• 72 questions

APUSH Period 7 Practice Test

Unofficial multiple-choice practice for Period 7 of AP United States History, 1890 to 1945.

Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan published The Influence of Sea Power upon History in 1890. According to Mahan, what did the United States need in order to reach new markets abroad?

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.

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All 72 questions

Topic 7.2: Imperialism debates 5

  • Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan published The Influence of Sea Power upon History in 1890. According to Mahan, what did the United States need in order to reach new markets abroad? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Mahan's The Influence of Sea Power upon History: Securing International Markets in the 1890s"; course topic 7.2
  • In 1893 the historian Frederick Jackson Turner argued that the American frontier had closed. How did that idea feed the case for expansion overseas? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Mahan's The Influence of Sea Power upon History: Securing International Markets in the 1890s"; course topic 7.2
  • Theodore Roosevelt, annual message to Congress (1904): adherence to the Monroe Doctrine "may force the United States, however reluctantly, in flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence, to the exercise of an international police power." How did this corollary change the Monroe Doctrine? Theodore Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (1905), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.2
  • Which argument was made by Americans who opposed annexing the Philippines after 1898? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Philippine-American War, 1899-1902"; course topic 7.2
  • Why was Hawaii annexed in 1898 by a joint resolution of Congress and not by a treaty? Joint Resolution to Provide for Annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States (1898), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.2
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Topic 7.3: The Spanish-American War 6

  • How did the New York newspapers of William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer affect the coming of war with Spain in 1898? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "U.S. Diplomacy and Yellow Journalism, 1895-1898"; course topic 7.3
  • In a private letter printed by the New York Journal on February 9, 1898, the Spanish ambassador called President McKinley "weak and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd." What was the effect of the De Lome letter? De Lome Letter (1898), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.3
  • Platt Amendment (1903), Article III: "the government of Cuba consents that the United States may exercise the right to intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence." How did this differ from the Teller Amendment of 1898? Platt Amendment (1903), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.3
  • Secretary of State John Hay's Open Door notes of 1899 asked the powers to allow equal trade in China. Why did that principle matter so much to the United States? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Secretary of State John Hay and the Open Door in China, 1899-1900"; course topic 7.3
  • What did the United States gain from Spain by the Treaty of Paris of December 1898? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Spanish-American War, 1898"; course topic 7.3
  • What happened in the Philippines after Spain ceded the islands to the United States? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Philippine-American War, 1899-1902"; course topic 7.3

Topic 7.4: The Progressives 9

  • The 16th Amendment (1913) let Congress impose a federal income tax. Which earlier movement had called for a graduated income tax? 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Federal Income Tax (1913), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.4
  • By 1916 almost all the major woman suffrage organizations had united behind which goal? 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women's Right to Vote (1920), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.4
  • How did the Keating-Owen Act of 1916 try to limit child labor, and what became of it? Keating-Owen Child Labor Act (1916), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.4
  • In the debate over damming the Hetch Hetchy Valley (1908 to 1913), what separated preservationists such as John Muir from conservationists? National Archives, Center for Legislative Archives, "Hetch Hetchy Environmental Debates"; course topic 7.4
  • Jane Addams founded Hull House in Chicago in 1889. What was the work of this settlement house? National Park Service, "Jane Addams"; course topic 7.4
  • The journalist Ida B. Wells is best known for leading which campaign in the 1890s? National Park Service, "Ida B. Wells"; course topic 7.4
  • What moved Congress to pass the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906? U.S. House of Representatives, History, Art and Archives, "The Pure Food and Drugs Act"; course topic 7.4
  • Which complaint of Progressive reformers did the 17th Amendment (1913) answer? 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.4
  • Why did the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 do little against monopolies in its first years? Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.4

Topic 7.5: World War I, military and diplomacy 5

  • Under Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles, what did Germany accept? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles"; course topic 7.5
  • Which two German actions did President Wilson cite in asking Congress to declare war in April 1917? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "U.S. Entry into World War I, 1917"; course topic 7.5
  • Why did the United States Senate refuse to approve the Treaty of Versailles? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles"; U.S. Senate, "Senate Rejects the Treaty of Versailles"; course topic 7.5
  • Woodrow Wilson, address to Congress, April 2, 1917: "The world must be made safe for democracy." What does the statement show about how Wilson justified entering the war? President Woodrow Wilson's Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Germany (1917), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.5
  • Woodrow Wilson, Fourteen Points (1918), point XIV, calls for a "general association of nations" to afford "mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike." Which idea does this point advance? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Wilson's Fourteen Points, 1918" and "The League of Nations, 1920"; course topic 7.5

Topic 7.6: World War I, home front 4

  • How did American involvement in World War I affect the campaign for woman suffrage? National Archives, Treasures of Congress, "Progressive Reform: Votes for Women"; course topic 7.6
  • In August 1917 Congress passed the Lever Act and President Wilson created the U.S. Food Administration under Herbert Hoover. What does the episode show about the home front? National Archives, Educator Resources, "Sow the Seeds of Victory! Posters from the Food Administration During World War I"; course topic 7.6
  • What drove the Great Migration of Black southerners that began in the 1910s? National Archives, "The Great Migration (1910-1970)"; course topic 7.6
  • Which restrictions did the Immigration Act of 1917, passed during World War I, add to federal law? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Immigration Act of 1924 (The Johnson-Reed Act)"; course topic 7.6

Topic 7.7: 1920s innovations 2

  • On November 2, 1920, station KDKA in Pittsburgh broadcast the returns of the presidential election. The broadcast is widely recognized as the start of what? Federal Communications Commission, "History of Commercial Radio"; course topic 7.7
  • Which description fits the American economy of the 1920s before the crash? Federal Reserve History, "Stock Market Crash of 1929"; course topic 7.7

Topic 7.8: 1920s controversies 4

  • The "New Negro Movement" of the 1920s promoted racial pride, cultural self-expression and economic independence. Which federal law did the NAACP press Congress to pass in those years? Library of Congress, NAACP: A Century in the Fight for Freedom, "The New Negro Movement"; course topic 7.8
  • What difficulty did national Prohibition meet in the 1920s? National Archives, Educator Resources, "The Volstead Act"; course topic 7.8
  • What was the Harlem Renaissance? Library of Congress, The African American Odyssey, "World War I and Postwar Society"; course topic 7.8
  • Why did the Immigration Act of 1924 base its national quotas on the census of 1890? U.S. House of Representatives, History, Art and Archives, "The Immigration Act of 1924"; course topic 7.8

Topic 7.9: The Great Depression 6

  • By the summer of 1932, how far had the Dow Jones Industrial Average fallen from its peak of 1929? Federal Reserve History, "Stock Market Crash of 1929"; course topic 7.9
  • Federal Reserve History names a policy decision of 1928 and 1929 that hurt the economy. What was it? Federal Reserve History, "The Great Depression"; course topic 7.9
  • Federal Reserve History on the stock market of the late 1920s: buyers "put down a fraction of the price, typically 10 percent, and borrowed the rest." What is this way of buying stock called? Federal Reserve History, "Stock Market Crash of 1929"; course topic 7.9
  • How did high tariffs such as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930 affect the world economy of the early 1930s? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Protectionism in the Interwar Period"; course topic 7.9
  • What did the jobless veterans of the "Bonus Expeditionary Forces" ask of the government in 1932? National Park Service, "Bonus Expeditionary Forces March on Washington"; course topic 7.9
  • What had happened to the nation's banks by the late winter of 1933? National Archives, Educator Resources, "FDR's First Inaugural Address"; course topic 7.9

Topic 7.10: The New Deal 8

  • A law of 1935 guaranteed employees "the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing." Which law was it? National Labor Relations Act (1935), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.10
  • How was old-age insurance under the Social Security Act of 1935 paid for? Social Security Act (1935), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.10
  • President Roosevelt's bank holiday closed every bank for a week in March 1933. How was it decided which banks could reopen? Federal Reserve History, "Bank Holiday of 1933"; course topic 7.10
  • What did President Roosevelt propose in February 1937, after the Supreme Court had struck down New Deal laws? Federal Judicial Center, "FDR's Court-Packing Plan"; course topic 7.10
  • What did the Banking Act of 1933, known as Glass-Steagall, do? Federal Reserve History, "Banking Act of 1933 (Glass-Steagall)"; course topic 7.10
  • What made the Tennessee Valley Authority, created in 1933, a new kind of federal agency? Tennessee Valley Authority Act (1933), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.10
  • Which program of the Second New Deal employed about 8.5 million Americans building roads, bridges and public buildings and supporting writers and artists? President Franklin Roosevelt's Radio Address unveiling the second half of the New Deal (1936), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.10
  • Why did the Supreme Court strike down the code system of the National Industrial Recovery Act in 1935? National Industrial Recovery Act (1933), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.10

Topic 7.11: Interwar foreign policy 6

  • At the Montevideo Conference of December 1933 the United States backed the declaration "No state has the right to intervene in the internal or external affairs of another." Which earlier policy did this Good Neighbor stance set aside? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Good Neighbor Policy, 1933"; course topic 7.11
  • How did American public opinion about the war change between 1939 and the attack on Pearl Harbor? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "American Isolationism in the 1930s"; course topic 7.11
  • In the mid-1930s critics argued that bankers and munitions traders had drawn the United States into the First World War. How did Congress respond in 1935? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Neutrality Acts, 1930s"; course topic 7.11
  • Under the Neutrality Act of 1939, nations at war could buy American war goods only on a "cash and carry" basis. Why did President Roosevelt propose Lend-Lease in 1941? Lend-Lease Act (1941), milestone documents, National Archives; Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Lend-Lease and Military Aid to the Allies in the Early Years of World War II"; course topic 7.11
  • What did the Five-Power Treaty, signed at the Washington Naval Conference in 1922, do? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Washington Naval Conference, 1921-1922"; course topic 7.11
  • Why did the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928, an agreement to outlaw war, fail to stop the aggression of the 1930s? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928"; course topic 7.11

Topic 7.12: World War II mobilization 6

  • About 122,000 people of Japanese descent were removed from the West Coast under Executive Order 9066 and held in guarded camps. What made the removal a grave challenge to civil liberties? Executive Order 9066: Resulting in Japanese-American Incarceration (1942), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.12
  • Executive Order 8802 (June 1941): "There shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries and in Government, because of race, creed, color, or national origin." What prompted President Roosevelt to issue it? Executive Order 8802: Prohibition of Discrimination in the Defense Industry (1941), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.12
  • How did World War II change women's part in the American workforce? National Archives, Educator Resources, "Women in the Work Force during World War II"; course topic 7.12
  • The New Deal eased the Great Depression and did not end it. When did the Depression end? Federal Reserve History, "The Great Depression"; course topic 7.12
  • What was the Bracero Program, begun in 1942? Library of Congress, A Latinx Resource Guide, "1942: Bracero Program"; course topic 7.12
  • Why did Congress pass the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, the G.I. Bill? Servicemen's Readjustment Act (1944), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.12

Topic 7.13: World War II, military 7

  • General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Order of the Day, June 6, 1944: "You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months." Which operation were his troops beginning? General Eisenhower's Order of the Day (1944), milestone documents, National Archives; Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, "World War II: D-Day, The Invasion of Normandy"; course topic 7.13
  • In January 1941 President Roosevelt named "four essential human freedoms": freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. What was the purpose of the speech? President Franklin Roosevelt's Annual Message (Four Freedoms) to Congress (1941), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.13
  • The Tuskegee Airmen grew out of a test by the U.S. Army Air Corps. What was the test meant to find out? National Park Service, Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, "History & Culture"; course topic 7.13
  • What did Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin agree at Tehran in 1943 about the war in Europe? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Tehran Conference, 1943"; course topic 7.13
  • What did the United States government create in January 1944 to help Jews and others the Nazis persecuted? United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Holocaust Encyclopedia, "The United States and the Holocaust"; course topic 7.13
  • Which statement about the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in August 1945 is accurate? Harry S. Truman Library, "The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb"; Manhattan Project Notebook (1942), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.13
  • Why did the federal government launch the Manhattan Project in 1942? Manhattan Project Notebook (1942), milestone documents, National Archives; course topic 7.13

Topic 7.14: Postwar diplomacy 4

  • At Potsdam in 1945, why did President Truman want to limit the reparations taken from Germany? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Potsdam Conference, 1945"; course topic 7.14
  • How did the American part in founding the United Nations in 1945 differ from its response to the League of Nations? United Nations Charter (1945), milestone documents, National Archives; Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The League of Nations, 1920"; course topic 7.14
  • What was the major concrete agreement reached at the Yalta Conference in February 1945? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Yalta Conference, 1945"; course topic 7.14
  • Which lesson of the 1930s shaped the Bretton Woods agreements of 1944, which created the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Bretton Woods-GATT, 1941-1947"; course topic 7.14

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to Unit 7 (Period 7: 1890 to 1945) 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, Treasures of Congress and educator pages), Federal Reserve History, the Library of Congress, the National Park Service, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, the Federal Judicial Center, the Federal Communications Commission, the Harry S. Truman Library, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Licence: Own work. Short quotations from the public documents named under each question.

How it works

This APUSH Period 7 practice test has 72 questions of our own on 1890 to 1945, some built on a line from a speech or a law. It is unofficial and not affiliated with or endorsed by the College Board.

Read the full guide

What Period 7 covers

The College Board's course description, read October 8, 2026, makes Period 7 its Unit 7, with fifteen topics. Thirteen have a set of questions here, from the debates over imperialism to postwar diplomacy. The opening topic on context and the closing one on comparison are practiced inside those sets. The Progressives, the New Deal and World War II have the most questions; that spread is ours, because the description gives no topic a share.

Where the answers come from

Each answer names the public page its fact was read on, most often the State Department's Office of the Historian, the National Archives or Federal Reserve History.

  • Sort foreign policy into steps out (1898, 1917, 1941) and steps back (the Senate vote of 1919, the Neutrality Acts).
  • For each New Deal law, ask whether it gave relief, sought recovery or made a lasting reform.

Questions and answers

What is Period 7 in APUSH?

Period 7 runs from 1890 to 1945 and is Unit 7 of the course: imperialism and the Spanish-American War, the Progressives, World War I, the 1920s, the Great Depression and the New Deal, and World War II.

How much of the APUSH exam is Period 7?

Between 10 and 17% of the exam, by the College Board's course page. The course description also gives Unit 7 more teaching time than any other unit, about 21 class periods.

Is this APUSH Period 7 practice test the real unit test?

No. The unit's Progress Check belongs to the College Board, and teachers assign it in AP Classroom. Our questions were written from the published topics of Unit 7 and from public documents. None copies or rewords a real question.

What comes after Period 7 in APUSH?

Period 8, 1945 to 1980. It begins where this one ends, with the United States the most powerful nation at the close of World War II.

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