Unit 3: Period 3 (1754–1800)
AP US History: 64 practice questions with detailed explanations.
Unit Study Guide
Executive Summary
Period 3 spans the crisis of empire: the French and Indian War, the Revolution, the Articles' failure, the Constitution, and the first party battles.
Road to revolution
The French and Indian War (1754–63) expelled France from North America but left Britain deep in debt. Parliament taxed the colonies (Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Townshend Acts, Tea Act) without representation. Colonial resistance — boycotts, the Sons of Liberty, the Boston Tea Party — met the Intolerable Acts. Lexington and Concord (1775) began the war; the Declaration of Independence (1776) justified it.
The Revolution
Enlightenment ideas (Locke's natural rights) shaped the Declaration. Patriots defeated the British with French alliance help; Saratoga (1777) brought France in, and Yorktown (1781) ended major fighting. The Treaty of Paris (1783) recognized independence.
Governing experiments
The Articles of Confederation created a weak central government that could not tax or regulate commerce. Shays' Rebellion (1786–87) exposed its weakness, prompting the Constitutional Convention (1787). Compromises — the Great Compromise, Three-Fifths Compromise, slave trade clause — produced the Constitution; the Federalist Papers defended it; the Bill of Rights secured ratification.
The early republic
Washington's precedents, Hamilton's financial plan, the Whiskey Rebellion, and the French Revolution's spillover shaped the 1790s. Federalists (Hamilton) and Democratic-Republicans (Jefferson) split over the bank, foreign policy, and federal power. The Revolution of 1800 transferred power peacefully between parties.
Exam traps
The Constitution was a REPLACEMENT for the Articles, not an amendment of them. The Bill of Rights was added to win ratification, not part of the original 1787 text. The Revolution was fought over representation and rights, not taxes alone. Hamilton's bank debate was about strict vs loose construction.