The curriculum framework organizes US History into 9 time periods with a different conceptual focus for each period:
Period 1 - 1491–1607
Conceptual Focus: On a North American continent controlled by American Indians, contact among the peoples of Europe, the Americas, and West Africa created a new world.
% of Instructional Time: 5%
% of AP Exam: 5%
Period 2 - 1607–1754
Conceptual Focus: Europeans and American Indians maneuvered and fought for dominance, control, and security in North America, and distinctive colonial and native societies emerged.
% of Instructional Time: 10%
% of AP Exam: 45%
Period 3 - 1754–1800
Conceptual Focus: British imperial attempts to reassert control over its colonies and the colonial reaction to these attempts produced a new American republic, along with struggles over the new nation’s social, political, and economic identity.
% of Instructional Time: 12%
% of AP Exam: 45%
Period 4 - 1800–1848
Conceptual Focus: The new republic struggled to define and extend democratic ideals in the face of rapid economic, territorial, and demographic changes.
% of Instructional Time: 10%
% of AP Exam: 45%
Period 5 - 1844–1877
Conceptual Focus: As the nation expanded and its population grew, regional tensions, especially over slavery, led to a civil war — the course and aftermath of which transformed American society.
% of Instructional Time: 13%
% of AP Exam: 45%
Period 6 - 1865–1898
Conceptual Focus: The transformation of the United States from an agricultural to an increasingly industrialized and urbanized society brought about significant economic, political, diplomatic, social, environmental, and cultural changes.
% of Instructional Time: 13%
% of AP Exam: 45%
Period 7 - 1890–1945
Conceptual Focus: An increasingly pluralistic United States faced profound domestic and global challenges, debated the proper degree of government activism, and sought to define its international role.
% of Instructional Time: 17%
% of AP Exam: 45%
Period 8 - 1945–1980
Conceptual Focus: After World War II, the United States grappled with prosperity and unfamiliar international responsibilities, while struggling to live up to its ideals.
% of Instructional Time: 15%
% of AP Exam: 45%
Period 9 - 1980–present
Conceptual Focus: As the United States transitioned to a new century filled with challenges and possibilities, it experienced renewed ideological and cultural debates, sought to redefine its foreign policy, and adapted to economic globalization and revolutionary changes in science and technology.
% of Instructional Time: 5%
% of AP Exam: 5%