DBQ's
LEQ's
Unit XIII: Imperialism, Alliances, and the First World War (1870-1919)
Imperialism
(1976)
Assess the nature and importance of economic factors that helped determine the race for empire among the major European powers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
(1982)
Compare and contrast the motives for European overseas expansion during the Age of
Discovery (15th and 16th centuries) and during the Age of New Imperialism (19th and early
20th centuries).
(‘90)
How and in what ways were economic and political factors responsible for intensifying European imperialist activity in Africa from the mid-19th century to the beginning of the First World War.
(1997)
Analyze the policies of three European colonial powers regarding Africa between 1871 and 1914.
19th Century Foreign Policy
(2002)
Compare and contrast the foreign policy goals and achievements of Metternich (1815-1848) and Bismarck (1862-1890)
The First World War
Some historians have argued that the period 1900-1914 is part of the "long 19th century", meaning that not much changes until World War I. To what extent is this a correct periodization?
"Analyze the extent to which the unification of Germany in 1871 was a turning point in the European balance of power."
Periodization: To what extent can the First World War be seen as the end of the long nineteenth century?
Continuity and Change: Identify and explain continuity and changes in social and political life within European countries that participated in the Great War. Refer to at least TWO countries in your answer.
Compare and Contrast: Compare and contrast the impact of the Great war on TWO of the following groups: (i) women (ii) working-class (iii) colonial subjects.
Causation: Assess the claim that the First World War was caused by a breakdown in diplomacy among the Great Powers.
Discuss the ways in which the First World War contributed to the death of the aristocratic
tradition in politics, social structure, and culture.
(1976)
“The Treaty of Vienna (1815) was a more realistic accommodation to the post-Napoleonic period than was the Versailles settlement (1919) to the post-First World War period.”
Decide the merits of the statement above and in a well-developed argument support your
decision with a carefully reasoned analysis of the events mentioned.
(1981)
Assess the major social, political, and technological changes that took place in European warfare between 1789 and 1918.
(1981)
“1914-1918 marks a turning point in the intellectual and cultural history of Europe.”
Defend, refute, or modify this statement with reference to the generation before and the
generation after the First World War.
(1988)
Analyze and assess the extent to which the First World War accelerated European social change in such areas as work, sex roles, and government involvement in everyday life.”
(1998)
To what extent and in what ways did nationalistic tensions in the Balkans between 1870 and
1914 contribute to the outbreak of the First World War?
Unit X: Russia and the Soviet Union (1855-1940)
Russia and the Soviet Union
(1976)
“In the last century and a half, Russia’s principal economic problem has been the peasantry.”
Evaluate this statement, indicating your degree of agreement or disagreement, and the reasons
for your position.
(1978)
“Every successful revolution puts on in time the robes of the tyrant it has deposed.”
Evaluate this statement with regard to the English Revolution (1640-1660), the French
Revolution (1789-1815), and the Russian Revolution (1917-1930).
(1980)
What aspects of Russian society and institutions were most changed and what aspects least
changed by the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917? Limit your discussion to the first ten years
(1917-1927) of the new regime and account for the changes you note.
(1981)
Compare the economic roles of the state under 17th century mercantilism and 20th century
communism. Illustrate your answer with reference to the economic system of France during
Louis XIV’s reign under Colbert and of the Soviet Union under Stalin.
(1982)
What policies of the Stalinist government perpetuated the essential features of the czarist regime under Nicholas II (1894-1917)?
(1983)
In what ways, and why, did Lenin alter Marxism? (Palmer)
(1984)
To what extent did the emancipation of Russian serfs and other reforms in the 19th century
contribute to the modernization of Russia before the First World War?
(1985)
Compare and contrast the roles of the peasants and urban workers from the French Revolution of 1789 to that of the peasants and urban workers during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.
(1987)
“The czarist regime fell in 1917 because it had permitted tremendous change and progress in
some areas while trying to maintain a political order that had outlived its time.”
Assess the validity of this statement as an explanation of the abdication of Nicholas II in 1917.
(1994)
Describe and analyze the long-term social and economic trends in the period 1860 to 1917 that prepared the ground for revolution in Russia.
(1995)
Compare and contrast the extent to which Catherine the Great and Joseph Stalin were
“Westernizers.”
(2004)
Compare and contrast the extent to which the French Revolution (1789-1799) and the Russian Revolution (1917-1924) changed the status of women.
Imperialism
(1976)
Assess the nature and importance of economic factors that helped determine the race for empire among the major European powers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
(1982)
Compare and contrast the motives for European overseas expansion during the Age of
Discovery (15th and 16th centuries) and during the Age of New Imperialism (19th and early
20th centuries).
(‘90)
How and in what ways were economic and political factors responsible for intensifying European imperialist activity in Africa from the mid-19th century to the beginning of the First World War.
(1997)
Analyze the policies of three European colonial powers regarding Africa between 1871 and 1914.
19th Century Foreign Policy
(2002)
Compare and contrast the foreign policy goals and achievements of Metternich (1815-1848) and Bismarck (1862-1890)
The First World War
Some historians have argued that the period 1900-1914 is part of the "long 19th century", meaning that not much changes until World War I. To what extent is this a correct periodization?
"Analyze the extent to which the unification of Germany in 1871 was a turning point in the European balance of power."
Periodization: To what extent can the First World War be seen as the end of the long nineteenth century?
Continuity and Change: Identify and explain continuity and changes in social and political life within European countries that participated in the Great War. Refer to at least TWO countries in your answer.
Compare and Contrast: Compare and contrast the impact of the Great war on TWO of the following groups: (i) women (ii) working-class (iii) colonial subjects.
Causation: Assess the claim that the First World War was caused by a breakdown in diplomacy among the Great Powers.
Discuss the ways in which the First World War contributed to the death of the aristocratic
tradition in politics, social structure, and culture.
(1976)
“The Treaty of Vienna (1815) was a more realistic accommodation to the post-Napoleonic period than was the Versailles settlement (1919) to the post-First World War period.”
Decide the merits of the statement above and in a well-developed argument support your
decision with a carefully reasoned analysis of the events mentioned.
(1981)
Assess the major social, political, and technological changes that took place in European warfare between 1789 and 1918.
(1981)
“1914-1918 marks a turning point in the intellectual and cultural history of Europe.”
Defend, refute, or modify this statement with reference to the generation before and the
generation after the First World War.
(1988)
Analyze and assess the extent to which the First World War accelerated European social change in such areas as work, sex roles, and government involvement in everyday life.”
(1998)
To what extent and in what ways did nationalistic tensions in the Balkans between 1870 and
1914 contribute to the outbreak of the First World War?
Unit X: Russia and the Soviet Union (1855-1940)
Russia and the Soviet Union
(1976)
“In the last century and a half, Russia’s principal economic problem has been the peasantry.”
Evaluate this statement, indicating your degree of agreement or disagreement, and the reasons
for your position.
(1978)
“Every successful revolution puts on in time the robes of the tyrant it has deposed.”
Evaluate this statement with regard to the English Revolution (1640-1660), the French
Revolution (1789-1815), and the Russian Revolution (1917-1930).
(1980)
What aspects of Russian society and institutions were most changed and what aspects least
changed by the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917? Limit your discussion to the first ten years
(1917-1927) of the new regime and account for the changes you note.
(1981)
Compare the economic roles of the state under 17th century mercantilism and 20th century
communism. Illustrate your answer with reference to the economic system of France during
Louis XIV’s reign under Colbert and of the Soviet Union under Stalin.
(1982)
What policies of the Stalinist government perpetuated the essential features of the czarist regime under Nicholas II (1894-1917)?
(1983)
In what ways, and why, did Lenin alter Marxism? (Palmer)
(1984)
To what extent did the emancipation of Russian serfs and other reforms in the 19th century
contribute to the modernization of Russia before the First World War?
(1985)
Compare and contrast the roles of the peasants and urban workers from the French Revolution of 1789 to that of the peasants and urban workers during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.
(1987)
“The czarist regime fell in 1917 because it had permitted tremendous change and progress in
some areas while trying to maintain a political order that had outlived its time.”
Assess the validity of this statement as an explanation of the abdication of Nicholas II in 1917.
(1994)
Describe and analyze the long-term social and economic trends in the period 1860 to 1917 that prepared the ground for revolution in Russia.
(1995)
Compare and contrast the extent to which Catherine the Great and Joseph Stalin were
“Westernizers.”
(2004)
Compare and contrast the extent to which the French Revolution (1789-1799) and the Russian Revolution (1917-1924) changed the status of women.