Period 8 · 1945–1980 · 10–17% OF THE EXAM

APUSH Unit 8 Practice Questions

Unit 8 covers the Cold War from containment to détente, McCarthyism, the civil rights movement from Brown to Black Power, the Great Society, the Vietnam War, and the social movements and crises of the 1960s and 1970s.

Unit 8 quick facts

Time period
1945–1980
Exam weight
10–17% of the APUSH exam
Unit practice
24+ Unit 8 questions
Adaptive bank
144+ questions in Periods VI, VII, & VIII
Start Unit 8 Practice ☞

144+ adaptive questions · free · no sign-up required

How to study APUSH Unit 8

  1. Review the time period first: 1945–1980 is the boundary for most Unit 8 questions.
  2. Connect each fact to a larger APUSH theme, especially causation, continuity and change, comparison, and historical argument.
  3. Practice multiple-choice questions until you can explain why the correct answer is right and why each distractor is wrong.

What Unit 8 covers

Sample Unit 8 questions

“I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way.”
— Harry S. Truman, Address to Congress (Truman Doctrine), 1947

1. The ideas expressed in the excerpt most directly reflect which of the following foreign policy commitments?

  1. A.A return to the isolationism that had shaped policy in the 1930s
  2. B.An effort to acquire new overseas territories for the United States
  3. C.A strategy of containing the expansion of communist influence
  4. D.A plan for joint administration of postwar Europe with the Soviet Union
Show answer

Correct answer: C. A strategy of containing the expansion of communist influence

“I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way.”
— Harry S. Truman, Address to Congress (Truman Doctrine), 1947

2. Which of the following developments most immediately prompted the message in the excerpt?

  1. A.Britain’s announcement that it could no longer afford to support the governments of Greece and Turkey
  2. B.The Soviet Union’s blockade of the western sectors of Berlin
  3. C.The invasion of South Korea by communist forces from the North
  4. D.The successful test of an atomic bomb by the Soviet Union
Show answer

Correct answer: A. Britain’s announcement that it could no longer afford to support the governments of Greece and Turkey

“I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way.”
— Harry S. Truman, Address to Congress (Truman Doctrine), 1947

3. The commitment expressed in the excerpt differed most strongly from earlier United States foreign policy in that it

  1. A.reasserted the Monroe Doctrine’s exclusive focus on the Western Hemisphere
  2. B.rejected economic assistance in favor of unilateral military intervention
  3. C.called for an immediate declaration of war against the Soviet Union
  4. D.pledged sustained peacetime American involvement in the affairs of Europe
Show answer

Correct answer: D. pledged sustained peacetime American involvement in the affairs of Europe

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Unit 8 FAQ

What does APUSH Unit 8 cover?▾
APUSH Unit 8 covers 1945–1980. Key topics include containment and the early cold war, mccarthyism and the red scare, the civil rights movement, the great society and liberalism's high tide, and related historical developments from Period 8.
How much of the APUSH exam is Unit 8?▾
College Board lists APUSH Unit 8 as 10–17% of the APUSH exam. Students should study it in proportion to that weight while still reviewing the full course.
How many APUSH Unit 8 questions are on apush.app?▾
This unit page includes 24+ Unit 8 practice questions, and the adaptive practice session pulls from a broader 144+ question bank for Periods VI, VII, & VIII.

Study every APUSH unit

Unit 11491–1607Unit 21607–1754Unit 31754–1800Unit 41800–1848Unit 51844–1877Unit 61865–1898Unit 71890–1945Unit 81945–1980Unit 91980–Present

Source alignment

Unit ranges and exam weights follow the public AP United States History course framework. For the official course outline, see the College Board APUSH course page and the APUSH Course and Exam Description.

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