All AP European History Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Historical Ideologies
"It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with."
The above claim is representative of which important Renaissance thinker?
Galileo Galilei
Lorenzo de Medici
Leonardo da Vinci
Nicholas Copernicus
Niccolo Machiavelli
Niccolo Machiavelli
Niccolo Machiavelli's 1513 treatise The Prince described how a ruler should maintain political power. Prior to Machiavelli, political theory typically described how rulers ought to rule based on specific moral and Christian principles. In The Prince, Machiavelli instead advocates for a more realistic mode of governance not restricted by such lofty concerns.
Quotation adapted from The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli (1513; trans. Mariott 1908)
Example Question #2 : Historical Ideologies
The Chartist movement in nineteenth-century Britain supported all of the following policies EXCEPT __________.
universal male suffrage
elimination of property requirements for members of Parliament
equal parliamentary constituencies
secret election ballots
educational requirements for members of Parliament
educational requirements for members of Parliament
The Chartist movement gained its name from the People's Charter of 1838, which was a large-scale petition effort that found particular success among the burgeoning working classes of Britain's expanding industrial cities. The Chartists fought for Parliamentary reform, as they believed that the previous century's reforms did not go far enough. The Charter contained six specific points about Parliamentary elections: universal male suffrage, a secret ballot, no property requirements for members of parliament, equal parliamentary constituencies, and annual parliamentary elections.
Example Question #128 : Ap European History
“It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.”
The above quotation can be found in the writings of __________.
Robert Owen
Jeremy Bentham
William Pitt the Younger
Bertrand Russell
Benjamin Disraeli
Jeremy Bentham
The quotation reflects the central tenet of utilitarianism, the core philosophy of the extremely influential British thinker and social reformer Jeremy Bentham. Bentham’s philosophy holds that society, and by extension government, should work towards providing the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people possible. This is the core component of Bentham’s leading philosophy, utilitarianism. Bentham was considered a radical in his time; he advocated for, among other things, economic liberty, individualism, equal rights for women, the abolition of slavery, decriminalization of homosexuality, animal rights, and extensive social welfare.
Quotation adapted from Fragment on Government by Jeramy Bentham (1776)
Example Question #1 : Historical Ideologies
Marxist history is predicated on the belief that __________.
socialism can only spread around the world once the working classes and middle classes come together against the upper class
history is one constant struggle between various ethnicities and nationalities
religion has played a very minor role in the development of man and that the scientific revolution was the most important event in human history
the British policy of free trade is designed to ensure British supremacy over the world
history is one constant struggle between the economic classes
history is one constant struggle between the economic classes
Marxist history is based on the belief that history is one constant struggle between the economic classes. Marxist history considers factors like nationality, religious affiliation, ethnicity, and so on to be secondary to the competition between the classes, particularly the competition between the producers (the working class), the consumers (the middle class), and the owners (the upper class). It is based on the writings of Karl Marx.
Example Question #1 : Historical Ideologies
Which of the following individuals is most closely associated with Social Darwinism?
Alexander Pope
William Gladstone
Bertrand Russell
Herbert Spencer
Benjamin Disraeli
Herbert Spencer
Social Darwinism was an interpretation of the theory of natural selection that emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century. Social Darwinism essentially maintains that in human populations, just like in animal populations, natural selection is at work and only the fittest, smartest, and strongest will survive. It provided a convenient excuse for the abuses committed during the New Imperialism era, as it allowed European intellectuals to claim "natural superiority" over other races and defend their otherwise morally reprehensible actions. Of course, Social Darwinism was not universally propounded in this time period, but in the years since, it has come to be widely associated with Herbert Spencer. Spencer was one of the most famous philosophers of his time and an ardent believer in the benefits of competition.
Example Question #1 : Historical Ideologies
The French school of history known as the Annales School focuses on __________.
the rising class tensions caused by industrialization and urbanization
the influential role of religion, particularly Christianity, in the direction taken by European civilization
the role of capitalism and big business in the direction of democratic governments
long-term and comprehensive analysis with a view to historical problem solving
the detrimental effects of ethnic self-identity and nationalism to European peace and prosperity
long-term and comprehensive analysis with a view to historical problem solving
The Annales School of historiography developed in the first half of the twentieth century in France and is widely influential to the study of history to this day. It focuses on a long-term and comprehensive analysis of historical trends, particularly social and economic history, with a view to finding simple solutions to historical conundrums.
Example Question #1 : Historical Ideologies
Eurocentrism and Orientalism have which of the following in common?
They were both developed in the nineteenth century before falling out of favor in the twentieth.
They are both predicated on Western ideas of supremacy over the Eastern world.
They have both been heavily criticized for refusing to discuss the effect of racial differences in history.
They are both primarily focused on understanding why European society developed so much faster than the rest of the world.
They are both primarily concerned with European military imperialism and the difficulties caused by rapid decolonization.
They are both predicated on Western ideas of supremacy over the Eastern world.
These two historical theories are each predicated on the West viewing the East through the lenses of racism and supposedly inherent Western superiority. Eurocentric interpretations of history give inordinate focus to European events, traditions, and interpretations of society in a global context, and Orientalist works eroticize the East and portray it as backwards and/or exotic.
Example Question #3 : Historical Ideologies
The ideology known as Jacobitism was centered on the belief that __________.
the return of Anglicanism to the status of official state church in England
the male line heirs of James II were the rightful monarchs of England, Scotland, and Ireland
the Scottish church should return to Roman Catholicism
the throne of Scotland should be decoupled from the throne of England
the Irish people should no longer be under the control of the British monarchy
the male line heirs of James II were the rightful monarchs of England, Scotland, and Ireland
The ideology of Jacobitism was first and foremost centered on returning the male Stuart line to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. While this touched on issues of religion (all the Stuart pretenders were Catholic and England and Scotland were officially Protestant) and saw its greatest support in Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland, Jacobitism's only real unifying element was loyalty to the Stuart line.
Example Question #4 : Historical Ideologies
Which term describes the set of ideals that, beginning in the Early Modern period, aimed to merge political sovereignty with the person of an autocrat with unlimited power within a political realm?
Monarchy
Absolutism
Fascism
Divine Right
Constitutionalism
Absolutism
Absolutism, as exemplified by rulers such as Louis XIV of France, was a movement toward political centralization in Europe. As trade from overseas imperial holdings and expensive, gunpowder dependent-armies grew in importance, they increasingly transferred an edge to the crown in the old feudal struggles. Absolute rulers curbed the rights and privileges granted to smaller feudal nobles, and as a result contributed to the general breakdown of local variation and the rise of nationalism within Europe.
Example Question #1 : Historical Ideologies
Romanticism, as a literary movement, was primarily driven by a(n) __________.
desire to return to deliberately realistic artistic expressions
None of the other provided answers is correct.
religious reawakening in Western Europe, particularly France
unshakeable faith in the progression of human society towards some utopian end
affirmation of the social norms of the Western world in the mid-twentieth century
None of the other provided answers is correct.
Romanticism, as an literary movement, emerged in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It was primarily focused on celebrating human emotions and the qualities of human nature. Early Romantic poets, most notably William Wordsworth, also emphasized a return to the common speech of lower-class people, as opposed to higher-flown "poetic" or courtly language. Romanticism sought to take the emphasis away from logic and scientific inquiry, and focus instead on the natural beauty of humanity and the world.
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