In advance of the AP exam, you will prepare an “oral LEQ” for each of the following prompts. You will work in group of ______. On ______, you will present your number of essays. For each essay—a thesis, 3-5 specific evidence: what/ so what.
Google doc: share with group & me, Period number, first names
THE ESSAY QUESTIONS
Period 1 & 2
Exploration and Colonization (1492 – 1763)
1. Compare and contrast the impact that political, economic, and social factors had on the development TWO of the following regions: (note- for this essay have 3 evidence per region)
o The Spanish Colonies
o New England
o The Chesapeake
o The Middle Colonies
o The Southern Colonies
2. How did British colonies participate in political, social, cultural, and economic exchanges with Great Britain that encouraged both stronger bonds with Britain and resistance to Britain’s control.
3. How did conflict and cooperation develop between Europeans and Native Americans?
Period 3 & some of 4
Revolution, Confederation, and Constitution (1763 – 1789)
4. Explain the causes of America’s war for Independence between the years 1763-1789.
5. Analyze how the ideas and experiences of the revolutionary era influenced the principles embodied in the Articles of Confederation.
6. Evaluate the extent to which the United States Constitution was a continuity from the Articles of Confederation and to what extent it was a departure?
The Early Republic: Washington – Monroe (1789 – 1824)
7. Evaluate the extent to which the government of the Early Republic (1783-1800: Federalist era) showed both continuity and change from its relationship with Great Britain during the Revolutionary Era (1763-1789: Revolutionary War, Articles of Confederation with regards to political, economic, and constitutional issues. THE REAL FOCUS OF THIS TOPIC IS TO COMPARE THE FEDERALISTS WITH THE ANTI-FEDERALISTS.
8. “Presidents who have been notably successful in either foreign affairs or domestic affairs have seldom been notably successful in both.” Support, refute, or modify this statement with reference to THREE of the following:
a. George Washington (
b. John Adams
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. James Madison (War of 1812)
e. James Monroe (Era of Good Feelings)
Period 4 & 5
Age of Jackson, The Market Revolution, Reform (1824 – 1860)
9. "Developments in transportation, rather than in manufacturing and agriculture, sparked American economic growth in the first half of the nineteenth century." Support, refute, or modify this statement. (Market Revolution essay)
10. Evaluate the extent to which the Age of Jackson (1824-1840) was a turning point in the “role of the common man.”
Manifest Destiny, the Civil War, and Reconstruction (1848 – 1877)
11. Analyze the effectiveness of political compromise in reducing sectional tensions in the period 1820 to 1861.
12. Evaluate the extent to which Reconstruction (1860 to 1877) was a constitutional, economic, and social turning point.
Period 6
The Gilded Age (1865 – 1900)
13. Analyze the extent to which the following caused economic growth during the period from 1865 – 1900:
a. The role of the federal government
b. Development in transportation
c. Industrialists of the time period
14. Analyze the impact of industrialization on farmers and industrial workers in the Gilded Age (1865-1900) and how both groups responded to this.
15. Compare and contrast the beliefs of the Jacksonian Democrats with those of the Populists.
Period 7
Imperialism, the Progressive Era, and WWI (1898 – 1919)
16. Compare the debates that took place over the American expansionism in the 1840s (Manifest Destiny- Mexican Am. War) with those that took place in the 1890s (2nd manifest destiny: Spanish Am. War), analyzing the similarities and differences in the debates of the two eras.
17. Analyze the effectiveness of Progressive Era reformers in addressing problems of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In your answer, focus on the reform efforts in THREE of the following areas:
a. State and federal government
b. The workplace
c. Living conditions
d. Rights of women
e. Rights of African Americans
18. "The United States entered the First World War not 'to make the world safe for democracy' as President Wilson proclaimed, but to safeguard American interests." Support, refute, or modify this statement.
1920s, Depression, New Deal, and WWII (1920 – 1945)
19. “War has frequently had unexpected consequences for United States foreign policy but has seldom resulted in major reorientations of policy.” Discuss with reference to the first and second world wars, giving about equal attention to each.
20. “From 1790 to the 1870’s, state and national governments intervened in the American economy mainly to aid private economic interests and promote economic growth. Between 1890 and 1929, however, government intervention was designed primarily to curb and regulate private economic activity in the public interest.” Assess the validity of this statement, discussing for each of these periods at least two major areas of public economic policy.
Period 8
Unit 9: The Cold War and Modern America (1945 – 1991)
21. Analyze the ways in which the Cold War affected the foreign policies of THREE of the following:
o Harry Truman
o Dwight D. Eisenhower
o John F. Kennedy
o Lyndon B. Johnson
o Richard Nixon
o Ronald Reagan
22., Compare and contrast United States society in the 1920s and 1950s with respect to THREE of the following:
a. Race relations
b. Role of women
c. Consumerism
d. Literary developments
23. Analyze how the African-American civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s displayed both continuity and change from the period of Reconstruction.
24. Analyze the effects of the events and trends of the 1970s on the nation’s economic power and international influence. How did they challenge America’s confidence in both?
25. Compare and contrast the patterns immigration and the responses of Americans to these immigrants in TWO of these periods:
a. 1820 to 1860
b. 1880 to 1924
c. 1965 to 2000
26. "Reform movements of the twentieth century have shown continuity in their origins, goals, strategies." Support, refute, or modify this statement for ONE of the following pairs of reform movements keeping their effectiveness in mind.