Period 9: 1980–Present
What this unit covers
The topics below follow the published US History course framework for Unit 9. This unit is worth 4–6% of the exam, so budget your time against that rather than against how long the unit takes to teach.
Lessons in this unit
- The Conservative Resurgence13 min · 3 objectivesExplain the origins and appeal of the New Right and Reagan conservatism · Analyze the economic policies known as Reaganomics · Describe the role of social conservatism in the political realignment
- The End of the Cold War & a New World Order13 min · 3 objectivesExplain the factors that led to the end of the Cold War · Analyze how the U.S. role in the world changed after 1991 · Describe the impact of globalization on the American economy
- A Diverse, Digital, and Divided Nation13 min · 3 objectivesExplain how immigration and demographic change reshaped American society · Analyze the impact of the digital revolution on the economy and daily life · Describe the sources of political polarization in contemporary America
Every term in Unit 9
All 16 terms we publish for Period 9: 1980–Present, with definitions. Reading them through is the fastest way to find the ones you cannot define — then drill those in cram mode until you can produce them without the prompt.
- Reaganomics
- Tax cuts, deregulation, reduced domestic spending and tight money, on the theory that supply-side growth would broaden the tax base. Growth returned; deficits tripled.
- Reagan Doctrine
- Aid to anti-communist insurgencies in Afghanistan, Nicaragua and Angola — rollback rather than containment.
- Iran-Contra affair
- Arms sold to Iran with proceeds diverted to Nicaraguan Contras despite a congressional ban — a constitutional crisis over executive power.
- End of the Cold War
- Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and Soviet dissolution in 1991 left the US the sole superpower.
- NAFTA (1994)
- Free-trade zone with Canada and Mexico: cheaper goods and export growth against manufacturing job losses — the template for later trade fights.
- Contract with America
- Gingrich's 1994 platform of balanced budgets, term limits and welfare reform that delivered the first Republican House in forty years.
- Welfare reform (1996)
- Replaced AFDC with time-limited, work-conditioned TANF block grants — the end of welfare as a federal entitlement.
- Bush v. Gore (2000)
- Halted the Florida recount on equal-protection grounds, deciding the election and raising lasting questions about the Court and electoral legitimacy.
- September 11, 2001
- Al-Qaeda attacks killing nearly 3,000, producing the Department of Homeland Security, the PATRIOT Act, and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
- USA PATRIOT Act
- Expanded surveillance and detention powers, framing the security-versus-liberty debate of the era.
- Great Recession (2007–09)
- Housing and financial collapse answered by TARP and stimulus. Produced Dodd-Frank, and both the Tea Party and Occupy.
- Affordable Care Act (2010)
- Individual mandate, exchanges, Medicaid expansion and protection for pre-existing conditions; upheld in NFIB v. Sebelius as a tax.
- Shelby County v. Holder (2013)
- Struck the coverage formula determining which jurisdictions needed preclearance, effectively ending that part of the Voting Rights Act.
- Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
- Recognized a constitutional right to same-sex marriage nationwide under due process and equal protection.
- Immigration and Nationality Act (1965)
- Ended national-origin quotas and reoriented immigration toward family reunification and skills, transforming the country's demographics.
- Globalization debate
- Trade and technology lowered prices and raised profits while hollowing manufacturing regions — the economic backdrop to modern populism.
What examiners penalize here
- For Period 9, essays reward connecting **continuity and change**: immigration debates echo the nativism of the 1920s; polarization echoes earlier sectional and cultural divides. Linking the present to recurring themes across U.S. history demonstrates the long-view thinking the exam prizes.
Practice US History
Our practice bank is drawn from across the whole course rather than filtered to one unit, which is closer to how the exam asks anyway — it will not tell you which unit a question is testing.
Questions about this unit
How much of the AP United States History exam is Unit 9?
Unit 9, Period 9: 1980–Present, is worth 4–6% of the US History multiple-choice section according to the published course framework. Across all 9 units that makes it one of the lighter units, so it is not where a review phase should start.
What topics are covered in US History Unit 9?
Period 9: 1980–Present covers Conservatism, Globalization, Technology and Contemporary. We publish 16 terms with definitions for this unit, all of them on this page.
How should I study US History Unit 9?
Read the 3 lessons below first — about 40 minutes — then drill the 16 terms in cram mode until you can produce each definition from memory rather than just recognize it. Recognition is what makes a unit feel finished when it is not. Finish with practice questions and read the explanation for every one you get right by elimination as well as the ones you miss.
All 9 units of AP United States History
Unit names, topics and exam weights follow the published College Board course framework for AP United States History. AP® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which does not endorse this site.