Course

Course Summary

Credit Type:

Exam

ACE ID:

CLEP-0008

Organization's ID:

CLEP-0008

Organization:

College Board's College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)

Location:

Certified CLEP test centers throughout the U.S.

Length:

Approximately 1.5 hours

Dates Offered:

Credit Recommendation & Competencies

Level	Credits (SH)	Subject
Lower-Division Baccalaureate	3	United States History I

Credit is recommended for candidates scoring 50 and above

Description

Objective:

The History of the United States I: Early Colonization to 1877 examination covers material that is usually taught in the first semester of a two-semester course in United States history. The exam covers the period of United States history from early European colonization to the end of Reconstruction, with the majority of the questions on the period of 1790 through 1877. In the part covering the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, emphasis is placed on the British colonies. The exam includes a small number of questions on the Americas before 1500. The exam contains approximately 120 questions to be answered in 90 minutes.

Skills Measured:

Questions on the History of the United States I examination require students to demonstrate one or more of the following abilities:
• Identify and describe historical phenomena
• Analyze and interpret historical phenomena
• Compare and contrast historical phenomena

The subject matter of the History of the United States I examination is drawn from the following topics. The percentages next to the main topics indicate the approximate percentage of exam questions on that topic.

Topical Specifications:
• 30% Political institutions, political developments, and public policy
• 30% Social developments
• 10% Economic developments
• 20% Cultural and intellectual developments
• 10% Diplomacy and transnational interactions

Chronological Specifications:
• 30% 1500–1789
• 70% 1790–1877

The following themes are reflected in a comprehensive introductory survey course:
• The nature of indigenous societies in the Americas. This theme includes a small number of questions on the Americas before 1500.
• The impact of European discovery and colonization upon indigenous societies. The focus is placed on the British colonies, but this theme includes a small number of items on Spanish, French, and Dutch colonization, and the Columbian Exchange.
• The origins and nature of slavery and resistance to it
• Immigration and the history of ethnic minorities
• The history of women, changing gender roles, and family structures
• The development and character of colonial societies
• British relations with the Atlantic colonies of North America
• The changing role of religion in American society
• The causes, events, and consequences of the American Revolution
• The content of the Constitution and its amendments, and their interpretation by the United States Supreme Court
• The development and expansion of participatory democracy
• The growth of and changes in political parties
• The changing role of government in American life
• The intellectual and political expressions of nationalism
• Major movements and individual figures in the history of American literature, art and popular culture
• Abolitionism and reform movements
• Long-term demographic trends (immigration and internal migration)
• The motivations for and character of American expansionism
• The process of economic growth and development
• The causes and consequences of conflicts with Native Americans, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, and the Civil War and Reconstruction

Instruction & Assessment