Foundations to Civil War
20-25%of exam
ColonialConstitutionFederalismSectionalism
Reconstruction to Depression
25-30%of exam
ReconstructionIndustrializationProgressivismRise to power
World Wars + Cold War
20-25%of exam
WWIICold WarContainmentNuclear
Modern America + Civic
20-25%of exam
Civil rightsModern domesticGlobalizationSource analysis
Quick Facts
- Exam
- NY Regents U.S. History
- Credential
- Regents Diploma
- Time
- 3 hours
- Pass
- Scale 65
- Questions
- 28 MCQ + essays
- Fee
- $0 in-state
- Blueprint
- 2026 framework
Era Sequence
Colonial -> Revolution -> Constitution -> Civil War
1776: Declaration1787: Constitution1865: Civil War1929: Depression
Federal vs State Powers
Federal
- Defense/coin
- Foreign affairs
- Interstate commerce
State
- Schools
- Elections
- Police powers
Supreme vs reserved
Which Amendment Applies
- Speech/press→1st
- Search/seizure→4th
- Due process→5th/14th(States too)
- Trial rights→6th
- Slavery→13th
- Equal protection→14th
- Race vote→15th
- Women vote→19th
Colonial + Constitutional Foundations
- Mayflower Compact
- self-government pact
- Enlightenment
- natural rights
- Mercantilism
- trade benefits mother
- Declaration
- independence + rights
- Articles
- weak central govt
- Great Compromise
- bicameral congress
- Three-Fifths Compromise
- enslaved count
- Federalist Papers
- ratify essays
- Anti-Federalists
- demand Bill
- Bill of Rights
- 1791 amendments
Bill of Rights Groups
1-4 freedoms | 5-8 justice | 9-10 powers
1-2: speech/religion5-8: courts/cops9-10: people/states
Strict vs Loose Interpretation
Strict
- Text only
- Reserved powers
- Limited govt
Loose
- Implied powers
- Elastic clause
- Broad reach
Text vs implied
Era by Event
- 1776 Declaration→Revolution
- 1787 Convention→Constitution
- 1861-65 war→Civil War
- 1929 crash→Depression
- 1947 doctrine→Cold War
- 2001 attacks→War on Terror
Constitutional Principles
- Popular sovereignty
- people rule
- Limited government
- enumerated powers
- Checks/balances
- branch oversight
- Judicial review
- Marbury v Madison
- Federalism
- shared powers
- Elastic clause
- implied powers
- Supremacy clause
- federal trumps
North vs South (1860)
North
- Industrial
- Free labor
- Protective tariffs
South
- Agricultural
- Enslaved labor
- Free trade
Industry vs agriculture
Expansion + Sectionalism
- Manifest Destiny
- continent span
- Missouri Compromise
- 36-30 line
- Compromise of 1850
- Fugitive Slave Act
- Kansas-Nebraska Act
- popular sovereignty
- Dred Scott
- no citizenship
- Abolitionism
- end slavery
- Gettysburg Address
- preserve Union
Reconstruction Amendments
13=Free | 14=Citizen | 15=Vote
13: abolish slavery14: birthright citizen15: race vote
Muckraker vs Yellow Press
Muckraker
- Expose corruption
- Fact-based
- Progressive tool
Yellow press
- Sensational headlines
- Exaggeration
- Circulation boost
Reform vs sales
Reconstruction + Jim Crow
- 13th Amendment
- abolish slavery
- 14th Amendment
- citizen + equal
- 15th Amendment
- race vote
- Black Codes
- restrict freedmen
- Jim Crow
- segregation laws
- Plessy v Ferguson
- separate but equal
- Poll tax
- voting barriers
Industrial + Progressive Era
- Laissez-faire
- no regulation
- Trusts/monopolies
- business consolidation
- Labor unions
- worker rights
- Muckrakers
- expose corruption
- Sherman Antitrust
- curb monopolies
- Populism
- farmers alliance
- 19th Amendment
- women vote
Rise to Global Power
- Imperialism
- overseas empire
- Spanish-American War
- 1898 colonies
- Panama Canal
- trade shortcut
- Roosevelt Corollary
- police hemisphere
- WWI neutrality
- Lusitania + Zimmerman
- Fourteen Points
- Wilson peace plan
- Senate rejection
- no League
Depression + New Deal
- 1929 crash
- stock collapse
- Dust Bowl
- plains ecology
- Hoover
- limited response
- FDR New Deal
- relief/recovery/reform
- FDIC
- bank insurance
- SEC
- stock regulation
- Social Security
- elder pensions
Cold War Presidents
Truman -> Ike -> JFK -> LBJ -> Nixon
Truman: doctrineIke: detente seedsJFK: Cuba crisisNixon: opening China
Isolationism vs Interventionism
Isolationism
- Avoid alliances
- Neutrality acts
- Western Hemisphere
Interventionism
- Global alliances
- Spread democracy
- Police role
Avoid vs engage
World War II
- Pearl Harbor
- 1941 entry
- Korematsu
- Japanese incarceration
- Manhattan Project
- atomic bomb
- Holocaust
- Nazi genocide
- Nuremberg trials
- war crimes
- D-Day
- Normandy 1944
- United Nations
- 1945 founded
Cold War + Containment
- Truman Doctrine
- 1947 Greece/Turkey
- Marshall Plan
- rebuild Europe
- NATO
- western alliance
- Korean War
- 38th parallel
- Vietnam War
- quagmire withdrawal
- Cuban Missile Crisis
- 1962 brink
- Detente
- ease tensions
Primary vs Secondary Source
Primary
- Firsthand record
- From time period
- Letter/diary/photo
Secondary
- Later analysis
- Textbook/biography
- Interprets primary
Firsthand vs analysis
Source Type Identification
- Letter/diary/speech→Primary(Firsthand)
- Photo/cartoon/map→Primary(Visual)
- Government data→Primary(Official)
- Textbook/biography→Secondary(Later)
- Historian analysis→Secondary(Interprets)
Civil Rights Movement
- Brown v Board
- 1954 desegregate
- Montgomery Bus Boycott
- Rosa Parks
- MLK Jr
- nonviolent protest
- Civil Rights Act 1964
- ban discrimination
- Voting Rights Act 1965
- end barriers
- Malcolm X
- Black Power
- Civil Rights Act 1968
- fair housing
14th vs Original BoR
14th Amendment
- Applies to states
- Equal protection
- Due process
Bill of Rights
- Federal only
- First 10 amendments
- 1791 ratified
States vs federal
Modern Domestic + Foreign
- Great Society
- LBJ welfare
- Reaganomics
- tax cuts
- September 11
- terror attacks
- War on Terror
- Afghanistan/Iraq
- PATRIOT Act
- surveillance
- Globalization
- trade/tech
- NAFTA
- free trade
Source Analysis Skills
- Primary source
- firsthand record
- Secondary source
- later analysis
- Point of view
- author bias
- Audience
- intended readers
- Purpose
- why written
- Bias
- slant facts
- Historical context
- time/place
Common Traps
14th vs 5th due process
14th: states ≠ 5th: federal
Article I vs II
Article I: Congress ≠ Article II: President
Strict vs loose construction
Strict: text only ≠ Loose: implied powers
Federalism vs states rights
Supremacy: federal trumps ≠ 10th: states reserved
Primary vs secondary trap
Primary: firsthand ≠ Secondary: later
Manifest Destiny vs Imperialism
Destiny: continent ≠ Imperialism: overseas
Muckrakers vs yellow press
Muckraker: reform ≠ Yellow: sensational
Last Minute
- 1.Scale 65 to pass
- 2.3 parts: MCQ + essays + DBQ
- 3.3 hours total
- 4.Stimulus first; cite evidence
- 5.13=Free; 14=Citizen; 15=Vote
- 6.1st=freedoms; 19th=women vote
- 7.Strict=text; loose=implied
- 8.Federal=defense/coin; state=schools
- 9.Primary=firsthand; secondary=later
- 10.Brown 1954 overturned Plessy 1896
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