AP European History Multiple Choice QuestionsPeriod 4
Questions 1-3 refer to the image below by Louis Casmir LadislasMarcoussis entitled The Musician, 1914
Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
Louis Casmir LadislasMarcoussis entitled The Musician, 1914
- The above painting most closely reflects an artistic trend towards which of the following?
(A)Representations meant to create illogical scenes with precision
(B)Depictions of natural objects through shapes and colors
(C)The use of singular perspectives of abstract forms
(D)Realistic images of the external world
- The artistic movement depicted in the above painting was most directly influenced by which of the following?
(A)Classical pastoral traditions found in Western art
(B)European cultural values based on Imperialism
(C)Enlightenment ideals and scientific rational thought
(D)Styles and expressions found in non-Western art
- Artists, such as Marcoussis, were most likely
(A)critical of modern, industrial society
(B)creating art for the common man
(C)outcasts marginalized by society
(D)individuals seeking radical social reform
Questions 4-6 refer to the passage below.
“But perhaps most disruptive of future peace was the discovery by the colonized peoples of the British, French, Dutch, and American empires that the most famous of Wilson’s Fourteen Points—“self determination for all peoples—applied only to the defeated Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires, and even there only to white people. Self-determination was not being offered to the peoples of British India, or French Indochina, or the Netherlands East Indies, or the Philippines. On board Wilson’s ship bound for Europe, Secretary of State Lansing had written in his diary, “The more I think about the president’s declaration of the right of self-determination the more convinced I am that it is bound to be the basis of impossible demands on the peace conference—what misery it will cause.”
Johnson, Chalmers, The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic, 2007
- What historical evidence would support Chalmers Johnson’s argument in the passage above regarding the nature of self-determination and peace in Wilson’s Fourteen Point Plan?
(A)The lack of support for the plan among the Allied governments
(B)The rise of anti-imperialist movements in non-western countries
(C)The creation of mandates to administer to former European colonies
(D)The rising militancy among German nationalists
- The limits of Wilson’s ideals regarding self-determination, as described in the passage, led most directly to which of the following?
(A)The rise of anti-colonial feelings among non-European nations
(B)Civil wars and uprisings in European colonial territories
(C)The rise of communism as a political ideology
(D)Ethnic tensions among Central European states
- Which of the following was the most direct effect of the trend described in the passage?
(A)Continued suppression of indigenous peoples by European powers
(B)A new era in international politics based on Enlightenment ideals
(C)The rise of nationalism and decolonization on a global level
(D)The beginnings of anti-Western sentiment in Eastern culture
Questions 7-9 refer to the image below of Benito Mussolini, 1883-1945 standing on the opened gunner's hatch of a tank.
Ingram Publishing
- Mussolini, as depicted in the above image, most clearly represented which of the following?
(A)The ideal of white racial superiority
(B)The savior or liberator of the Italian people
(C)Italian nationalism and the glories of war
(D)Leadership based on Italy’s great Roman past
- Mussolini’s theories regarding government and power were most clearly based on which of the following?
(A)Social reforms aimed at reducing class struggles
(B)Leadership based on a cult like status
(C)Policies that provided economic growth through capitalism
(D)Universal suffrage and free parliamentary elections
- Which of the following was most likely employed by Mussolini to influence public opinion?
(A)Censorship and control of the press
(B)Suppression of traditional public education
(C)Positive connections between church and state
(D)Creation of Fascist youth organizations
Questions 10-12 refer to the passage below.
“Hitler had learned several lessons from the reoccupation of the Rhineland. The first was that words of condemnation by the League of Nations had little effect because the organization possessed no real power. The second and more important lesson was that France and England would back off from meeting force with force if they thought the action might lead to another war.”
Giblin, James, The Life and Death of Adolph Hitler, 2002
- The League of Nations’ ineffectiveness against Hitler, as portrayed in the passage above, was most clearly the result of which of the following?
(A)Structural issues limiting resolution enforcement
(B)Historical affinities and alliances among European states
(C)A lack of global representation within the organization
(D)The inability to negotiate treaties
- What historical evidence best supports James Giblin’s argument that Hitler’s military successes were based most clearly on the French and British aversion to war?
(A)Nazi activities confined within Austria
(B)European concerns over the rise of Fascism in Italy
(C)European distrust for the Soviet Union
(D)His tactics of gradual encroachment followed by peace
- Based on the argument in the above excerpt, European reaction to Hitler’s activities is best described as a policy of
(A)intervention through diplomatic channels
(B)toleration and pacifism
(C)limited military responses
(D)imposing economic sanctions
Questions 13-15 refer to the passage below on the roots of the collapse of communism in Europe.
“The old Soviet empire was doomed to collapse for structural reasons. In addition to the failed economic system, politically the empire simply overstepped the bounds of feasible control. Once Gorbachev unleased the forces of glasnost and demokratizatsiyait was like squeezing a tube of toothpaste—the toothpaste cannot be put back in.”
Peter J. Boettke,economist,Why Perestroika Failed, 2002
- Based on the above passage, which of the following best reflects Gorbachev’s main goal for the Perestroika movement?
(A)Decentralization of the industrial and agricultural systems
(B)Introduce government restraints to improve productivity
(C)Discourage private enterprise
(D)Increase the government’s ability to import goods from global markets
- Gorbachev’s policies of reform led most directly to which of the following developments within the Soviet Union?
(A)Clashes between old Soviet bureaucrats
(B)The rise of radical reform groups
(C)Liberalization of the Soviet people
(D)Economic interference from foreign firms
- One long-term direct effect of Gorbachev’s reforms was
(A)increased tensions with the United States over nuclear arms
(B)the suppression of nationalist movements with the Soviet Union
(C)numerous coups to seize power by members of the Communist party
(D)the fall of communist regimes throughout eastern Europe
Questions 16-18 refer to the passage below.
“France is swamped by immigrants and it risks losing its soul, its culture, its heritage—simply put, its identity. It’s also a problem of security. Domestic security, because the people who come from these other countries, often African countries, come generally to find here what they can’t find at home: much more favorable working conditions, salaries which are evidently a lot higher, and the whole social welfare system.”
A Central Committee member of the French National Front party, linking immigration to France’s social problems; from DeClair, Edward G., Politics on the Fringe: The People, Policies, and Organization of the French National Front, 1999
- The immigration issues described in the above passage were most directly the result of which of the following?
(A)Extensive economic planning and government intervention in western Europe
(B)Labor shortages during the post WWII economic boom
(C)The growth of the European welfare state
(D)Currency reform policies of post-war Europe
17. Increases in immigration to Europe were most directly influenced by which of the following?
(A)Recruitment programs aimed at foreign workers
(B)Increased applications for political asylum
(C)Economic stagnation in former European colonies
(D)Falling European populations due to a declining birth rate
- European reactions to immigration issues, like the one described in the passage above, led most directly to
(A)acceptance of a more culturally and racially diverse society
(B)widespread ethnic and racial violence
(C)social tensions over jobs and health care
(D)creation of conservative political parties fueled by nationalism
Questions 19-21 refer to the passage below.
“On the last public session of Vatican II, on December 7, 1965, Pope Paul VI after the celebration of the Mass read his speech about the religious value of the Council that was coming to an end. The main line of thought was summed up in a thesis that today should resonate more often in the public discourse of the Church: “It must be truthfully asserted that the Catholic religion and human life are connected in a friendly alliance and that both strive for the human good. For the Catholic Church exists for the human race; it is as it were the life of the human race.”
Anthony Ciorra, Vatican II: A Universal Call to Holiness, 2012
- In the above passage, Anthony Ciorra presents an interpretation of Christianity in the 20th century based on which of the following?
(A)A Christianity divided against itself by theological differences
(B)Christianity as a fading institution in danger of becoming irrelevant
(C)A Christianity historically separated along traditional geographic lines
(D)A Christianity finding common grounds in its struggle against secularism
- Based on the evidence in the above passage, the main goal of Vatican II was
(A)to encourage unity and dialogue between all faiths
(B)to reaffirm Catholic dogma and beliefs
(C)to warn against the evils of materialism in the modern world
(D)to reinforce the Catholic monopoly on religious truths
- Religious tensions in 20th century Europe led most directly to which of the following movements?
(A)Modernism
(B)Fundamentalism
(C)Evangelicalism
(D)Secularism
Questions 22-24 refer to the passage below.
“Overlooked by the world and most Germans in those glorious fun-filled summer days of 1936 were the ever-increasing humiliations suffered by Jews in the Third Reich. The Nuremberg Laws, prepared over many months by lawyers of the Ministry of Justice and enforced on September 15, 1935, deprived Jews of German citizenship, all its rights and privileges, and confined them to the status of subjects with no rights whatsoever. They were the recipients of ever-increasing laws and decrees which invaded the most personal aspects of their lives, such as flying the German flag.”
Eve Nussbaum Soumerai, Carol D. Schulz, Daily Life During the Holocaust, 1998
- The Nuremburg Laws referenced in the above passage were most clearly influenced by which of the following?
(A)A pan-Germanic nationalist movement
(B)The ideology of Marxist socialism
(C)Anti-Communist elements within the Third Reich
(D)German supporters of parliamentary democracy
- The German justification for deprivation of the Jews as described in the passage above was based on
(A)anti-capitalist views among German bureaucrats
(B)historic grievances against the Jewish community
(C)an ideology of racism supported by scientific hypothesis
(D)a desire to create a separate but equal segregated society
- The ideals of the Nuremburg Laws as articulated in the passage above led most clearly to which of the following?
(A)Government policies based on the ideology of socialism
(B)Rising anti-Semitism on a global level
(C)Conflicts with Radical Jewish groups within Germany
(D)A genocidal program aimed at annihilation of the Jews
Questions 25-27 refer to the passage below.
‘I was still mentally and nervously organized for War. Shells used to come bursting on my bed at midnight, even though Nancy shared it with me; strangers in daytime would assume the faces of friends who had been killed. When strong enough to climb the hill behind Harlech…, I could not help seeing it as a prospective battlefield.’
“Robert Graves, a World War I veteran from the United Kingdom, describes his experiences shortly after returning from the war. He’s describing what was then called shell shock and what we today term post-traumatic stress disorder.”
Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory, 2013
- Robert Graves was part of a generation that
(A)felt enthusiasm for the sacrifices of war
(B)celebrated the values of classical liberalism and individual freedom
(C)had turned to cynicism and despair in post-war Europe
(D)embraced human struggles and their social value
- In the above passage, Robert Graves describes experiences that he and other war poets most likely shared through which of the following?
(A)Works celebrating the comradery of soldiers
(B)Works describing the horrors of an impersonal, mechanical war
(C)Works expressing extreme anti-war sentiments
(D)Works glorifying the violence of war
- Experiences like that described above led most directly to which of the following cultural developments?
(A)Writings predicting the fall and decline of Western civilization
(B)Artistic movements critical of all aspects of European society
(C)Works reviving the optimism and confidence of the 19th century
(D)The cultural movement known as Surrealism
Questions 28-30 refer to the passage below.
“Concerns about the birth-rate had long exercised public officials; with increased use of contraceptives across the social spectrum helping to lower the birth-rate to the levels of the hard-bitten 1930s, government agencies placed great stress on family life with an eye toward encouraging women to bear more children. Indeed, the welfare state as envisaged by William Beveridge, himself an eager imperialist, had been designed to “ensur[e] the adequate continuance of the British Race and of the British Ideal in the world,” and family allowances gained acceptance from as many quarters as it did because it was sold as an inducement to more childbearing. Stimulated by many diverse concerns, not least of them a fear about what effects separation from their mothers might have had on children evacuated during the war, a pro-natalist discourse emerged in the 1940s, urging women to recognize and act upon their maternal functions – to have babies – and counseling them on the dangers of going out to work and leaving young children in the care of others.”
Historian Susan Kingsley Kent on the changing gender roles for women and the impact of the welfare state in post-World War II Britain from Gender and Power in Britain, 1640-1990, 1999
- The concerns regarding birth rates and motherhood described in the above passage were most directly a result of
(A)declining moral values in European society
(B)increase in women’s roles within the public sphere during wartime
(C)the declining number of women entering into marriage
(D)the decimation of the male population during world wars
- In the passage above, Kingsley Kent argues that the British government created policies to encourage childbearing? Which of the following policies enacted by the British government would support that argument?
(A)Limiting public access to contraception and abortion
(B)Reducing women’s roles in the workforce
(C)Social programs designed to stimulate women’s maternal instincts
(D)Economic incentives and dependency upon a welfare state
- One direct long-term effect of the trends described in the above passage was that
(A)women returned to more traditional gender roles.
(B)women became less politically active.
(C)women sought more economic opportunities outside the home.
(D)women in large numbers turned to militant feminism.
Questions 31-34 refer to the passage below.
“This mad speed on collectivization reflected Stalin’s belief that there was no social or economic problem which could not be solved by force. He knew that the effort to collectivize through compulsion would mean civil war; he had said so in 1924 and 1925 when urged to adopt a more modest policy of collectivization and of ‘squeezing the kulak.’ But it would be a civil war he could win.”
Adam Bruno Ulam, historian, Stalin: The Man and His Era, 2007
- In the passage above , Adam Bruno Ulampresents the argument that the goal of Stalin’s collectivization policy was to
(A)entice foreign countries to invest in the Soviet economy
(B)increase industrial and agricultural productivity
(C)modernize the Soviet industrial and agricultural
(D)encourage a free market system for agricultural products
- Stalin’s ‘squeezing the kulak’ represented Communist ideology by which of the following?
(A)The kulak were viewed as enemies to the cause of class struggle
(B)The kulak were wealthy landowners and non-conformist
(C)The kulak were an obstacle to liberation of the proletariat
(D)The kulak represented the evils of free enterprise
- Stalin’s belief in solving problems by force as described in the passage above led most directly to which of the following?
(A)Social programs demanding that people practice austerity and self-denial
(B)A campaign of repression and terror
(C)Expulsion of radical members of the Communist party
(D)Systematic use of propaganda and psychological warfare
- Stalin’s main goal surrounding his forceful tactics described in the passage above was to
(A)strengthen and enrich his country
(B)create a self-sufficient society
(C)change European perceptions of Soviet backwardness
(D)consolidate his power by suppressing dissension
Questions 35-37 refer to the passage below.
“A week before, on his sixth peacetime visit to the United States, Winston Churchill proclaimed that the Marshall Plan constituted ‘a turning point in the history of the world.’
“In late June 1949, Arthur Vandenberg wrote: ‘It seems to be the rather general opinion that we are winning this ‘cold war’ through ECA [Economic Cooperation Authority]and the North Atlantic Pact. In my opinion, if it were not for these policies, Soviet Communism would today be in the substantial control of Europe and this would post the greatest threat to our own national security in the lifetime of the republic.’ ”
Greg Behrman, The Most Noble Adventure: The Marshall Plan and the Time When America Helped Save Europe, 2007
- Based on the above passage, the U.S. and Western Europe attempted to utilize the Marshall Planagainst the Communist threat by which of the following?
(A)A policy of appeasement that was patient and firm