AP United States History Practice Test (2026)

Which of the following best describes the diverse nature of Native American societies before the arrival of Europeans?

A major motivation for European exploration and conquest of the New World in the 15th and 16th centuries was to

The introduction of new crops from the Americas to Europe, such as potatoes and maize, led to which of the following significant changes?

We declare that the Indians of the said province shall be placed in the charge of our faithful Christian subjects, who shall receive from them tribute in labor and in produce. In return for this service, the encomendero so appointed shall be bound to maintain a priest to instruct the Indians in the doctrine of our holy Catholic faith, and to gather them into settlements where such instruction may be given; he shall further be obliged to defend them against enemies. The Indians shall render labor in the mines and on the lands of the encomendero, and shall deliver tribute in maize, cloth, or such other goods as shall be reasonable for the place. The encomendero shall not hold the Indians as slaves, and the grant may not be bought or sold; nevertheless, the Indians so entrusted are bound to the service and under the governance of the encomendero.

The system described in the excerpt above was primarily designed to:

“The Indians are not entirely without reason, but they have a natural inclination to be lazy and vicious, and to commit all kinds of vice. The Spaniards are not only to be praised for having conquered them, but also for having made them Christians, and for having taught them to live in a human and civilized manner. God has given them a natural capacity for learning, but they are so ignorant and barbarous that they cannot learn without great difficulty.”

The excerpt above best reflects which of the following aspects of Spanish colonization?

Before European contact, the cultivation of maize (corn) had most significantly impacted which of the following regions?

Which of the following was a significant long-term demographic and social consequence of the Columbian Exchange?

Which technological development was most significant in enabling European maritime exploration in the 15th century?

In the Spanish colonial caste system (casta system), which group occupied the highest social and political positions?

Description of an image: A world map showing arrows indicating the movement of goods, people, and diseases across the Atlantic. One set of arrows from Europe to the Americas shows horses, cattle, pigs, wheat, sugar, and smallpox. Another set of arrows from the Americas to Europe shows maize, potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, and syphilis. A third set of arrows from Africa to the Americas shows enslaved people and some diseases like malaria.

Which of the following is an accurate interpretation of the information presented in the map regarding the Columbian Exchange?

The dwellings of these people are raised three and four stories high, built of stone and earth kneaded with water and dried in the sun, which the natives call adobe. Their villages, which they call pueblos, sit upon hills and mesas where water is scarce, yet they have carried fields of maize, beans, and squash by means of ditches and catchments dug into the slopes to gather what rainfall comes. They do not travel to hunt the humpbacked cattle that roam the plains to their east, as their neighbors do, but live in one place and bring their harvests into the upper stories of their houses by means of ladders, which they withdraw at night. We saw no timber lands about them, only rough country and dry riverbeds; and yet through their ingenuity in channeling water and in building upward rather than outward, they have sustained themselves in a land that seemed to us unfit for habitation.

According to the excerpt above, the Pueblo peoples of the American Southwest adapted to their arid environment by developing which of the following?

Which of the following was the primary goal of the Spanish in establishing colonies in the Americas during the 16th century?

Description of an image: A 16th-century European engraving depicting a group of Native Americans being baptized by Spanish friars. The Native Americans are shown kneeling, some with expressions of awe or submission, while the friars stand tall, holding crosses and religious texts. In the background, Spanish soldiers are visible, and a newly constructed church stands prominently.

The image most directly reflects which of the following European attitudes or goals regarding Native Americans?

The patterns of European colonization in the Americas shared which of the following characteristics with earlier patterns of expansion by empires such as the Roman or Mongol Empires?

Which of the following best explains why African slavery became a central feature of the Spanish colonial economy?

Table: Estimated Native American Population in Central Mexico Year | Population (millions) 1519 | 25.2 1532 | 16.8 1548 | 6.3 1568 | 2.6 1580 | 1.9 1595 | 1.3 1608 | 1.0

The data in the table best supports which of the following conclusions about the impact of European arrival in the Americas?

“These people are very unskilled in arms, for they are naked, with their weapons being only spears made of cane, and some of them have a fish tooth at the end... I recognized some of them, and they recognized us, and were greatly rejoiced to see us. I gave them some red caps, and strings of beads to put around their necks, and many other things of little value, which gave them great pleasure. They are very well-made, with very handsome bodies, and very good faces.”

Columbus's description of the Taíno people in the excerpt above best illustrates which of the following?