AP World History : Political History

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP World History

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Example Questions

Example Question #14 : Political Protest, Reforms, And Revolution 1750 To 1900

Which of the following correctly contrasts the American Revolution with the French Revolution?

Possible Answers:

The French Revolution had more popular support than the American Revolution

The French Revolution sought political independence from an imperial power, while the American Revolution sought to overturn the power of its own government

The American Revolution sought political independence from an imperial power, while the French Revolution sought to overturn the power of its own government

The American Revolution began as a dispute over taxation, while the French Revolution began as a dispute over inequality

The American Revolution was fueled by intellectuals, while the French Revolution was fueled by the anger of the masses

Correct answer:

The American Revolution sought political independence from an imperial power, while the French Revolution sought to overturn the power of its own government

Explanation:

While both the American and French Revolutions established new governments, the American Revolution did so by casting off the government of another country, and the French Revolution did so by replacing the government in its own country several times. Both revolutions had a great deal of popular support, and both were greatly aided by intellectuals who disseminated Enlightenment ideas. Additionally, both revolutions were concerned about inequality in their governments, which was why the American colonists felt it was unfair to be taxed without representation.

Example Question #14 : Political Protest, Reforms, And Revolution 1750 To 1900

Which of the following nations was the first to gain independence from European colonizers?

Possible Answers:

Colombia

Haiti

Chile

Ecuador

Argentina

Correct answer:

Haiti

Explanation:

Haiti gained its independence from France in 1804, following a slave revolt led by Pierre Toussaint L'Ouverture. Present-day Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela followed suit in 1811, after Simon Bolivar led a rebellion against Spanish rule. Argentina and Chile were liberated several years later in a movement led by Jose de San Martin.

Example Question #15 : Political Protest, Reforms, And Revolution 1750 To 1900

Which of the following correctly compares the German and Italian unification movements of the mid-nineteenth century?

Possible Answers:

Both movements united under three primary leaders

Both movements had the difficult task of unifying regions that were very different culturally

Both movements found success by appealing to growing nationalist sentiments

Both movements were the work of a single charismatic government official

Both movements sought to re-establish lost empires

Correct answer:

Both movements found success by appealing to growing nationalist sentiments

Explanation:

Nationalism was a hugely important movement throughout nineteenth-century Europe, and this growing desire to unite regions with shared cultural identities led to the unification movements in both Germany and Italy; however, Italians found it difficult to define their shared cultural identity, whereas German identity was often rooted in memories of the former Holy Roman Empire. German unification was also a process undertaken largely by one man, Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarck, while Italy united under King Victor Emmanuel II, Count Camillo Cavour, and national fighter Giuseppe Garibaldi.

Example Question #21 : Political Protest, Reforms, And Revolution 1750 To 1900

The reform-minded Czar Alexander II of Russia is best known for abolishing __________________.

Possible Answers:

serfdom

the monarchy

the Russian Orthodox Church

pogroms

the secret police

Correct answer:

serfdom

Explanation:

In 1861, Alexander II issued the Emancipation Edict, which abolished serfdom and ended centuries of peasants being tied to the land. The edict, however, did little to ease the poverty of former serfs, and Alexander was eventually assassinated by a group of anti-monarchists.

Example Question #22 : Political Protest, Reforms, And Revolution 1750 To 1900

Landowning republican dissidents overthrew the Brazilian monarchy in 1889 in protest of which of the following reforms?

Possible Answers:

Modernization of Brazilian infrastructure

Strict government control over the Catholic Church

Establishment of a representative parliamentary monarchy

Abolition of slavery

Abolition of the slave trade

Correct answer:

Abolition of slavery

Explanation:

Although all of the answers are among Pedro II's accomplishments and initiatives as the last emperor of Brazil, the abolition of slavery was the most upsetting one to landowners, who feared economic repercussions. The abolition of slavery as an institution is not to be confused with the abolition of the slave trade, which occurred earlier in Pedro II's reign.

Example Question #23 : Political Protest, Reforms, And Revolution 1750 To 1900

Women s march on versailles01This illustration depicts which crucial moment of the French Revolution?

Possible Answers:

The execution of Marie Antoinette

The Great Fear

The storming of the Bastille

The Tennis Court Oath

The October March

Correct answer:

The October March

Explanation:

This famous image depicts the October March of 1789, also known as the Women's March on Versailles. The march was a protest of food shortages fueled by growing anger at the French monarchy, and it was led largely by working class women. These women can be identified in the image by the plain clothes that they wear, and while one woman on the left does appear to be dressed more extravagantly, she is more likely to be a member of the bourgeoisie than a royal like Marie Antoinette. The October March was a symptom of the same problems that caused other popular uprisings that year, such as the storming of the Bastille and the Great Fear, but neither of those events featured women so prominently. The Tennis Court Oath did not involve women at all, as they were not allowed to be members of the Estates General.

Image in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Image Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Women%27s_March_on_Versailles01.jpg#mw-jump-to-license

Example Question #23 : Political Protest, Reforms, And Revolution 1750 To 1900

Civilian revolts such as the White Lotus Rebellion and the Taiping Rebellion began after China's defeat in which of the following military conflicts?

Possible Answers:

The Sino-Burmese War

The Sino-Japanese War

The Sino-French War

The Boxer Rebellion

The Opium Wars

Correct answer:

The Opium Wars

Explanation:

Although a weakening China suffered many military defeats during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, none were as crippling to its government and global standing as the Opium Wars. Not only did these wars pave the way for foreign powers to divide China into their own spheres of influence, but they also emboldened angry civilians to rise up against their weak government. This trend continued with the Boxer Rebellion at the end of the nineteenth century, which also had disastrous effects.

Example Question #24 : Political Protest, Reforms, And Revolution 1750 To 1900

Which of the following best characterizes political revolutions in Europe and the Americas from 1750-1900?

Possible Answers:

Peaceful transfers of power from older rulers to a younger generation

Civil unrest caused by food shortages and famine

Communist rebellions against landowners and nobles, spurred on by the ideas of Karl Marx

Republican revolts against monarchy and imperialism, inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment

A spate of monarchist backlash against radical republicanism

Correct answer:

Republican revolts against monarchy and imperialism, inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment

Explanation:

Most revolutions in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were intimately connected to the Enlightenment, the intellectual movement that had recently swept through Europe. Many Enlightenment thinkers believed that man has a natural right to self-governance, which made republicanism attractive, while monarchy and imperialism became increasingly unacceptable. After these revolutions first broke out in America and France, many countries in central and South America were inspired to follow suit.

Example Question #22 : Political Protest, Reforms, And Revolution 1750 To 1900

Which of these best describes the Meiji Restoration?

Possible Answers:

A series of modernizing reforms implemented by the Chinese government in the nineteenth century.

A series of modernizing reforms implemented by the Japanese government in the nineteenth century.

A reawakening of classical Chinese culture, and the overthrow of the Chinese emperor in the seventeenth century.

A reawakening of classical Japanese culture, and the overthrow of the Japanese Shogun in the nineteenth century.

A reawakening of classical Japanese culture, and the overthrow of the Japanese emperor in the seventeenth century.

Correct answer:

A series of modernizing reforms implemented by the Japanese government in the nineteenth century.

Explanation:

The Meiji Restoration is the name given to the restoration of imperial rule under the control of Emperor Meiji in 1868. The practical goal of the Meiji Restoration was to rapidly modernize and industrialize Japanese society. It led to the emergence of Japan as a modern, militaristic power by the beginning of the twentieth century.

Example Question #25 : Political Protest, Reforms, And Revolution 1750 To 1900

The Declaration of the Rights of Man was a seminal text in __________.

Possible Answers:

the Catholic Counter Reformation

the American Revolution

the independence of Germany

the French Revolution

the Protestant Reformation

Correct answer:

the French Revolution

Explanation:

The Declaration of the Rights of Man (1793) was a seminal work of the French Revolution. It provided the framework for the first constitution of the French Republic.

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