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CLEP US History II - 1865 to the Present

CLEP US History II - 1865 to the Present


This exam makes a nice end to a 9 credit trilogy of American Government, US History 1 & US History 2. With lots of crossover a high school or college student can earn those 9 credits as each exam builds on the others. US History 2 covers material from the end of the Civil War to Reagan with a few mentions of material of Bush 1 & 2. Here is the material we liked and used, the method that worked for us and what you must know to do well.

As with any US History exam there are so many materials available but these rose to the top:

  • CLEP History of the United States II w/CD (REA) - The Best Test Prep for the CLE (Test Preps) (A+ material, very helpful)
  • American History, 1877 to the Present (Barron's EZ-101 Study Keys)
  • American History (Minipedia)
  • The History Channel Presents The Presidents (the same ones we recommend for US History 1)
  • CLEP Official Study Guide 2010 (for the final practice test)

My eldest is the one who tackled this exam. Her method began with a practice test, just to see where she was with the material. Then she read the REA text, taking notes. Now to another practice test to see how prepared she was. Here she used the Barron's and Minipedia books to fill in holes in her knowledge. Finally, she took practice tests and filled in holes until she had mastered the material. During the entire study time she watched the Presidents DVD, at least 3 or 4 times, to solidify the timeline in her mind.

Here is what you must know:

  1. Cross over material from American Government (civil rights legislation, civil liberties, Supreme Court cases of the period)
  2. Civil War Acts
  3. Women's Rights Movement
  4. Suffrage
  5. Civil rights and Race Relations
  6. Political Structures
  7. Timeline of the Presidents (especially noting their scandals & troubles)
  8. Political Scandals (like Watergate and the Grant Administration corruption)
  9. Roosevelts (both FDR & Theodore)
  10. NOT WW1 & WW2 (this is not a foreign policy test as much as you might expect)
  11. Footnotes of US History, like US History 1

A detailed exam description can be found here.

This test was her third Social Sciences exam and was a nice capstone for her study of America. She recommends taking all three of these American CLEP exams for a high school student, studying your regular High School text if you like, and then spending a few weeks on the REA book. The next could be the Civil War DSST exam for a more advanced student.

Bottom line best resource:
CLEP History of the United States II w/CD (REA) - The Best Test Prep for the CLE (Test Preps)

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Tags:   Collegiate Homeschooling    CLEP    History    1865    the    Present
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