• 60 questions

APUSH Period 5 Practice Test

Unofficial multiple-choice practice for Period 5 of AP United States History, 1844 to 1877: expansion, Civil War and Reconstruction.

The editor John O'Sullivan wrote in 1845 that it was "our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions." What was he arguing?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

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

Next step AP US History practice test: all nine periodsAPUSH Period 4 practice test

All 60 questions

Topic 5.2: Manifest Destiny 6

  • The editor John O'Sullivan wrote in 1845 that it was "our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions." What was he arguing? John L. O'Sullivan, "Annexation" (1845), with the editor's introduction, Teaching American History, Ashland University; course topic 5.2
  • How did the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 get a railroad built to the Pacific? Pacific Railway Act (1862), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.2
  • The Morrill Act of 1862 gave the states federal land grants to pay for what? Morrill Act (1862), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.2
  • President James K. Polk said in his Inaugural Address (March 4, 1845) that Americans were preparing to perfect their title to Oregon "by occupying it with their wives and children." How was the Oregon question settled? James K. Polk, Inaugural Address (1845), Avalon Project, Yale Law School; Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Oregon Territory, 1846"; course topic 5.2
  • What did the Homestead Act of 1862 offer? Homestead Act (1862), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.2
  • Why did the United States send Commodore Matthew Perry to Japan in 1853? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The United States and the Opening to Japan, 1853"; course topic 5.2
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Topic 5.3: The Mexican-American War 5

  • Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience (1849): "Witness the present Mexican war, the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool." What was Thoreau's charge? Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience (1849), Project Gutenberg; course topic 5.3
  • President Polk told Congress on May 11, 1846: "Mexico has passed the boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil." What was in dispute? James K. Polk, Special Message to Congress on Mexican Relations (1846), The American Presidency Project; Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Annexation of Texas, the Mexican-American War, and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, 1845-1848"; course topic 5.3
  • Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), Article VIII: Mexicans in the ceded lands "shall be free to continue where they now reside, or to remove at any time to the Mexican Republic, retaining the property which they possess." Which question raised by the cession does the article address? Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), Article VIII, National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.3
  • What did Mexico give up in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (February 2, 1848)? Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.3
  • The Wilmot Proviso, offered in the House on August 8, 1846, said that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist" where? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Annexation of Texas, the Mexican-American War, and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, 1845-1848"; course topic 5.3

Topic 5.4: The Compromise of 1850 5

  • The Compromise of 1850 admitted California as a free state. How did it treat slavery in the other lands taken from Mexico? Compromise of 1850, National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.4
  • The Fugitive Slave Act (September 18, 1850): "all good citizens are hereby commanded to aid and assist in the prompt and efficient execution of this law." Why did this clause anger many Northerners? Fugitive Slave Act (1850), Avalon Project, Yale Law School; Compromise of 1850, National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.4
  • The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 provided: "In no trial or hearing under this act shall the testimony of such alleged fugitive be admitted in evidence." What did this mean for a person seized under the act? Fugitive Slave Act (1850), Avalon Project, Yale Law School; course topic 5.4
  • In 1849 California asked to enter the Union as a free state. Why did the request bring on a crisis? Compromise of 1850, National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.4
  • Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts began his Seventh of March speech: "I wish to speak today, not as a Massachusetts man, nor as a Northern man, but as an American." What did he go on to urge? U.S. Senate, "Speech Costs Senator His Seat"; course topic 5.4

Topic 5.5: Sectional conflict: regional differences 6

  • Abraham Lincoln, First Annual Message (December 3, 1861): "The prudent, penniless beginner in the world labors for wages awhile, saves a surplus with which to buy tools or land for himself." Which Northern idea does this express? Abraham Lincoln, First Annual Message (1861), The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara; course topic 5.5
  • The American Party platform of 1856 declared that "Americans must rule America" and asked for "a continued residence of twenty-one years" before citizenship. Which movement did the party speak for? American Party Platform of 1856, The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara; course topic 5.5
  • Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin came out as a book in 1852. How did it turn readers against slavery? Library of Congress, The African American Odyssey, "Abolition, Anti-Slavery Movements, and the Rise of the Sectional Controversy"; course topic 5.5
  • In the same 1858 speech Senator Hammond said of a class that does the menial work: "It constitutes the very mud-sill of society and of political government." Which argument was he making? James Henry Hammond, "Cotton is King" (March 4, 1858), Teaching American History, Ashland University; course topic 5.5
  • Senator James Henry Hammond of South Carolina (March 4, 1858): "No, you dare not make war on cotton. No power on earth dares to make war upon it. Cotton is king." What did Hammond believe? James Henry Hammond, "Cotton is King" (March 4, 1858), Teaching American History, Ashland University; course topic 5.5
  • What did John Brown intend when he tried to seize the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in October 1859? Library of Congress, The African American Odyssey, "Abolition, Anti-Slavery Movements, and the Rise of the Sectional Controversy"; course topic 5.5

Topic 5.6: Failure of compromise 6

  • Abraham Lincoln, first debate with Stephen Douglas, Ottawa, Illinois (August 21, 1858): "there is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence." Which position was Lincoln taking? First Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Ottawa, Illinois (1858), National Park Service, Lincoln Home National Historic Site; course topic 5.6
  • Abraham Lincoln, speech to the Illinois Republican convention (June 16, 1858): "I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free." What did Lincoln expect to happen? Abraham Lincoln, "House Divided" speech (1858), National Park Service, Lincoln Home National Historic Site; course topic 5.6
  • In Dred Scott v. Sandford (March 6, 1857) the Supreme Court held that enslaved people were not citizens of the United States. What else did the Court rule, about the territories? Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.6
  • The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) declared its intent "to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way." What did this mean for slavery in the two territories? Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.6
  • On May 22, 1856, a member of the House beat Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts unconscious in the Senate chamber. What had provoked the attack? U.S. Senate, "The Caning of Senator Charles Sumner"; course topic 5.6
  • Which party did opponents of the Kansas-Nebraska Act help to found? Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.6

Topic 5.7: Election of 1860 and secession 6

  • Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address (March 4, 1861): "I hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution the Union of these States is perpetual." What was Lincoln saying about secession? Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address (1861), Avalon Project, Yale Law School; course topic 5.7
  • Besides its stand on slavery, which measures did the Republican platform of 1860 demand? Republican Party Platform of 1860, The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara; Homestead Act and Pacific Railway Act (1862), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.7
  • How many states had seceded by the time Lincoln took office on March 4, 1861? Telegram Announcing the Surrender of Fort Sumter (1861), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.7
  • Mississippi's declaration of the causes of its secession states: "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery." What does the document show about why the state left the Union? A Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of the State of Mississippi from the Federal Union, Avalon Project, Yale Law School; course topic 5.7
  • The Republican platform of 1860 called the "new dogma that the Constitution, of its own force, carries slavery into any or all of the territories" a "dangerous political heresy," and upheld "the right of each state to order and control its own domestic institutions." What did the party say about slavery? Republican Party Platform of 1860, The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara; course topic 5.7
  • South Carolina, Declaration of the Immediate Causes of secession (December 24, 1860): "all the States north of that line have united in the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States, whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery." Which grievance is this? South Carolina, Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union (1860), Avalon Project, Yale Law School; National Archives, 1860 Electoral College Results; course topic 5.7

Topic 5.8: Military conflict in the Civil War 4

  • Southern leaders expected Britain to break the Union blockade and side with the Confederacy. On what did they rest that hope? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Preventing Diplomatic Recognition of the Confederacy, 1861-1865"; course topic 5.8
  • What terms did Ulysses S. Grant give Robert E. Lee's army at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865? Articles of Agreement Relating to the Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia (1865), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.8
  • Which statement about the two sides' resources in the Civil War is supported by National Park Service figures? National Park Service, The Civil War, "Facts"; course topic 5.8
  • Why was the Confederate surrender of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, a turning point of the war? American Battlefield Trust, "Vicksburg"; course topic 5.8

Topic 5.9: Government policies during the Civil War 6

  • Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address (1863): the nation was "conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal," and the war would bring "a new birth of freedom." How did Lincoln present the war? Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address (1863), Avalon Project, Yale Law School; course topic 5.9
  • Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (March 4, 1865): "These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war." What had changed since 1861 in how Lincoln spoke of the war? Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (1865), Avalon Project, Yale Law School; course topic 5.9
  • The Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863) freed people held as slaves "within said designated States, and parts of States." Which places did Lincoln designate? Emancipation Proclamation (1863), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.9
  • The Emancipation Proclamation announced that freed men "of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States." What followed? Emancipation Proclamation (1863) and War Department General Order 143 (1863), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.9
  • Lincoln closed his Second Inaugural Address (1865): "With malice toward none, with charity for all ... let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds." What kind of peace did he have in mind? Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (1865), Avalon Project, Yale Law School; Wade-Davis Bill (1864), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.9
  • Lincoln issued his preliminary proclamation on September 22, 1862, a few days after the Union victory at Antietam. What did he hope it would do abroad? Emancipation Proclamation (1863), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.9

Topic 5.10: Reconstruction 9

  • The 14th Amendment (ratified July 9, 1868): "nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." How did this change the relation of the states to the federal government? 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.10
  • The Civil Rights Bill of 1866, the first civil rights law passed by Congress, declared whom to be citizens of the United States? U.S. House of Representatives, History, Art and Archives, "The Civil Rights Bill of 1866"; course topic 5.10
  • How did the Senate trial of President Andrew Johnson end in May 1868? U.S. Senate, "Impeachment Trial of President Andrew Johnson, 1868"; course topic 5.10
  • How did the Wade-Davis Bill of 1864 differ from Lincoln's plan for restoring the Confederate states? Wade-Davis Bill (1864), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.10
  • On January 20, 1870, the Mississippi legislature elected Hiram Revels to the United States Senate. What did his election mark? U.S. House of Representatives, Black Americans in Congress, "The Fifteenth Amendment in Flesh and Blood"; course topic 5.10
  • What did the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 require of a former Confederate state before it regained its seats in Congress? U.S. House of Representatives, Black Americans in Congress, "Reconstruction and Black Political Activism"; course topic 5.10
  • What was the Freedmen's Bureau, created by Congress on March 3, 1865, set up to do? U.S. Senate, "Freedmen's Bureau Acts of 1865 and 1866"; course topic 5.10
  • Why did the women's rights movement split into two associations in 1869? National Park Service, Women's Rights National Historical Park, "Woman's Suffrage History Timeline"; course topic 5.10
  • Why was the 13th Amendment (ratified December 6, 1865) needed after the Emancipation Proclamation? 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.10

Topic 5.11: Failure of Reconstruction 7

  • The 15th Amendment (ratified February 3, 1870) gave Black men the vote. How did the former Confederate states later take it away? 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Voting Rights (1870), National Archives, Milestone Documents; course topic 5.11
  • How was the disputed presidential election of 1876 settled? U.S. House of Representatives, History, Art and Archives, "The Electoral Vote Count of the 1876 Presidential Election"; U.S. House of Representatives, Black Americans in Congress; course topic 5.11
  • In United States v. Cruikshank (1876) the Supreme Court overturned the convictions of men who had carried out the Colfax massacre of 1873. On what ground? U.S. House of Representatives, Black Americans in Congress, "The Demise of Reconstruction"; course topic 5.11
  • President Rutherford B. Hayes, Inaugural Address (March 5, 1877): in the Southern states "the inestimable blessing of wise, honest, and peaceful local self-government is not fully enjoyed." Which policy did the phrase signal? Rutherford B. Hayes, Inaugural Address (1877), Avalon Project, Yale Law School; U.S. House of Representatives, Black Americans in Congress, "The Demise of Reconstruction"; course topic 5.11
  • What were the Black Codes that Southern legislatures passed just after the Civil War? U.S. House of Representatives, Black Americans in Congress, "Reconstruction and Black Political Activism"; course topic 5.11
  • Which farm system, described to a Senate committee by former Representative James Rapier of Alabama, trapped many Black families in poverty? U.S. House of Representatives, Black Americans in Congress, "The Demise of Reconstruction"; course topic 5.11
  • Why did Congress pass the Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871? U.S. Senate, "The Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871"; course topic 5.11

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to Unit 5 (Period 5: 1844-1877) 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 National Archives' Milestone Documents and Electoral College records, the Office of the Historian of the U.S. Department of State, the Avalon Project at Yale Law School, the Library of Congress, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, the National Park Service, The American Presidency Project (University of California, Santa Barbara), Project Gutenberg, Teaching American History (Ashland University) and the American Battlefield Trust. Licence: Own work. Short quotations from the public documents named under each question.

How it works

This APUSH Period 5 practice test has 60 questions of our own on 1844 to 1877. Many quote the record: the Fugitive Slave Act, the secession declarations, Lincoln's speeches, the Reconstruction amendments. It is unofficial and not affiliated with or endorsed by the College Board.

Read the full guide

What Period 5 covers

Unit 5 of the College Board's course description, read October 8, 2026, lists twelve topics, and ten have questions here: Manifest Destiny (6), the Mexican-American War (5), the Compromise of 1850 (5), regional differences (6), the failure of compromise (6), the election of 1860 and secession (6), the fighting (4), wartime policy (6), Reconstruction (9) and its failure (7). Context and comparison, the first and last topics, are worked into the rest. Reconstruction gets the most questions by our choice; the description weights none of the topics.

Where the answers come from

Every answer shows the public page that confirms it, usually the law, speech or ruling itself at the National Archives or Yale's Avalon Project.

  • Put the 1850s in order: the Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska in 1854, Dred Scott in 1857, the election of 1860.
  • Learn the three Reconstruction amendments as a set: the 13th ends slavery, the 14th defines citizenship, the 15th protects the vote.

Questions and answers

What is Period 5 in APUSH?

Period 5 is 1844 to 1877: westward expansion and the war with Mexico, the quarrel over slavery in the territories, secession, the Civil War, emancipation, and Reconstruction to the disputed election of 1876.

Is an APUSH Unit 5 practice test different from a Period 5 one?

No, they are one test. Each unit of the course is a period, so Unit 5 is Period 5, the years 1844 to 1877, and this page serves both names.

How much of the APUSH exam is Period 5?

The College Board's course page gives it 10 to 17% of the exam, the same range as each of Periods 3 through 8.

Is this the College Board's Unit 5 test?

No. The unit's Progress Check is made by the College Board and reaches students through AP Classroom. The 60 questions here are our own, built from the published topics and public records, never from a real exam.

What comes after Period 5 in APUSH?

Period 6, which the course dates 1865 to 1898. The two overlap: Reconstruction, 1865 to 1877, is studied in Period 5.

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