5 Steps to a 5: AP European History 2024 - Bartolini-Salimbeni B., Petersen W., Arata K. 2023
STEP 2 Understand the Skills That Will Be Tested
4 Take a Diagnostic Exam
IN THIS CHAPTER
Summary: In the following pages you will find a diagnostic exam modeled after the actual Advanced Placement (AP) exam. It is intended to give you an idea of your level of preparation in European History. After you have completed both the multiple-choice and the essay questions, check your multiple-choice answers against the given answers and read over the comments to the possible solutions to the free-response questions:
The Document-Based Question (DBQ) draws on material from the periods 1600—2001
The long-essay question offers three options
The multiple-choice questions are equally divided among all the time periods covered in the course
The short-answer questions offer four options, of which you will answer three
Rubrics are available for the DBQ and free-response questions on the AP Central website
Key Ideas:
Practice the kind of multiple-choice and free-response questions you will be asked on the real exam
Answer questions that approximate the coverage of periods and themes on the real exam
Check your work against the given answers and the possible solutions to the free-response questions
Determine your areas of strength and weakness
Earmark the concepts to which you must give special attention
AP European History Diagnostic Exam
SECTION I, PART A
ANSWER SHEET
AP European History Diagnostic Exam
SECTION I, PART A
Multiple-Choice Questions
Recommended Time—55 minutes
Directions: Each of the questions below is followed by four answer choices. Select the answer choice that best answers the question and fill in the corresponding oval on the answer sheet provided.
Questions 1—3 refer to the image below:
“The Plumb-pudding in danger . . . the great Globe itself and all which it inherit, is too small to satisfy such insatiable appetites.”
1. William Pitt, Prime Minister of England, and the Emperor Napoleon of France, carving up a pudding representing the globe, embody which of the following political ideologies?
A. Socialism
B. Absolutism
C. Imperialism
D. Conservatism
2. Direct political control is often linked to which of the following practices as shown in the cartoon?
A. Commercialism
B. Militarism
C. Mercantilism
D. Industrialism
3. The subtitle, “The great Globe . . . is too small to satisfy such insatiable appetites,” could be restated as which of the following?
A. Napoleon and Pitt are all-powerful.
B. The world grows ever smaller.
C. There will be no leftovers.
D. Less is more.
Questions 4—7 refer to the document shown below:
4. Which of the following would be most likely to support the goals of the Chartist movement?
A. A Tory member of Parliament
B. A Whig member of Parliament
C. A working-class man
D. An aristocrat with land and a title
5. Which of the following protectionist laws was most likely to have contributed to the growth of the Chartist movement?
A. The Secret Ballot Act of 1872
B. The Corn Laws of 1815
C. The Petition of Right (1628)
D. The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834
6. The goals of which eighteenth century individuals most closely mirrored those of the Chartists?
A. Radicals in France
B. Liberals in Russia
C. Conservatives in Austria
D. Neo-Classicists in Italy
7. Which of the Chartist demands never became British law?
A. Secret ballot
B. Universal suffrage
C. Annual Parliamentary elections
D. No property qualification for voters
Questions 8—11 relate to the following passage:
Upon this a question arises: whether it is better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with. Because this is to be asserted in general of men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous, and as long as you succeed they are yours entirely; they will offer you their blood, property, life, and children, as is said above, when the need is far distant; but when it approaches, they turn against you. And that prince who, relying entirely on their promises, has neglected other precautions, is ruined; because friendships that are obtained by payments, and not by greatness or nobility of mind, may indeed be earned but they are not secured, and in time of need cannot be relied upon; and men have less scruple in offending one who is beloved than one who is feared, for love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails.
Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, 1513
8. Machiavelli’s view of the nature of man could be summed up as follows:
A. Man means well, but lacks willpower.
B. Man is inherently bad.
C. Man is loyal.
D. Man cannot choose his nature.
9. According to Machiavelli, being feared is more desirable than being loved for which particular reason?
A. Love prompts jealousy, which is destructive.
B. Fear is an inevitable human condition.
C. Love makes men weak.
D. Fear implies the threat of a penalty.
10. What does Machiavelli mean when he says that “men love at their own convenience, but are afraid at the convenience of others”?
A. Men respond to that which is easiest.
B. Love is more comfortable than compelling.
C. Men are afraid of their own desires.
D. Fear is compelled from without.
11. Which of the following figures in European history most exemplifies Machiavelli’s political philosophy?
A. Elizabeth I of England
B. Giuseppe Garibaldi
C. Louis XIV of France
D. Joseph Stalin
Questions 12—14 refer to the passage below:
The winter of 1788—1789 was extremely cold. In Venice the lagoon froze over . . . There were ice floes in the Seine in Paris . . . France had had a poor harvest the previous summer, and the people were suffering, anxious, and restless. In the provinces there were riots and looting. . . . It was . . . the winter of the aristocratic grasshoppers who had spent the summer ringing and dancing. . . . The luxury and ostentation of . . . the nobility and clergy . . . scandalized the ordinary people in that springtime of scarcity. . . . The humble people . . . were about to make their grievances heard.
Jean Starobinski, 1789: The Emblems of Reason
12. Climate extremes alone did not lead to the French Revolution, but did give rise to what political action on the part of the people?
A. The killing of farmers
B. Removal of the clergy
C. The Bread Riots
D. The storming of the Bastille
13. The passage makes clear that the French Revolution included members of which social group?
A. Merchants
B. Peasants
C. Clergy
D. Bureaucrats
14. Which of the following best summarizes the author’s position?
A. The French Revolution was a rural phenomenon.
B. The reaction of the nobility contributed to the French Revolution.
C. The extreme climate was directly responsible for the French Revolution.
D. The French Revolution was inevitable.
Questions 15—18 relate to the following passage, describing first encounters with native peoples:
It has been a while since I’ve written . . . but this letter will let you know that about a month ago I returned safe and sound to Seville [Spain], thanks be to God, from the Indies. . . . It seems to me that the opinion of the majority of philosophers that one cannot live in the Torrid Zone is mistaken. During this trip, I found just the opposite to be true. . . . And, let it be said sotto voce, practice is worth more than theory.
. . . When we neared land, we saw many people on the beach. They looked on us with great wonder . . . We landed with 22 well-armed men. The people, when they saw us land and realized that we were completely different from them—they don’t wear beards, or clothes (men and women alike), and are a different color (they are grey-ish and fawn-colored and we are white)—were afraid and fled to the forest. We learned that they are called cannibals. They live off human meat. I know this for certain: they don’t eat each other, but go off in their boats, called “canoes,” and hunt on nearby islands or the mainland. They never eat women, unless they are slaves. . . . They are a kind people and handsome. They use bows and arrows. They are terrific shots and very courageous. We established friendly relations with them and they took us to their village, about two leagues from the sea. They gave us lunch, and anything that we wanted, really, either because they were afraid of us or out of friendship. Having spent an entire day with them, we returned to our ships, being good friends.
Amerigo Vespucci, “Letter from Seville,” 1500
15. If Vespucci’s thoughts are indicative, what was the European reaction to specific indigenous peoples?
A. Fear
B. Paternalism
C. Isolationism
D. Love
16. According to the passage, what was the indigenous peoples’ first reaction to Europeans?
A. Panic
B. Pragmatism and caution
C. Inspiration to learn a new language
D. Acceptance
17. Why did the Europeans not seize property and goods from these particular people?
A. The Europeans were outnumbered.
B. The Europeans did not feel provoked, but benevolent.
C. The natives’ weaponry intimidated the Europeans.
D. The natives hid their property and goods in the forest.
18. Vespucci’s letter to his patron is, in general, characterized by which of the following?
A. A sense of wonder
B. Opportunism
C. Idealism
D. Condescension
Questions 19—22 refer to the document below:
The principal object . . . in these Poems was to choose incidents and situations from common life . . . and, at the same time, to throw over them a certain colouring of imagination, . . . Humble and rustic life was generally chosen, because, in that condition, the essential passions of the heart find a better soil in which they can attain their maturity, are less under restraint, and speak a plainer and more emphatic language; because in that condition of life our elementary feelings coexist in a state of greater simplicity. . . . For all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings. . . .
[The poet] considers man and nature as essentially adapted to each other, and the mind of man as naturally the mirror of the fairest and most interesting qualities of nature. And thus the Poet . . . converses with general nature with affections akin to those, which, through labour and length of time, the Man of Science has raised up in himself, by conversing with those particular parts of nature which are the objects of his studies. The knowledge both of the Poet and the Man of Science is pleasure; but the knowledge of the one cleaves to us as a necessary part of our existence, our natural and unalienable inheritance; the other is a personal and individual acquisition, slow to come to us, and by no habitual and direct sympathy connecting us with our fellow-beings.
The Man of Science seeks truth as a remote and unknown benefactor; he cherishes and loves it in his solitude: the Poet, singing a song in which all human beings join with him, rejoices in the presence of truth as our visible friend and hourly companion.
William Wordsworth, Preface to Lyrical Ballads (1802)
19. Based on the passage, which subject would the author be most likely to write about?
A. The joys of rural life
B. The plight of the poor
C. The bustle of the city
D. The natural laws of the physical world
20. Which phrase or paraphrase from the passage best supports the response in the previous question?
A. . . . through labour and length of time, the Man of Science has raised up in himself
B. . . . For all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.
C. . . . The Man of Science seeks truth as a remote and unknown benefactor;
D. . . . rustic life was generally chosen, because [there] our elementary feelings coexist in greater simplicity
21. With which artistic or creative movement would these beliefs most be associated?
A. Baroque
B. Surrealism
C. Romanticism
D. Cubism
22. This creative and artistic movement developed, in part, as a reaction against which of the following historical phenomena?
A. The Industrial Revolution
B. Immigration
C. Imperialism
D. Mercantilism
Questions 23—26 refer to the image below:
23. This table most likely provides data from the perspective of which European nation?
A. Germany
B. France
C. Great Britain
D. Switzerland
24. Based on the graph, with which European Union member nation does the subject have the most favorable balance of trade?
A. Germany
B. Ireland
C. Cyprus
D. Andorra
25. Which of the following is an economic advantage for members of the European Union (EU)?
A. All members use a common currency.
B. There is free movement of goods within the European Union.
C. They can impose punitive tariffs on other members’ goods
D. There is a standard minimum wage within the European Union.
26. What is the name given to the process of Great Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union?
A. Maastricht
B. The Geneva Conventions
C. Brexit
D. Article 50 Revocation
Questions 27—30 refer to the passages below, from the play by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart used as the basis for his opera The Marriage of Figaro and from the French king’s response to the opera generally:
“By an accident of birth,/He’s the master, I’m the slave./If some day, wealth should follow worth,/He’d starve, and I’d take all he has./Some will say ’It’s nature’s balance:/Blood should count for more than talent.’/My lords: Remember, wise men say,/That every dog will have his day.”
Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro, 1786
“It [the opera] is detestable! That shall never be played; it would be necessary to destroy the Bastille before the presentation of this . . . ! This man mocks everything which ought to be respected in a Government!”
King Louis XVI of France, 1786
27. What does Beaumarchais mean by the phrase “Blood should count for more than talent”?
A. Talent is inborn.
B. Class rank is a tradition.
C. Merit outweighs birthright.
D. Masters will always be strong.
28. According to the king, the Bastille represents what concept?
A. Equality
B. Fraternity
C. Monarchy
D. Liberty
29. What does the line “every dog will have his day” mean?
A. Every person will be overcome by animals.
B. Every being will have moments of success.
C. Every person will maintain the status quo.
D. Every being will prove to be opportunistic.
30. In what way are the arts a reliable source for the study of history?
A. They give a realistic portrait of an age.
B. They can speak of ideals and desires.
C. They present a contemporary point of view.
D. They represent the official voice of an era.
Questions 31—33 relate to the following passage:
“In earlier times, to possess an idea or a fact meant keeping it secret, having the power to prevent others from knowing it. Maps of treasure routes were guarded and the first postal services were designed for the security of the state. Physicians and lawyers locked their knowledge in a learned language. The government helped craft guilds to exclude trespassers from their secrets . . . Europe’s ancient institutions of learning, colleges and universities, had been founded not to discover the new but to transmit a heritage.”
Daniel J. Boorstin, The Discoverers, 1983
31. Guarding knowledge was a standard practice for which of the following reasons?
A. Prevention of competition
B. Maintenance of the use of secret languages
C. Cultivation of xenophobia
D. Consolidation of power and control
32. Not only physicians and lawyers, but merchants and the clergy used which “learned language”?
A. Greek
B. Latin
C. Hebrew
D. Arabic
33. The invention of moveable type helped change the status quo because of which long-term effect?
A. The establishment of the publishing industry
B. The opening up of possibilities for social advancement
C. The destruction of financial security
D. The transmission of established traditions
Questions 34— 38 refer to the image below:
This cartoon by Cham appeared in Le Chirivari in 1866. The caption reads, “It is one thing to know how to use a needle, but it is a talent that should not be abused.”
34. Which best expresses the author’s tone?
A. Overjoyed
B. Concerned
C. Militaristic
D. Indifferent
35. Who is the most likely figure portrayed in the cartoon?
A. Tsar Nicholas II
B. Otto von Bismarck
C. Napoleon III
D. Prince Klemens von Metternich
36. The cartoon is most likely from the point of view of which European nation?
A. Italy
B. France
C. Russia
D. Great Britain
37. Which military conflict most directly resulted from the forces indicated in the cartoon?
A. The Franco-Prussian War
B. The Seven Years’ War
C. The Thirty Years’ War
D. World War I
38. Which political philosophy contributed to the events portrayed in the cartoon?
A. Liberalism
B. Socialism
C. Utilitarianism
D. Nationalism
Questions 39—41 refer to the woodcut below:
Woodcut based on drawing by Walter Crane. It was published in 1889, after May 1 had been declared an international day of worker solidarity. The banner reads: Workers of the World, Unite!
39. Which of the following is most likely the intended audience of the poster?
A. Politicians in Europe
B. Indigenous peoples around the world
C. Working-class individuals
D. International capitalists
40. The woman at the top of the image is labeled “Freiheit,” which translates to “Freedom.” In what sense is the artist advocating for freedom?
A. Freedom of religion around the world
B. Universal suffrage
C. Decolonization in Africa and Asia
D. Economic independence of workers
41. In which nation or region did these sentiments lead to a political and economic revolution?
A. Russia
B. France
C. Germany
D. The Balkans
Questions 42—46 refer to the document below:
The following is an excerpt from a speech given in 1895 by Hermann Ahlwardt, author of The Desperate Struggle between Aryan and Jew, to fellow members of the Reichstag, in which he advocates closing Germany’s borders to Jews:
My political friends do not hold the view that we fight the Jews because of their religion. . . . We would not dream of waging a political struggle against anyone because of his religion. . . . We hold the view that the Jews are a different race, a different people with entirely different character traits. . . . We Teutons are rooted in the cultural soil of labor. . . . The Jews do not believe in the culture of labor, they . . . want to appropriate, without working, the values which others have created . . .
Herr Deputy Rickert here has just expounded how few Jews we have altogether and that their number is steadily declining. . . . Why don’t you go to the main business centers and see for yourselves whether the percentages indicated by Herr Rickert prevail there too . . .
It is one thing when a Pole, a Russian, a Frenchman, a Dane immigrates to our country, and quite another thing when a Jew settles here. Once our (Polish, etc.) guests have lived here for ten, twenty years, they come to resemble us. For they have stood with us on the same cultural soil of labor. . . . After thirty, forty years they have become Germans and their grandchildren would be indistinguishable from us. . . . The Jews have lived here for 700, 800 years but have they become Germans? Have they placed themselves on the cultural soil of labor? They never even dreamed of such a thing . . .
How many thousands of Germans have perished as a result of this Jewish exploitation. . . . Is there no one to think of all those hundreds of thousands, nor of those millions of workers whose wages grow smaller and smaller because Jewish competition brings the prices down? . . . What we want is a clear and reasonable separation of the Jews from the Germans. An immediate prerequisite is that we slam the door and see to it that no more of them get in.
42. Which statement best summarizes the argument of Hermann Ahlwardt regarding Jews in Germany?
A. Jews can be assimilated in Germany, but only after several generations.
B. Jews enhance the economic strength of Germany.
C. The Jewish religion leads to immoral behavior.
D. The Jews are incompatible with the well-being of German workers.
43. Which statement would have served as a counterargument to Hermann Ahlwardt’s views?
A. There were too few Jews in Germany to have much impact.
B. Jews in Germany had no political power.
C. The Jewish religion advocates non-violence.
D. Jewish people obeyed the laws, served in the military, and paid taxes.
44. Which historical incident exemplified anti-Semitism as reflected in this passage?
A. The XYZ affair
B. The Dreyfus Affair
C. The Ems Telegram
D. The Nuremberg Trials
45. Zionism developed as a response to European anti-Semitism as reflected in this passage. Which statement best articulates this policy?
A. Use civil disobedience to draw attention to the plight of the Jews.
B. To ensure their safety, a Jewish state must be established.
C. To properly assimilate, Jews should convert to Christianity.
D. Jewish people should engage in armed resistance.
46. Which of the following is true regarding anti-Semitism?
A. It was only located in Germany.
B. Government policies eradicated it by World War I.
C. It was exploited by German politicians in the 1930s.
D. It was fueled by resentment of Jewish landholdings.
Questions 47—50 refer to the document below:
Pervading all Nature we may see at work a stern discipline, which is a little cruel that it may be very kind. That state of universal warfare maintained throughout the lower creation, to the great perplexity of many worthy people, is at bottom the most merciful provision which the circumstances admit of. The poverty of the incapable, the distresses that come upon the imprudent, the starvation of the idle, and those shoulderings aside of the weak by the strong, which leave so many “in shallows and in miseries,” are the decrees of a large, farseeing benevolence. It seems hard that an unskillfulness which with all its efforts he cannot overcome, should entail hunger upon the artisan. It seems hard that a labourer incapacitated by sickness from competing with his stronger fellows, should have to bear the resulting privations. It seems hard that widows and orphans should be left to struggle for life or death. Nevertheless, when regarded not separately, but in connection with the interests of universal humanity, these harsh fatalities are seen to be full of the highest beneficence—the same beneficence which brings to early graves the children of diseased parents, and singles out the low-spirited, the intemperate, and the debilitated as the victims of an epidemic.
Herbert Spencer, Social Statics
47. What is the best explanation of author’s purpose in referencing Nature in the first sentence?
A. To reference animals that nurture and care for their weaker members.
B. To imply that societies are organisms that function similarly to nature.
C. To imply that we are capable of better than animals in nature.
D. To demonstrate that social class differences are God’s will.
48. Which policies would the author be most likely to favor?
A. Social insurance for the elderly
B. Repeal of assistance for the poor
C. Compulsory religious education in schools
D. Universal health care
49. On which historical figure’s work is the author basing his theory?
A. Aristotle’s classification of the natural world
B. Freud’s theory of the subconscious mind
C. Rousseau’s ideas of the nature of man
D. Darwin’s theory of natural selection
50. Which of the following foreign policies was a logical extension of the author’s viewpoint?
A. Isolationism
B. Imperialism
C. Economic interdependence
D. Containment
Questions 51— 55 refer to the passage below:
Below are excerpts from the speech “The Sinews of Peace” given by Winston Churchill on March 5, 1946 to Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.
. . . A world organisation has already been erected for the prime purpose of preventing war, UNO [United Nations Organization], the successor of the League of Nations, with the decisive addition of the United States and all that that means, is already at work. We must make sure that its work is fruitful, that it is a reality and not a sham, that it is a force for action, and not merely a frothing of words . . .
From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest, and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in many cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow . . . . An attempt is being made by the Russians in Berlin to build up a quasi-Communist party in their zone of Occupied Germany by showing special favours to groups of left-wing German leaders . . . . In Italy the Communist Party is seriously hampered by having to support the Communist-trained Marshal Tito’s claims to former Italian territory at the head of the Adriatic. Whatever conclusions may be drawn from these facts—and facts they are—this is certainly not the Liberated Europe we fought to build up. Nor is it one which contains the essentials of permanent peace.
Winston Churchill, 1946
51. Why did Churchill emphasize that the United States would be a member of the new world organization?
A. Because the United States is the world’s policeman.
B. Because the United States is traditionally an aggressor nation.
C. The League of Nations was weak because the United States did not join.
D. Because the United States holds the secret to the atomic bomb.
52. In this speech, Churchill argues for military cooperation with Western democracies in general, and the United States in particular. What Eastern European organization was formed to counter this?
A. COMECON
B. The Warsaw Pact
C. The Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact
D. The Non-Aligned Movement
53. Which event, foreshadowed in this speech, occurred soon after this speech was given?
A. Glasnost policies implemented by Gorbachev
B. The Hungarian Revolution
C. The Prague Spring
D. Formal division of Germany into East and West Germany
54. This speech is generally considered to be the beginning of which political phenomenon?
A. Détente
B. The Cold War
C. Isolationism
D. Perestroika
55. With which group is Marshal Tito, referred to in the speech, most commonly associated?
A. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization
B. The Pan-Slavic Movement
C. The Non-Aligned Movement
D. The Solidarity Union
Go on to Section I, Part B. 
AP European History Diagnostic Exam
SECTION I, PART B
Short-Answer Questions
Recommended Time—40 minutes
Directions: The short-answer section consists of three (of four) questions to be answered in 40 minutes. Briefly answer ALL PARTS of the questions. Be sure to write in complete sentences; outlines, phrases, and bullets will not be accepted. You must answer questions 1 and 2, but you then may choose to answer either question 3 or question 4.
Use the passage below to answer all parts of question 1.
1. “Not until the nineteenth century does the more abstract notion of nationality, of membership in a broad community with shared institutions, traditions, and symbols, get seriously under way. . . . The intellectual historian Isaiah Berlin once called nationalism ’an inflamed condition of national consciousness.’ By the later nineteenth century it had metastasized into the philosophy and practice of imperialism.”
100 Ideas That Changed the World, author and editor Richard Lacayo, 2010
a) Explain the author’s use of medical terminology (“inflamed” OR “metastasized”) to insert a point of view into his comments.
b) Explain the evolution of nationalism from nationality, giving ONE example of a European country that followed this path.
c) Explain the evolution of imperialism from nationalism, giving ONE example of a European country that followed this path.
Read the passage below and answer all parts of question 2.
2. “God so loved the human race that He created man that he might participate, not only in the good that other creatures enjoy, . . . [The devil] inspired his followers to claim that the Indians should be treated as dumb brutes created for our service, pretending that they are incapable of receiving the Catholic faith. We consider, however, that the Indians are truly men . . . We declare that the Indians and all other people who may later be discovered by Christians are by no means to be deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property . . . they may and should, freely and legally, enjoy their liberty and the possession of their property. Nor should they be in any way enslaved.”
Papal Decree, 1537
a) Identify and explain ONE institutional result in the Spanish conquest that can be traced to this statement.
b) Identify and explain ONE central concern of the Papacy.
c) Analyze the effect of this decree on EITHER wars in the New World or on the slave trade.
3. Answer Parts (a), (b), and (c).
a) Identify and explain ONE effect of the invention of the printing press.
b) Identify and explain ONE effect of the Scientific Revolution.
c) Identify and explain ONE effect of the establishment of secular (nonreligious) universities.
4. Answer Parts (a), (b), and (c).
a) Explain the role of globalization in ongoing migration, or, the movement of people from one location to another, whether national or international.
b) Identify ONE cause for migration to and from European countries in the modern era.
c) Identify ONE long-term, positive effect of migration to and from European countries in the modern era.
STOP. End of Section I.
AP European History Diagnostic Exam
SECTION II, PART A
Document-Based Question
Recommended Time—60 minutes
Directions: The following question is based on Documents 1—7 provided below. (The documents have been edited for the purpose of this exercise.) The historical thinking skills that this question is designed to test include contextualization, synthesis, historical argumentation, and the use of historical evidence. Your response should be based on your knowledge of the topic and your analysis of the documents.
Write a well-integrated essay that does the following:
• States an appropriate thesis that directly addresses all parts of the question. Supports that thesis with evidence from all or all but one of the documents and your knowledge of European history beyond or outside of the documents.
• Analyzes the majority of the documents in terms of such features as their intended audience, purpose, point of view, format, argument, limitations, and/or social context as appropriate to your argument.
• Places your argument in the context of broader regional, national, or global processes.
Question: Evaluate the extent to which the attitudes toward the education of women changed between the Renaissance and the early twentieth century.
Document 1
Source: Erasmus, Christiani matrimonii institutio, 1526
“Study busies the whole soul. . . . It is not only a weapon against idleness but also a means of impressing the best precepts upon a girl’s mind of leading her to virtue.”
Document 2
Source: Baldassare Castiglione, The Courtier, 1528
“. . . while some qualities are common to both and as necessary to man as to woman, there are nevertheless some others that befit woman more than man, . . . but above all, methinks that in her ways, manners, words, gestures and bearing a woman ought to be very unlike a man; for just as it befits him to show a certain stout and sturdy manliness, so it is becoming in a woman to have a soft and dainty tenderness with an air of womanly sweetness in her every movement. . . . For I believe that many faculties of the mind are as necessary to woman as to man; . . . [she] must have not only the good sense to discern the quality of him with whom she is speaking, but knowledge of many things, in order to entertain him graciously; Let her not stupidly pretend to know that which she does not know, but modestly seek to do herself credit in that which she does know. I wish this Lady to have knowledge of letters, music, painting, . . . in everything, she will be very graceful, and will entertain appropriately, and with witticisms and pleasantries befitting her, everyone who shall come before her.”
Document 3
Source: Moliere, The Learned Ladies, 1672
“. . . I don’t like all those useless books of yours. Apart from the big Plutarch that keeps my neckbands pressed, you should burn them all. Get rid of this fierce-looking telescope and all the rest of those gadgets. . . . Stop trying to find out what’s happening on the moon and mind what’s going on in your own house . . . . It’s not decent, and there are plenty of reasons why it isn’t, for a woman to study and know so much. Teaching her children good principles, running her household, keeping an eye on her servants, and managing her budget thriftily are all the study and philosophy she needs.”
Document 4
Source: Mary Wollstonecraft, Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 1792
Men and women must be educated, in a great degree, by the opinions and manners of the society they live in. . . . It may then be fairly inferred, that, till society be differently constituted, much cannot be expected from education. . . . The most perfect education, in my opinion, is such an exercise of the understanding as is best calculated to strengthen the body and form the heart. Or, in other words, to enable the individual to attain such habits of virtue as will render it independent. . . . This was Rousseau’s opinion respecting men: I extend it to women . . .
Document 5
Source: John Stuart Mill, The Subjection of Women, 1869
“The second benefit to be expected from giving to women the free use of their abilities by leaving them free to choose their employments and opening up to them the same range of occupation and the same rewards and encouragements as other human beings have, would be doubling the supply of abilities available for the higher service of humanity. . . . Where there is now one person qualified to benefit mankind . . . as a public teacher or an administrator of some branch of public or social affairs, there would then be a chance of two. . . . This great gain for the intellectual power of our species . . . would come partly through better and more complete intellectual education of women.”
Document 6
Source: Emmeline Pankhurst, “Freedom or Death,” 1913
“Men make the moral code and they expect women to accept it. They have decided that it is entirely right and proper for men to fight for their liberties and their rights, but that it is not right and proper for women to fight for theirs. . . . We are here, not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers.”
Document 7
Source: Virginia Woolf, Three Guineas, 1938
“Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind. . . . the value of education is among the greatest of all human values.”
Go on to Section II, Part B.
AP European History Diagnostic Exam
SECTION II, PART B
Long-Essay Question
Recommended Time—40 minutes
Directions: Write an essay that responds to ONE of the following three questions.
Question 1: Evaluate the extent to which the Industrial Revolution was revolutionary in the context of European history.
Question 2: Evaluate the extent to which the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation affected Europe.
Question 3: Evaluate the extent to which traditional imperialism (during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) compared to New Imperialism (during the nineteenth century).
End of Diagnostic Exam
Answers and Explanations
Section I, Part A: Multiple-Choice Questions
1. C. Imperialism, or the neo-Imperialism of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, subscribed to the idea that specific nations were inherently superior to others. England and France spread their influence through military conquest and political and economic control over large parts of the globe. The only absolutist (B) element in this new imperialism was the belief in superiority. Socialism (A) and Conservatism (D) refer to less geopolitical ideologies.
2. B. The practice of militarism is what makes it possible to take over all aspects of another nation’s government and its social and economic (A, C, D) systems.
3. C. “There will be no leftovers” indicates the rapacious, endlessly hungry nature of colonizing nations. While Napoleon and Pitt were exceedingly powerful, or their countries were, they were not alone in the search for new colonies (A). The world was not growing smaller (B); in fact, it must have seemed endless to those nations pursuing power. Less was obviously not enough, much less more for Napoleon, Pitt, and others in search of new colonies (D).
4. C. The Chartist movement in Great Britain was intended to secure political rights for working-class Britons. It developed out of anger and resentment over the failure of Parliamentary reforms to extend the vote to those who did not own property, as well as laws intended to drive the poor into workhouses, passed by the middle-class Whigs (B). The Tories tended to be drawn from and support the interests of land-owning elites, not the working class (A, D).
5. B. Protectionist laws usually involved using tariffs or price controls to protect particular industries. The Corn Laws protected the landed elites in Great Britain from low corn prices, but at the same time it hurt workers who were hurt by the high prices. The Secret Ballot Act of 1872 occurred after the date on the document (1838) and therefore could not be a cause. It gave men the right to vote using a secret ballot, allowing them to choose to be free from outside influence (A). The Petition of Right limited the King’s actions. It was neither a protectionist document, nor was it close enough in time period to be a contributing factor (C). The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 forced the poor into hated workhouses. Although it contributed to working-class anger and resentment, it was not a protectionist law, and therefore, is outside the scope of the question (D).
6. A. The radicals in France after the French Revolution also demanded universal manhood suffrage and an end to property qualifications. In the eighteenth century, Russia was ruled by a series of absolute monarchs. Liberal ideas did not flourish there (A). Conservatives in Austria would have opposed political and social changes, like expansion of suffrage, as they preferred traditional values and institutions (C). Neo-classicism is an artistic style, and therefore, is not the best choice (D).
7. C. Parliament does not have annual elections. Students may have to draw from their knowledge of recent European history to answer this question (for example, the tenure of Prime Ministers like Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher do not suggest annual elections). The Secret Ballot Act of 1872 gave men the right to vote using a secret ballot, allowing them to choose to be free from outside influence (A). The Representation of the People Act in 1918 removed property restrictions for males and gave suffrage to men over 21 and to women 30 or older (B, D).
8. B. According to Machiavelli, man is “ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous,” and thus cannot be dependable. This is man’s means of dealing with the world and it overrides willpower (A), loyalty (C), and his very nature (D), as it is stronger than other qualities he may possess.
9. C. In general, fear is the great motivator, says Machiavelli. Love (A, B, D) is arbitrary, and fear, though not a basic human condition with its threat of repercussions, engenders assured responses.
10. D. Fear is a result of someone else’s threats or prompts. Love (B, C) may prompt fear, but it is self-induced. Neither fear nor love (A) evokes an easy response.
11. D. While Queen Elizabeth (A), Garibaldi (B), and Louis XIV were all strong political figures in European history, it was Joseph Stalin who embodied the idea of the cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous leader that Machiavelli described in The Prince.
12. C. The Bread Riots were the most immediate and direct political act in response on the part of the ordinary people to a winter and a “springtime of scarcity,” during which the elite classes carried on with displays of “luxury and ostentation.” The killing of farmers (A) and removal of priests (B) did not happen until the French Revolution was well launched. The storming of the Bastille (D), the symbol of power, took place later in 1789.
13. B. Of all the social classes in prerevolutionary France, it was the peasants who felt most powerless and were the instigators, if indirect, of the French Revolution. Merchants (A), the clergy (C), and bureaucrats (D) would only later become involved.
14. B. It was the reaction, or lack of reaction and concern, on the part of the nobility that prompted the French Revolution. The initial concerns of the revolutionaries were based on what they saw as a settling of accounts, past due. While it can be argued that the Revolution began in the provinces (A), peasants were generally without power or means of communication; the climatic extremes (C) could be said to have been only indirectly responsible for the Revolution; and Revolution cannot be called inevitable (D) since it takes a “perfect storm” of elements to begin one and to carry it through. Revolution is almost never the result of one action or element.
15. B. The overall tone of the author is indicative of a sense of paternalism, especially as the peoples are described as being filled with a sense of “wonder.” This is an obvious reference to the superiority of the Europeans. Isolationism (C) is hardly at play here since the Europeans are exploring new areas with an eye to conquest. Fear (A) may be displayed by the native peoples; love (D) does not enter in.
16. B. The native peoples described here reacted with both pragmatism and caution by cooperating with the Europeans first having fled, then having realized perhaps that the Europeans were not going away, by inviting them into their society and sharing what they had. They did not panic (A), but rather showed curiosity, if only eventually. There is no evidence of either party learning a new language (C) or of acceptance (D).
17. B. The Europeans were not provoked by a hostile response from the native peoples and evidently felt benevolently toward them, as witness their statement that the people gave them gifts and were considered “friends.” The Europeans were probably outnumbered, though this did not seem to be a consideration (A), given their superior weaponry (C). The natives’ goods and property were hidden and thus, not readily available for theft (D).
18. D. The overall tone of the letter is one of condescension. There is a sense of allowing inferior peoples to maintain their dignity while believing in European superiority. The sense of wonder (A) is attributed to the native peoples. Neither opportunism (B) nor idealism (C) comes into play, yet.
19. A. The author states that he chooses to write about “low and rustic life” and clearly feels positively about it (“in that state the essential passions of the heart . . . can attain their maturity.”) He does not reference poor people specifically, except as one might assume that rural people are poor; however, he doesn’t feel pity for them, but rather celebrates their lives (B). There is no reference to the city, which is the opposite of his preferred subject (C). The author specifically rejects the subjects of the “Man of Science,” as he feels it is a solitary pursuit, whereas, the purpose of poetry is to connect all human beings (D).
20. D. “Rustic life” refers to rural life, where our feelings exist in simplicity. Choice B discusses poetry in a general sense, not with respect to the specific subjects selected. Choices A and C both relate to the pursuits of the “Man of Science” whose activities the author claims are distinct and separate from the goal of poetry.
21. C. Romanticism developed in the early 1800s as a reaction against the cold logic of the Enlightenment and the mechanical, urban world of the Industrial Revolution. Common themes included nature, emotion, spiritual or fantastical elements, and idealization of the past. Surrealism and Cubism are both twentieth-century movements associated with the visual arts. Surrealism expressed imaginative dreams that weren’t rational (B). Cubism tried to portray three dimensions on canvas (D). The Baroque movement occurred much earlier in the 1700s, and was characterized by ornate detail, and contrasting elements to heighten drama or emotion (A).
22. A. Romanticism was developed in the early 1800s as a reaction against the cold logic of science, rationalism, and the mechanical, urban world of the Industrial Revolution. Common themes included nature, emotion, spiritual or fantastical elements, and idealization of the past. Although there was immigration at this time, it wasn’t on the scale that would be seen later, and thus wasn’t much of a force in the Romantics’ works (B). Likewise, imperialism occurred later in the nineteenth century and did not play a prominent role in the Romantic movement (C). Although mercantilism existed during the Romantic period, it wasn’t a primary source of inspiration for the Romantics.
23. C. The graph shows the balance of trade of Great Britain. One can tell this by looking at the currency reported, British pounds. Since no other nation in the European Union uses the pound, neither Germany (A), France (B), nor Switzerland (D) is a logical choice. Also, all of those countries are listed on the graph. The subject would not have been listed.
24. B. A favorable balance of trade is one in which the subject country exports more than it imports to another country. In this case, Ireland buys over £10 billion more than it sells to Great Britain. Germany has the least favorable balance of trade from Great Britain’s perspective, as they sell £30 billion more to Great Britain than Great Britain buys from them (A). Cyprus appears to sell and import approximately the same amount (C). Andorra is not listed, and therefore, cannot be the correct response (D).
25. B. The European Union (EU) acts as a single trading bloc, with mostly free trade among member states, which is the opposite of (C). Not all members use the euro as their currency (the English pound is an example) (A). Most nations within the European Union set their own minimum wage, depending on their internal economic situation (D).
26. C. Brexit refers to the referendum held in Great Britain in 2016 on Britain’s leaving the European Union. It passed 51 percent to 48 percent. Maastricht was the original treaty that formed the European Union (A). Article 50 is the clause of the Treaty of Lisbon setting out procedures for members to leave the European Union (D).
27. B. Beaumarchais was criticizing the aristocracy, which maintained that class rank was inviolable; it was held in place by tradition. Talent (A) and merit (C) were not as important as social position, according to the author. While masters may or may not always be strong (D), in this particular case, they should be.
28. C. Monarchy and its hold over the populace is equated with the sheer size, and dominance to the landscape, of the Bastille. Equality (A), liberty (B), and fraternity (D) were the landmarks of the revolutionary motto.
29. B. Even the most alienated, marginalized, isolated people can have moments of success. Being overcome by animals is not a given (A). If everyone maintained the status quo (C), there would be no revolutions. Not everyone will be opportunistic (D) in the face of other choices, such as being considerate, benevolent, or altruistic, for example.
30. C. The arts can present a contemporary point of view not sometimes otherwise able to be portrayed. Censorship was frequently directed at newspapers or speeches, for example, which, unlike the arts, did not always use nuance or symbolism to get ideas across. The arts can be realistic (A) or idealistic and wishful (B), or they can even present an official point of view (D); but it is the arts especially painting, drawing, music, or theater that can both reach a larger audience, assuming less than 100 percent literacy, and allude to points of view rather than stating them outright.
31. D. Knowledge is power, as the saying goes. Prevention of competition (A), the use of secret languages (B), and the cultivation of xenophobia (C) are all side effects of guarding knowledge; but power and control lie with those who know things.
32. B. Latin was the lingua franca of medieval Europe, the one language held in common by educated classes. Greek (A), Hebrew (C), and Arabic (D), while all used in specialized fields of study, were not as widespread in their use.
33. B. Before the invention of moveable type and the resultant publication of books, often in the vernacular, reading was a skill limited to the elite classes; after, books and other publications became affordable and accessible to a larger portion of the population and opened up avenues of social advancement. As a result, formerly dominant social hierarchies began to change and weaken. (A), (C), and (D) are simply incorrect, though the establishment of the publishing industry and transmission of traditions could be considered side effects of the invention of moveable type.
34. B. The author’s tone can be determined, not by the expression of the cartoon character, but by the caption underneath. Thus, the author is expressing concern that Bismarck might take the unification of German states too far. Neither the image nor the caption indicates joy (A) or indifference (C). Militarism is the support of military action, whereas the author is expressing the opposite (D).
35. B. The figure most associated with the unification of the German states is Otto von Bismarck. This is further reinforced by the helmet with the spike, often used to indicate Germany in cartoons. The unification came well after Metternich’s major contributions in history at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 (D). As Prussia was a rival, France’s Napoleon III would not have tried to strengthen Prussia by unifying the German states (C). Tsar Nicholas II was Russian, and there are no indications in the cartoon that the figure might be Russian (A).
36. B. A historical rival of Prussia’s for influence in Europe, France was most likely to be alarmed by Bismarck’s efforts to unify German states, as is also indicated by the language of the caption. Since neither Great Britain nor Italy bordered Prussia, its expansion would not have been as critical as it was for France, not to mention that Italy and Prussia were allies against Austria in the Seven Weeks’ War in 1866 (A, D). Russia generally had positive relations with Prussia in the 1800s. They were part of the Holy Alliance, and Prussia did not intervene against Russia in the Crimean War, making German unification less of an immediate threat (C).
37. A. Prussia goaded France into declaring war on Prussia to provide a cause in support of which the German and Austrian states could unite. This was the Franco-Prussian War. The Seven Years’ War occurred much earlier (1756—1763), and involved many more European nations, including Great Britain, France, Austria, Russia, Spain, and Prussia (B). The Thirty Years’ War was initially fought between Protestants and Catholics in the German States, before engaging other nations. It too took place substantially earlier (1618—1648) (C). World War I was fought after German unification and is thus out of the specified time period (D).
38. D. A feeling of pride in one’s nation based on things like common language and culture, nationalism was instrumental in the unification of Germany. In the nineteenth century, liberalism referred to the idea of smaller governments to allow for more individual liberties. Although Bismarck implemented some liberal reforms, these are not referenced in the cartoon. Thus (A) is not the best choice. Socialism refers to the idea that the economy should be managed for the benefit of all, which wasn’t possible until workers gained political power. It was not a driving force behind German unification (B). Nor was utilitarianism, which postulates that actions are good if they promote happiness for the “greatest number” (C).
39. C. The woodcut has the name Karl Marx on the banner, as well as the word “proletarier,” which looks like its translation “proletariat.” These should be indications that this is to celebrate the working class. This, together with the absence of any government buildings or fancy people, should also help students reject options (A) and (D). Although the woodcut has representations of people from all over the globe, the key element is that they are workers or farmers, not that they are indigenous people (B).
40. D. In the context of communism, the term freedom refers to the freedom of the proletariat from the exploitation of the bourgeoisie around the world. There are no indications of voting rights (B) or religious images (A). In fact, communism rejects religion as a tool to subdue the masses. Finally, despite the fact that there are images of people from Africa or Asia, there is no indication of imperialist nations (C). Additionally, decolonization occurred well after the date of the woodcut.
41. A. Only Russia had a revolution that targeted both the political and economic systems, as well as being directly related to the Marxist principles expressed in the banner. France’s revolution was much earlier and was primarily political (B). Germany never had a revolution per se (C), and neither did the Balkan region, although they had many ethnic conflicts (D).
42. D. The author indicates that German workers are being hurt by Jews in Germany (D). Although Jews in Germany might have some economic success, the author feel that is to the detriment of German workers, not an asset for the nation (B). He also attributes the incompatibility to “racial” characteristics, and distinguishes them from other Europeans who could become “German” after a few generations (A). Finally, he states that he has no quarrel with Jews based on their religion, but only based on their “race” (C).
43. A. There is an indication that another member of the Reichstag argued against closing the borders on the grounds that there weren’t enough Jews in Germany to have a detrimental effect. With ideas of political equality being advanced throughout Europe in the wake of the French Revolution and liberal reforms, Jews were able to vote, own property, and hold office (like Benjamin Disraeli) (B). The other statements do not directly address the author’s claim. Whether the Jewish religion favors nonviolence (C), or whether Jews in Germany paid taxes and followed the law (D) is irrelevant to the author’s claim of their presence hurting German workers economically.
44. B. The Dreyfus Affair, in which a Jewish soldier in France was accused and convicted of passing secrets to the Germans even after exculpatory evidence surfaced, is often thought to have been partly motivated by anti-Semitism. The XYZ affair was a diplomatic conflict between the United States and France that resulted in a brief, undeclared war (A). The Ems Telegram was sent from Prussia to France, with a little creative editing by Otto von Bismarck intended to incite the French into declaring war. It was unrelated to anti-Semitism (C). Although the Nuremberg Trials were indirectly related to anti-Semitism, they involved the trial of Nazis for war crimes; thus, they redressed problems of anti-Semitism (D).
45. B. Zionism refers to the belief that the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine was necessary for the security of the Jewish people. Because it advocated voluntary relocation, nonviolent responses were not part of the belief (A), nor was armed resistance (D). Since the goal was the protection and preservation of Jews and the Jewish religion, conversion to Christianity would have been the opposite of their goal (D).
46. C. While anti-Semitism may have subsided, it certainly hadn’t disappeared by World War I (B) and was used by Hitler and the Nazis to redirect German anger and frustration toward the Jews in Germany. Because Jews in the Middle Ages were prohibited from owning land, subsequent generations of Jews were unable to inherit land (D). The Dreyfus Affair, discussed earlier, makes it clear that anti-Semitism was a problem throughout Europe, not only Germany (A).
47. B. The author is a supporter of social Darwinism, so his purpose is to compare the cruel but beneficial aspects of nature’s “survival of the fittest” to the cruel but societally beneficial aspects of weeding out weaker and “deficient” individuals. (A) is incorrect as nature is referred to as having “stern discipline,” which is the opposite of caring for the old and weak. In doing so he argues that we are, and should be, the same as animals in Nature (“harsh fatalities are full of beneficence”) (C). Social Darwinists tried to apply scientific, rational principles to society, and therefore, don’t typically address the role of God.
48. B. Social Darwinists argued that social welfare programs ultimately weakened all of society by propping up those with undesirable traits instead of letting them die out, so their traits are not perpetuated. Both options (A) and (D) provide some form of social policy that would benefit the poor. Religious instruction was not part of the social Darwinist argument (C).
49. D. Social Darwinism extended the work of Charles Darwin’s theories on evolution and natural selection to social institutions. Aristotle worked with classification of the natural world but did not address mechanisms by which animals adapted and improved (A). Rousseau’s theories centered on the idea that man was essentially good, and therefore, republics directed by the general will were optimal governments. It isn’t directly connected to the idea that letting some members die would strengthen society (C). Freud’s theory of the subconscious mind is wholly unrelated (B).
50. B. If individual power and wealth can be justified by arguing that the individual must therefore possess superior qualities, then imperialism is a logical extension, with imperialist nations arguing an inherent superiority over their colonies. Isolationism necessarily implies a lack of contact, unlike social Darwinism which considers individuals in a societal context (A). Economic interdependence is the idea that nations are so economically intertwined that the failure of one will cause others to fail. This is different from social Darwinism, in which death of the weak strengthens the whole (C).
51. C. The failure of the United States to join the League of Nations is often cited as a reason for its failure. By emphasizing U.S. cooperation, Churchill is reassuring people as to its likelihood of success. At this time the United States was not seen as an aggressor nation, since they originally stayed out of both World Wars until their interests were directly threatened (B). The Truman Doctrine, which indicated a more proactive role for the United States in world affairs, was announced after this speech in 1947, so the United States did not yet have the reputation as the world’s policeman (A). Although Churchill does discuss nuclear capability later in this speech, this excerpt does not contain those references (D).
52. B. The Warsaw Pact was a military agreement among Eastern European nations and the Soviet Union, designed to counter the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). COMECON was an agreement among Eastern bloc nations, but it was economic in nature (A). The Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact is another term for the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, which was signed during World War II (C). The Non-Aligned movement was a coalition of nations who were not aligned for or against either of the major power blocs (D).
53. D. In his speech, Churchill references Communist efforts to build up support in the Soviet-occupied zone of Germany. Within three years, Germany was officially divided into the German Democratic Republic (East), run by German communists but controlled by the Soviet Union, and the Federal Republic of Germany (West). The Hungarian Revolution (or Hungarian Uprising) occurred in 1956 and the Prague Spring occurred in 1968. Neither is especially close to the date of the speech; moreover, Churchill doesn’t reference possible rebellions in Eastern Europe, only that they are falling under communist sway. Gorbachev and glasnost (political openness) were not implemented until 1985 and do not fit the themes of Churchill’s speech (A).
54. B. Churchill’s description of an iron curtain dividing Western democracies and communist countries in Europe is often cited as one of the beginnings of the Cold War, with an “us against them” mentality. Détente refers to a thawing of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, which did not begin until the late 1960s and early 1970s (A). It was a period of engagement, with military cooperation among Western nations, and with the United States actively seeking to contain communism (C). Perestroika, referring to economic reforms, was promoted by Gorbachev in the 1980s and 1990s (D).
55. C. Marshal Tito (aka Josip Broz), leader of Yugoslavia in 1953, is associated with the Non-Aligned movement. With nations like Egypt, India, and Yugoslavia, this was an association of nations not aligned, for or against, either of the major world powers. This meant he did not join the NATO alliance (A). The Solidarity Union was formed in Poland, and therefore not connected to Tito in Yugoslavia (D). Pan-Slavism refers to a movement to unify Slavic peoples, many of whom were in the Balkans. Although this is the appropriate region for Marshal Tito, the pan-Slavic movement was most prominent in the 1800s and thus, well before Marshal Tito’s time (D).
Section I, Part B: Short-Answer Questions
Strategies
Step 1. Compose a topic sentence that responds to the question and gives you something specific to support and illustrate.
Step 2. Support and illustrate your assertion in the topic sentence with specific examples.
Suggested Responses
Question 1
a) A good response will make clear that the author considers nationalism and imperialism negative outgrowths of nationality.
• Nationality, or national identity/consciousness, developed around a community based on common language, traditions, institutions, and symbols (a flag, for example).
• The author makes clear that he considers nationalism, or often extreme patriotism, to be a corruption—infected or inflamed—of nationality.
• The author uses the word “metastasized,” which usually refers to the physical spread of disease, to define imperialism.
• The author’s use of language suggests that both nationalism and imperialism are negative outgrowths of the formation of nation-states and the creation of a national identity.
b) A good response will pick probably either Germany or Italy to show how national identity morphed into the more aggressive nationalism.
• The newly unified nations of Italy (1861) and Germany (1870) confirmed their national, as opposed to regionally based, identities through the nationwide imposition of a common language in schools, the military, the media, and government.
• People began to consider themselves Italian or German, and their individual identities were subsumed by national identities and a belief in and loyalty to a larger community.
c) A good response will follow up on the points from the answer to 1b, adding the idea that one’s nation was both better and more desirable than another, and that it was almost a duty to promulgate the national identity, culture, and traditions.
• Both Italy and Germany demonstrated this kind of nationalist and imperialist thought and fervor over the years following the achievement of nationhood.
Question 2
a) A good response might begin with identifying the trinity of goals for conquest: God, gold, and glory. Also, while the encomienda or misiones, both were designed to protect native peoples and their property (gold and glory), they were ultimately tied to the goal of converting native peoples to Christianity (God).
• Of all the institutions, governmental or religious, the Church was the one that insinuated itself into every aspect of colonial life, defining legal and social mores.
b) The major focus shown in this Papal decree is on the avoidance of the enslaving of native peoples.
• Because “Indians” were considered human, and not “brutes” or animals, they were thought to have souls. This made them good candidates for conversion to Christianity.
c) Because natives were considered humans with souls, they could not be enslaved. In order to find a labor supply for the widespread and developing plantation economy, the slave trade grew, bringing Black Africans, who were not considered human or to have souls, to sustain it. This fulfilled the profit motive of conquest without presumably violating the rights of the native peoples.
Question 3
a) A good response will include any one of the following long-term effects of the invention of the printing press. It would not be an overstatement to contend that the printing press helped to incite the Reformation and the Counter-reformation as well as destroyed traditional economic and social hierarchies.
• The printed book, beginning with the Bible, led to greater accessibility to scriptural writings for secular society. No longer was religious interpretation the only road to salvation; private (secular) interpretation and conscience assumed equal importance and undercut the control of the Roman Catholic Church over society in general.
• Literacy, with the availability of printed works, increased and provided a means of social advancement. No longer was information completely controlled by an educated few.
• As literacy increased, elite control of economic and social hierarchies decreased. Use of the vernacular replace the use of Latin in religion, commerce, and law, which opened up opportunities to different social classes.
b) The Scientific Revolution could also be called the “Secular Revolution.” It sought out justification for political authority and explanation of natural phenomena outside of religion. By using the so-called “scientific method” (hypothesis-observation-experimentation-replication), newly minted scientists produced a long list of advancements.
• Among notable advancements were those in medicine. Diseases and even plagues were shown to have “natural” causes, which could be either avoided or treated.
• Royal academies and societies, like the Royal Society of London and the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris, demonstrated practical applications of theories.
• Copernicanism, which was originally an effort to coordinate the calendar and the seasons, destroyed the Church’s view of the cosmos and restated the laws of physics.
• Innovators like Galileo and Francis Bacon showed the need to use reason, as opposed to faith alone, and to understand the universe and its workings.
• General advances would occur in anatomy and physiology, thanks to hands-on research and experimentation, making modern medicine possible.
c) A good response will make clear the connection between the establishment of nonreligious universities and scientific advances.
• New universities, founded by secular patrons, offered courses of study apart from just canon (church) law and were no longer controlled by the Church.
• One lasting legacy of the new universities was the introduction of courses and degrees in the sciences and philosophy. Theory became shored up by practice.
• Eventually, universities no longer under the control of the Church allowed women access to previously denied or forbidden education, which upset the social status quo permanently.
Question 4
a) A good response will begin with a definition of “globalization.” Originally, it was defined as the economic process that inspired worldwide interaction and integration. Now it has come to include social, cultural, diplomatic, and military aspects as well. As a result it has made migration more feasible than ever before.
• The combined aspects of interaction and integration have led to the exchange not just of tangible goods and products, but of people who migrate, both nationally (rural to urban migration, for example) and internationally (often from developing to developed countries) to take advantage of improved social or economic opportunities.
b) Possible causes for migration might include, for example, ONE of the following: political upheaval, unemployment, education, or social opportunities.
• Internal upheaval, political or economic, can drive people to migrate in search of a more stable and accommodating place to live. After the disintegration of the Eastern European bloc, migrants made their way west (from Romania and Albania, for example) in search of stability and safety. In the years leading up to World War II, scientists, artists, and ordinary people made their way to safer climates, the most famous perhaps being Albert Einstein.
• Unemployment causes people to migrate in search of work. The southern to northern European migration following World War II is an example of this. Many Spaniards and Italians migrated to more economically secure areas, especially to Germany, Great Britain, and the Scandinavian countries.
• Educational and social opportunities have propelled people to leave more traditional, even hidebound, homelands to places more generally egalitarian.
c) One long-term positive effect of migration to and from European countries might include both educational and informational exchanges that can contribute to social, cultural, and scientific advances.
• One of the earliest examples of globalization and migration took place in the educational sphere: In the twelfth century, scholars traveled to various universities—Bologna, Paris, Salamanca, Padova—to obtain the kind of training they could not find at home. During the Renaissance, such international migration continued, and many scholars either remained abroad or returned home to enrich and expand education and its institutions.
• In modern times, people seeking employment have migrated both within their own countries (from depressed rural areas to more industrialized centers; southern Italians often went north in search of work) and across borders (from southern to northern Europe, again from more economically depressed areas to more industrialized areas).
Section II, Part A: Document-Based Question
Question 1 is based on the accompanying documents, which have been edited or adapted for the purpose of this exercise.
Strategies
Step 1. Read through the prompt and all the documents.
Step 2. Create a historically defensible thesis and outline your reasoning.
Step 3. Compose your topic sentences and make sure that they logically present your thesis.
Step 4. Support your argument by referring to at least six documents.
Step 5. Using what you have learned in AP European History, add at least one piece of historical evidence relevant to the prompt.
Step 6. Explain how or why at least three documents reveal point of view, purpose, historical context, or audience, and how this is relevant to your argument.
Step 7. Use evidence to corroborate your argument or response to the prompt.
Outline
A possible outline to the answer for this question looks like this.
Thesis: Although the role of women’s education developed into a focus on rights, ultimately the predominant attitude during this time focused on how women’s education affected others and and helped fulfill societal roles.
Topic Sentence A: All the documents speak to the inherent value of education; there is a sharp divide, however, as to the purpose of education.
Specific Examples: Moliere, using satire (Document 3), sets the stage by making the value of women’s education a reflection of man’s, and society’s, needs. Castiglione and Erasmus (Documents 1 and 2) follow suit. Each document states that the purpose of educating women is that it increases the standing and comfort of men, and, in the process, maintains the status quo.
Topic Sentence B: Documents 4—7 give a different idea of the value of education, assigning it value and purpose for their own sake.
Specific Examples: Both Mary Wollstonecraft (Document 4) and John Stuart Mill (Document 5) show themselves to be children of the Enlightenment. Wollstonecraft leans toward Romanticism, encouraging cultivation of both reason and emotion, for both men and women. Mill uses logic and reason to assert the benefits to society of educating women. The purpose becomes one of degree, as it were. By educating women, says Mill, society has double the abilities to better humankind than if only men were educated.
Topic Sentence C: By the twentieth century, as Pankhurst (Document 6) and Woolf (Document 7) make clear, the value of education is undisputed. It is a natural right.
Specific Examples: The purpose of education by the twentieth century is indistinguishable from its value. Pankhurst and Woolf write more to encourage the use of education to promote gender equality.
Conclusion: Read in chronological order, the documents illustrate the passage from considering women’s education as a reflection of male society’s needs and wants to find value and purpose in using all resources to better mankind.
Section II, Part B: Long-Essay Question
Strategies
Choose the question for which you can quickly write a clear thesis and three topic sentences that you can illustrate and support with several specific examples. Then follow the formula to construct a history essay of high quality.
Step 1. Find the action words in the question and determine what the question wants you to do.
Step 2. Compose a thesis that responds to the question and gives you something specific to support and illustrate.
Step 3. Describe a broader historical context relevant to the prompt.
Step 4. Compose your topic sentences, and make sure that they add up logically to your thesis.
Step 5. Support and illustrate your thesis with specific examples.
Step 6. If you have time, compose a one-paragraph conclusion that restates your thesis.
Remember to avoid these pitfalls:
• Avoid long sentences with multiple clauses. Your goal is to write the clearest sentence possible; most often the clearest sentence is a relatively short sentence.
• Do not get caught up in digressions. No matter how fascinating or insightful you find some idea or fact, if it doesn’t directly support or illustrate your thesis, don’t put it in.
• Skip the mystery. Do not ask a lot of rhetorical questions, and do not go for a surprise ending. The readers are looking for your thesis, your argument, and your evidence; give it to them in a clear, straightforward manner.
Creating Your Outline: Question 1
Question 1: Evaluate the extent to which the Industrial Revolution was revolutionary in the context of European history.
Hint: Begin by defining “revolution.” Revolution: a fundamental change; often irreversible.
Thesis: The Industrial Revolution proved revolutionary in the creation of the factory system, the destruction of the traditional family structure, and the certainties that society once offered shake the foundation of European society.
Topic Sentence A: The rise of the centralized factory system that characterized the Industrial Revolution produced a Western European society that was much more urban.
Specific Examples: In the eighteenth century, the majority of the British population lived in the countryside. By the end of the nineteenth century, the majority of the British population lived in cities. Examples include the rise of Manchester, Sheffield, and Birmingham from small villages to industrial cities.
Topic Sentence B: The Industrial Revolution created a Western European society that was less family oriented.
Specific Examples: Eldest sons and daughters moved to cities to seek factory work. With the rise of industrial cities came the rise of working-class slums. Fathers, wives, and children often worked in different factories.
Topic Sentence C: The Industrial Revolution destroyed the certainties of traditional society.
Specific Examples: In the agricultural economy, there was no such thing as unemployment. As more and more machines were introduced, the demand for labor went down, and unemployment became a cyclical phenomenon. The rise of the workhouses and poor houses in Great Britain were responses to that unemployment.
Conclusion: The Industrial Revolution replaced the traditional, rural, family-oriented society of certainty with a new urban, individualized society of uncertainty. The Scientific Revolution replaced uncertainty with possibility.
Question 2: Evaluate the extent to which the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation affected Europe.
Thesis: The Reformation of the sixteenth century challenged what was seen as a corrupt Roman Catholic Church and its failure to meet the needs of an increasingly literate population. It gave rise to Protestantism and also to the Roman Catholic Church’s response in the Counter-Reformation, leading to further adaptations in theology and continual war.
Topic Sentence A: The Reformation was prompted by a belief in the need to reform the Roman Catholic Church, and led to the creation of various new, Protestant (“protest-ing”) denominations. This separation between Catholic and Protestant churches is perhaps the most visible and long-lasting effect of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation.
Specific Examples: One central theological difference between Catholicism and Protestantism generally involves church hierarchies. The Roman Catholic Church continues to recognize the Pope as the official head of the church. The Protestant denominations do not have one central authority. The Counter-Reformation, in response to the Reformation, maintained that the Roman Catholic Church was the final arbiter in all matters of faith.
Topic Sentence B: Conflict over religious control and beliefs is nothing new. It has resulted in numerous wars, from the Crusades to present-day clashes around the world.
Specific Examples: The clash between Protestants and Catholics has been if not constant, then frequent, since the sixteenth century. In 1555, the Peace of Augsburg maintained that “whoever rules, his religion,” meaning that German princes would not go to war with one another over religion. In France, however, the enmity and skirmishes between Protestants (Huguenots) and Catholics lasted for more than a hundred years. England experienced internal wars depending on who was on the throne. Bloody Mary persecuted Protestants; Elizabeth I advocated tolerance. In Ireland, the country was divided by differing religious beliefs, which led to ongoing war and terrorism. The Thirty Years’ War (1618—1648) is known as the last of the religious wars, though it was really a dynastic struggle.
Conclusion: The major effects of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation may center around beliefs that have become personal. A loyalty to one of the other sides of the arguments that originally dealt with spiritual matters and the difference between religious and secular power have resulted in ongoing theological debate and military clashes.
Question 3: Evaluate the extent to which traditional imperialism (during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) compared to New Imperialism (during the nineteenth century).
Thesis: Although both versions of imperialism demonstrated versions of direct imperialism in how they exerted control over their colonies, ultimately they differed in their focus on economic motivation under traditional imperialism and ideological justification under new imperialism.
Topic Sentence A: “God, gold, and glory” were the motives behind much of the conquest of the New World by the Spaniards. While conversion of native peoples to Christianity was certainly an important goal of establishing a New World empire, the original motivation for “discovery” and conquest was “gold,” or the search for goods available only from Asia and Asia Minor.
Specific Examples: Traditional imperialism was visible in the acquisition of territories during the Golden Age of Exploration and Discovery as a money-making endeavor. Conquerors of the New World immediately put into place controls that allowed the conqueror to make major profits via the system of mercantilism and to keep those conquered from developing (or retaining) their own economic systems. This was direct imperialism as it accounted not only for control of the economics of a colony, but also for political and social control. Native leaders were not left in place, though some of their institutions survived conquest.
Topic Sentence B: A more indirect imperialism characterized French and Dutch conquests, mainly in Africa and Asia, and mainly along coastal regions, at least initially.
Specific Examples: The trip to acquire the fabled riches of Asia and Asia Minor was long, and often required ships to stop along the way to replenish supplies. Merchants financed farming communities along the coasts of Africa, for example, for this very reason. Investor-financed companies, like the Dutch East India Company, allowed eventual control of other’s economies, but without the political control characteristic of more direct imperialism.
Topic Sentence C: The New Imperialism of the nineteenth century was both direct, involving political, social, and economic control, and it was ideologically inspired.
Specific Examples: The “white man’s burden” of civilizing the rest of the world, or of making it conform to European ideas and ideals of civilization, was characteristic of this new form of imperialism. The Berlin Conference of 1884—1885, for example, divided up Africa without regard for tribal or governmental boundaries and loyalties, and imposed governments that took over all aspects of daily life: religion, education, society generally. Still, the underlying motivation behind much of the New Imperialism was economic. The gold, diamonds, tea, rubber, and other resources and products made conquest and control all the sweeter for the new imperialists.
Conclusion: Imperialism in all its forms seems to be more economically than ideologically driven. A lasting result was the destruction of native economic infrastructure and the marginalization of conquered countries in today’s world.