• 53 questions

APUSH Period 9 Practice Test

Unofficial multiple-choice practice for Period 9 of AP United States History, 1980 to the present.

Ronald Reagan closed his 1980 debate with President Carter by asking: "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" What was the question meant to do?

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

Print covers the next 25 questions. Share this set copies a link to the same questions in the same order.

More options

Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the College Board. Bank checked October 9, 2026.

Next step AP US History practice test: all nine periodsAPUSH Period 8 practice test

All 53 questions

Topic 9.2: Reagan and conservatism 14

  • President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, told Congress in January 1996: "The era of big Government is over." What does the line best show? The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara, William J. Clinton, Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union, January 23, 1996; course topic 9.2
  • Reagan took office promising to curb federal regulation of business. Which statement about deregulation does the record support? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.2
  • Reagan's advisers believed in supply-side economics. What did they predict his tax and budget cuts of 1981 would do? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.2
  • The Republican "Contract with America" of 1994 promised House votes within 100 days on a balanced budget amendment, welfare cuts with work requirements and term limits. What followed that year's election? Teaching American History, Ashland University, "Republican Contract with America" (1994); Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Bill Clinton: Campaigns and Elections"; course topic 9.2
Show all 53 questions (49 more)

Topic 9.2: Reagan and conservatism, continued

  • Ronald Reagan closed his 1980 debate with President Carter by asking: "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" What was the question meant to do? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Campaigns and Elections"; course topic 9.2
  • The Senate voted unanimously against an early Reagan attempt to change Social Security, and in 1983 he joined House Speaker Tip O'Neill in a compromise that kept the program solvent. What does the episode best show? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.2
  • The top marginal income tax rate was 70 percent when Reagan took office in 1981. What was it when he left in 1989? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.2
  • What happened to the national debt during Reagan's two terms? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.2
  • What was the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 designed to do? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Barack Obama: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.2
  • Which describes the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the best-known domestic law of Reagan's second term? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.2
  • Which movement rose in 2009 in angry opposition to the bill that became the Affordable Care Act? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Barack Obama: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.2
  • Which statement about the welfare reform law of 1996 is accurate? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Bill Clinton: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.2
  • Why did many conservative Republicans feel betrayed by President George H. W. Bush in 1990? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "George H. W. Bush: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.2
  • Why did President Clinton's plan for health insurance for every American fail in 1994? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Bill Clinton: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.2

Topic 9.3: The end of the Cold War 13

  • In a televised address on March 23, 1983, Reagan asked American scientists "to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete." What was he proposing? The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara, Ronald Reagan, Address to the Nation on Defense and National Security, March 23, 1983; Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Foreign Affairs"; course topic 9.3
  • President George H. W. Bush sent American troops to Somalia near the end of his term to help ease a famine. What led President Clinton to order them out? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "George H. W. Bush: Foreign Affairs" and "Bill Clinton: Foreign Affairs"; course topic 9.3
  • President Reagan told the National Association of Evangelicals in March 1983 not "to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire." Which proposal was he urging his listeners to reject? The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara, Ronald Reagan, Remarks at the Annual Convention of the National Association of Evangelicals, March 8, 1983; course topic 9.3
  • What did Reagan expect his military buildup to do to the Soviet Union? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Foreign Affairs"; course topic 9.3
  • What ended the fighting in Bosnia in 1995? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Bill Clinton: Foreign Affairs"; course topic 9.3
  • What made the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty of December 1987 a first in the Cold War? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Foreign Affairs"; course topic 9.3
  • What was the "diversion" at the center of the Iran-Contra affair? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Foreign Affairs"; course topic 9.3
  • What was the primary war aim of the coalition that President George H. W. Bush led against Iraq in 1991? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "George H. W. Bush: Foreign Affairs"; course topic 9.3
  • Which event of August 1991 "sealed the fate of the Soviet Union," in the words of the State Department's historians? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Collapse of the Soviet Union"; course topic 9.3
  • Which Soviet decision opened the way for the revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe? Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, 1989"; course topic 9.3
  • Who were the "freedom fighters" that the Reagan Doctrine set out to help? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Foreign Affairs"; course topic 9.3
  • Why did Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader from 1985, want a less hostile relationship with the United States? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Foreign Affairs"; course topic 9.3
  • Why did Reagan send American forces to the Caribbean island of Grenada in October 1983? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Foreign Affairs"; course topic 9.3

Topic 9.4: A changing economy 9

  • A study of family incomes in Reagan's first term found a gain of 9 percent for the top fifth, a gain of 1 percent for the middle class and a loss of 8 percent for the bottom fifth. Which trend of Period 9 does this illustrate? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.4
  • The Banking Act of 1933 had walled commercial banking off from investment banking and insurance. Which law of 1999 took down part of that wall, a late step in financial deregulation? Federal Reserve History, "Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, commonly called Gramm-Leach-Bliley"; course topic 9.4
  • The Census Bureau first asked about internet access in 1997. By 2013, 74.4 percent of households reported using the internet at home. What does the change best illustrate? U.S. Census Bureau, "Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2013" (report ACS-28); course topic 9.4
  • How did the Federal Reserve under Paul Volcker end the high inflation of the 1970s? Federal Reserve History, "Recession of 1981-82"; course topic 9.4
  • In 1981 nearly 12,000 air traffic controllers went on an illegal strike. What did President Reagan do, and what message did it send? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.4
  • The National Science Foundation ran NSFNET, the main American internet backbone, from 1986. Why did it shut the network down in 1995? U.S. National Science Foundation, "Birth of the Commercial Internet"; course topic 9.4
  • Signing a trade law in December 1993, President Clinton said: "the only way for a wealthy nation to grow richer is to export." What did the law do? The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara, William J. Clinton, Remarks on Signing the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, December 8, 1993; Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Bill Clinton: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.4
  • What lay at the root of the financial crisis of 2008? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "George W. Bush: Domestic Affairs"; Federal Reserve History, "The Great Recession"; course topic 9.4
  • Which workers lost the most jobs in the recession of 1981-82? Federal Reserve History, "Recession of 1981-82"; course topic 9.4

Topic 9.5: Migration and immigration 7

  • After the 2020 Census, Texas gained two seats in the House of Representatives and Florida gained one, while New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois each lost one. Which long trend of Period 9 does the result continue? U.S. Census Bureau, "2020 Census Apportionment Results Delivered to the President" (April 26, 2021); course topic 9.5
  • How did the welfare reform law of 1996 treat legal immigrants? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Bill Clinton: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.5
  • The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 joined two measures. Which pair? Library of Congress, "A Latinx Resource Guide: 1986: Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986"; The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara, Ronald Reagan, Statement on Signing the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986; course topic 9.5
  • In 2010 nearly 40 million people living in the United States had been born abroad. Where had most of them been born? U.S. Census Bureau, "The Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 2010" (report ACS-19); course topic 9.5
  • In 2013 the Senate passed an immigration bill with a path to citizenship, but House leaders would not bring it to a vote. How did President Obama respond? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Barack Obama: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.5
  • What did the Immigration Act of 1990, signed by President George H. W. Bush, do? The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara, George Bush, Statement on Signing the Immigration Act of 1990, November 29, 1990; course topic 9.5
  • Which statement about the years 2000 to 2010 does the 2010 Census support? U.S. Census Bureau, "2010 Census Shows Nation's Hispanic Population Grew Four Times Faster Than Total U.S. Population" (May 26, 2011); course topic 9.5

Topic 9.6: Challenges of the 21st century 10

  • How did President Obama handle the two wars he inherited in 2009? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Barack Obama: Foreign Affairs"; course topic 9.6
  • President Bush called one law of November 2002 "the most extensive reorganization of the Federal Government since Harry Truman signed the National Security Act." What did it do? The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara, George W. Bush, Remarks on Signing the Homeland Security Act of 2002, November 25, 2002; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, "Creation of the Department of Homeland Security"; course topic 9.6
  • President Bush wrote to four senators in March 2001: "I oppose the Kyoto Protocol because it exempts 80 percent of the world, including major population centers such as China and India, from compliance, and would cause serious harm to the U.S. economy." Which debate does the letter belong to? The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara, George W. Bush, Letter to Members of the Senate on the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, March 13, 2001; course topic 9.6
  • Signing the USA PATRIOT Act on October 26, 2001, President Bush said: "This new law that I sign today will allow surveillance of all communications used by terrorists, including e-mails, the Internet, and cell phones." Which lasting debate did such powers raise? The American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara, George W. Bush, Remarks on Signing the USA PATRIOT ACT of 2001, October 26, 2001; course topic 9.6
  • What did nearly every country agree to at the United Nations climate conference in Paris in 2015? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Barack Obama: Foreign Affairs" and "Barack Obama: Domestic Affairs"; course topic 9.6
  • What was the "surge" of January 2007? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "George W. Bush: Foreign Affairs"; course topic 9.6
  • What was the Bush administration's main public case for invading Iraq in 2003? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "George W. Bush: Foreign Affairs"; course topic 9.6
  • Which idea was central to the Bush Doctrine, set out in the National Security Strategy of September 2002? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "George W. Bush: Foreign Affairs"; course topic 9.6
  • Which question about rights did the detention of accused terrorists at Guantanamo Bay raise? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "George W. Bush: Foreign Affairs"; course topic 9.6
  • Why did the United States begin air strikes in Afghanistan on October 7, 2001? Miller Center, University of Virginia, "George W. Bush: Foreign Affairs"; course topic 9.6

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to Unit 9 (Period 9: 1980-Present) 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 2026-10-09. Each fact was read on 2026-10-09 in the public page named under its question: the Miller Center of the University of Virginia, the Office of the Historian of the U.S. Department of State, The American Presidency Project (University of California, Santa Barbara), Federal Reserve History, the Census Bureau, the Library of Congress, the National Science Foundation and Teaching American History (Ashland University). Licence: Own work. Short quotations from the public documents named under each question.

How it works

This APUSH Period 9 practice test has 53 questions of our own on 1980 to the present, from Reagan's tax cuts to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is unofficial and not affiliated with the College Board, AP's owner.

Read the full guide

What Period 9 covers

Unit 9 of the College Board's course description, read October 9, 2026, has seven topics. Five have a set here: Reagan and conservatism (14 questions), the end of the Cold War (13), a changing economy (9), migration and immigration (7) and the challenges of the 21st century (10). Context and causation, the first and last topics, run through the others. The numbers are our choice; the description weights no topic.

Where the answers come from

The link under each answer opens the page it rests on: a Miller Center essay, a State Department history, a presidential speech, a Census Bureau release.

  • Give each president one fight at home and one abroad. Reagan: tax cuts and the Soviet Union. Clinton: welfare reform and Bosnia.
  • Watch for continuity. Deregulation began under Carter, and Clinton, a Democrat, signed welfare reform.

Questions and answers

What is Period 9 in APUSH?

Period 9 is 1980 to the present: the conservative turn that began with Reagan, the end of the Cold War, the shift to a digital and service economy, immigration from Latin America and Asia, and the wars and debates that followed September 11, 2001.

Is an APUSH time period 9 practice test the same as a Unit 9 test?

Yes. Unit 9 of the course is Period 9, so the questions on this page fit either name.

What should an APUSH Period 9 study guide cover?

The five content topics of Unit 9, from Reagan and conservatism to the challenges of the 21st century, with one law, one speech and one turning point for each.

How much of the APUSH exam is Period 9?

From 4 to 6% of the exam, by the College Board's course page, the same as Period 1. The course description gives Unit 9 about 8 class periods.

Are these real AP exam questions?

No. Real AP questions belong to the College Board, and none is used or reworded here. These were written for this site from the topics of Unit 9.

More tests

Show 8 more

Browse Civics and Law