11
  • Phillis Wheatley's Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773) was the first book of poetry published by an enslaved Black woman. Where did it appear, and why? National Park Service, "Phillis Wheatley"; course topic 3.11
  • President Washington praised William Thornton's design for the Capitol for its "grandeur, simplicity and convenience" and laid the cornerstone in 1793. The building is best understood as an example of Architect of the Capitol, "History of the U.S. Capitol Building"; course topic 3.11

Topic 3.12: Movement in the early republic 4

  • Eli Whitney patented his cotton gin in 1794. What was the most significant effect of the machine? Eli Whitney's Patent for the Cotton Gin (1794), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 3.12
  • In the Treaty of Greenville (1795), what did the Native nations of the Northwest give up? Treaty of Greenville, 1795, Article 3, Avalon Project, Yale Law School; course topic 3.12
  • When the Revolution began, why did most Native nations that took a side choose the British? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Proclamation Line of 1763, Quebec Act of 1774 and Westward Expansion"; course topic 3.12
  • Why does Pontiac's War (1763 to 1766) stand out in the history of Native resistance? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Proclamation Line of 1763, Quebec Act of 1774 and Westward Expansion"; course topic 3.12

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to Unit 3 (Period 3: 1754 to 1800) of the College Board's AP U.S. History Course and Exam Description, effective fall 2026, https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-us-history-course-and-exam-description.pdf, read 2026-10-08. Each fact was read on 2026-10-08 in the public page named under its question: the Office of the Historian of the U.S. Department of State, the National Archives (milestone documents and founding document transcriptions), the Avalon Project at Yale Law School, the Library of Congress, the National Park Service, the U.S. Senate, the Architect of the Capitol, Federal Reserve History, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and Project Gutenberg. Licence: Own work. Short quotations from the public documents named under each question.

How it works

This APUSH Period 3 practice test has 53 questions of our own on 1754 to 1800, many quoting a document such as the Declaration or the Constitution. It is unofficial and not affiliated with or endorsed by the College Board.

Read the full guide

What Period 3 covers

In the College Board's course description, read October 8, 2026, Period 3 is Unit 3 and has thirteen topics. Eleven have their own questions here: the Seven Years' War, taxation without representation, the ideas behind the Revolution, the war, its ideals, the Articles of Confederation, the Convention, the Constitution, the new republic, American identity and movement west. The first topic on context and the last on continuity and change are practiced inside the others. The spread is our choice, as the description weights no topic.

Where the answers come from

Under each answer is the public page its fact was read on. Most quoted documents come from the National Archives and Yale's Avalon Project.

  • Tie each British measure of 1763 to 1774 to the colonial answer that followed it.
  • For the Constitution, say which weakness of the Articles each clause was written to cure.

Questions and answers

What is Period 3 in APUSH?

Period 3 is 1754 to 1800: the Seven Years' War, the quarrel over taxation, the Revolution, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution and the first years of the republic under Washington and Adams.

Is APUSH Unit 3 the same as Period 3?

Yes. The course description numbers its nine units to match the nine periods, so an APUSH Unit 3 practice test and a Period 3 practice test cover the same years, 1754 to 1800.

How much of the APUSH exam is Period 3?

From 10 to 17% of the exam, according to the College Board's course page, well above the 4 to 6% given to Period 1.

Is this the Unit 3 Progress Check?

No. The Progress Check is made by the College Board and given by teachers through AP Classroom. Every question on this page is ours, written from the published topics of the unit and from public documents.

What comes after Period 3 in APUSH?

Period 4, which the course dates 1800 to 1848. Period 3 closes with the Federalists' defeat in the election of 1800.

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