Full-Length AP World History Practice Exam
AP World History Short Answer Question Example 1
After answering the first short answer question, evaluate our AP World History SAQ examples below to see what makes up a perfect answer on the AP World History exam.
1. Read the excerpt provided and then respond to parts a, b, and c.
“Man, are you capable of being just? It is a woman who poses the question; you will not deprive her of that right at least. Tell me, what gives you sovereign empire to oppress my sex? Your strength? Your talents? Observe the creator in his wisdom; survey nature in all her grandeur, which you seem to feel the need to emulate; and give me, if you dare, an example of this tyrannical empire. Your heart is capable of forming bonds of friendship with ours; why do you degrade yourselves by subjugating us?”
— Olympe de Gouges, “The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen,” 1791
- Describe ONE way in which Gouges’ argument reflects the ideas of the Enlightenment.
- Explain ONE way in which the feminist movement in the late 18th century, as illustrated by the passage, differed from traditional roles of women in European society.
- Explain ONE historical situation in the period 1750–1900, other than the one illustrated in the passage, where social or political movements led to significant changes in the societal roles or rights of a specific group.
Sample Perfect Answer:
a. Describe ONE way in which Gouges’ argument reflects the ideas of the Enlightenment.
Gouges’ argument reflects Enlightenment thinking by appealing to reason and natural rights rather than tradition or religious authority. Her challenge “what gives you sovereign empire to oppress my sex?” echoes Enlightenment thinkers like Locke and Rousseau who argued that political authority must be rationally justified, not simply inherited or assumed, and that all people possess inherent rights by nature.
b. Explain ONE way in which the feminist movement in the late 18th century, as illustrated by the passage, differed from traditional roles of women in European society.
The feminist movement represented a departure from traditional European women’s roles by asserting that women were rational, rights-bearing citizens capable of engaging in political discourse. Traditionally confined to domestic life with no recognized political voice, women like Gouges directly challenged male authority in public writing, claiming the right to critique the social order in a way European society had never permitted them.
c. Explain ONE historical situation in the period 1750–1900, other than the one illustrated in the passage, where social or political movements led to significant changes in the societal roles or rights of a specific group.
One historical situation in which a social movement led to significant changes in the rights of a specific group was the abolitionist movement in the 19th century. Driven by moral and Enlightenment-based arguments about human dignity and natural rights, abolitionists in Britain and the United States pushed for the end of slavery, achieving British emancipation in 1833 and the 13th Amendment in 1865, fundamentally transforming the legal status of enslaved people.
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