DOCUMENT BASED
QUESTIONS
(DBQ)
HELPFUL HINTS
DBQ HINTS
1. Make sure you know what the
question is asking.
2. Look for the point of view of the
author of each document.
DBQ HINTS
3. Look for possible solutions in the
documents.
4. Remember that the documents are
not necessarily facts. Many times the
documents simply express an opinion
or perception.
5. “Historical Context” is NOT a
document.
DBQ HINTS
6. Use of all the documents is not
necessary. Don't force the
documents to fit, though.
7. The thesis should be a restatement
of the question with your arguments.
8. Use “Rule of3" - 3 problems, 3
solutions, 3 arguments, 3 groupings, 3
points of view, etc.
DBQ HINTS
9. Do not ramble.
10. Answer the question that is asked
and address each part of the
question.
11. Do not write 1 sentence paragraphs
A PARAGRAPH IS 3-5 SENTENCES
12. Remember that there is no one
right answer on the DBQ.
DBQ Hints
13. DO NOT QUOTE DOCUMENTS,
SUMMARIZE THEM
14. DO NOT SAY, ”IN DOCUMENT A…”
INSTEAD SAY “IN THE UN
RESOLUTION 194…”
15. Cite your source document (source A) etc.
16. NO 1st (I) or 2nd (you) PERSON
I don’t care what you think!
what do you know?
Give me the FACTS!
DBQ
• In the simplest terms, a DBQ is an
essay question based on a series of
"documents".
• Types of Documents:
– Maps
-News Articles -Speeches
– Photographs
-Pictures -Letters
– Charts
-Graphs
-Cartoons
Example #1
• This task is based on the accompanying
documents (1-6). Some of these documents
have been edited for the purposes of this
task. This task is designed to test your
ability to work with historical documents.
As you analyze the documents, take into
account both the source of each document
and the author's point of view.
• Directions: Read the documents in Part A
and answer the questions after each
•
document. Then read the directions
•
for Part B and write your essay.
DBQ #1
• Historical Context:
• Throughout history, societies have
held different viewpoints on
governmental decision making and the
role of citizens in this decisionmaking process. The decision-making
process can range from absolute
control to democracy.
DBQ #1
• Task:
• Using information from the documents and
your knowledge of global history and
geography, write an essay in which you:
• Compare and contrast the different
viewpoints societies have held about the
process of governmental decision making
and about the role of citizens in the
political decision-making process.
• Discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of a political system that is
under the absolute control of a single
individual or a few individuals, or a
political system that is a democracy.
DBQ #1
• Part A
Short Answer
Directions:
• Analyze the documents and answer
the questions that follow each
document in the space provided.
DOCUMENT #1
• The Wise Man's policy, accordingly,
Will be to empty people's hearts and minds,
To fill their bellies, weaken their ambition,
Give them sturdy frames and always so,
To keep them uninformed, without desire,
And knowing ones not venturing to act.
Be still while you work
And keep full control
Over all.
• —Lao Tzu (6th century BC)
• 1. What role does the citizen play in this political
•
system?
DOCUMENT #2
• "We are a democracy because the power to make the
laws is given to the many rather than the few. But while
the law gives equal justice to everyone, it has not failed
to reward excellence. While every citizen has an equal
opportunity to serve the public, we reward our most
distinguished [best] citizens by asking them to make our
political decisions. Nor do we discriminate against the
poor. A man may serve his country no matter how low his
position on the social scale.
An Athenian citizen does not put his private affairs
before the affairs of the state; even our merchants and
businessmen know something about politics. We alone
believe that a man who takes no interest in public
affairs is more than harmless—he is useless.”
• —"Pericles’ Funeral Oration"
Athens, 5th century BC
•
•
2. According to Pericles, what is a
responsibility of a
citizen in a democracy?
DOCUMENT #3
• "...Whereas ... King James II, ... did attempt to
undermine ... the laws and liberties of this kingdom...
Therefore, the Parliament declares:
1. That the King's supposed power of suspending laws
without the consent of Parliament is illegal.
4. That the levying of taxes for the use of the king
without the consent of Parliament is illegal.
8. That the king should not interfere with the election
of members of
Parliament.
13. And that to redress grievances and amend,
strengthen, and preserve the laws, Parliament ought to
be held [meet] frequently.”
• —The English Bill of Rights, 1689
3. How did the English Bill of Rights change
governmental decision making?
DOCUMENT #4
4. Based on this
cartoon, who
controlled the
government of
France from the
mid-1600s to the
early 1700s?
DOCUMENT #5
• After Socialism, Fascism combats the whole
complex system of democratic ideology [theory],
and repudiates [denies] it, whether in its
theoretical premises [basis] or in its practical
application. Fascism denies that the majority, by
the simple fact that it is a majority, can direct
human society; it denies that numbers alone can
govern by means of a periodical consultation
[elections], and it affirms the . . . beneficial,
and fruitful [useful] inequality of mankind, which
can never be permanently leveled through . .
.universal suffrage.
• —Benito Mussolini, 1932
• 5. What was the basis of Mussolini's argument against
democracy?
DOCUMENT #6
• “We the Japanese people, acting through our duly
elected representatives in the National Diet [legislature],
resolve that never again shall we be visited with the
horrors of war through the action of government, do
proclaim that sovereign power resides with the people
and do firmly establish this Constitution. Government is a
sacred trust of the people, the authority for which is
derived from the people, the powers of which are
exercised by the representatives of the people, and the
benefits of which are enjoyed by the people. This is a
universal principle of mankind upon which this
Constitution is founded. We reject and revoke all
constitutions, laws, ordinances, and rescripts in conflict
herewith."
• —The Japanese Constitution of 1947
6. Which universal principle is the basis
for the Japanese Constitution?
EXAMPLE #2
• Historical Context:
• Imperialism has been interpreted
from a variety of viewpoints. The
documents below express various
viewpoints about the positive and
negative effects of European
imperialism
EXAMPLE #2
• Task:
• Evaluate both the positive and
negative effects of imperialism.
• Short Answer
• The documents below relate to the
positive and negative effects of
imperialism. Examine each document
carefully and then answer the
question that follows it.
DOCUMENT #1
• O.P. Austin, "Does Colonization Pay" The Forum, 1900
• "Modern progressive nations lying in the temperate
zone seek to control garden spots’ in the tropics.
[mainly in Africa, Latin America, and Asia] Under [the
progressive nations] direction, these places can yield
tropical produce. In return, the progressive nations
bring to the people of those garden spots the
foodstuffs and manufactures they need. [Progressive
nations] develop the territory by building roads,
canals, railways, and telegraphs. They can establish
schools and newspapers for the colonies [and] give
these people the benefit of other blessings of
civilization which they have not the means of creating
themselves."
–
According to the author, what benefits did the
colonies receive from the "modern progressive
nations"?
1.
DOCUMENT #2
"Learning civilized ways is hard work"
2. What did
colonization mean
for the native
people?
DOCUMENT #3
• "To begin with, there are the exporters and
manufacturers of certain goods used in the
colonies. The makers of cotton and iron goods
have been very much interested in imperialism.
Their business interests demand that colonial
markets should be opened and developed and that
foreign competitors should be shut out. Such aims
require political control and imperialism.
• Finally, the most powerful of all business groups
are the bankers. Banks make loans to colonies and
backward countries for building railways and
steamship lines. They also make loans to colonial
plantation owners, importers, and exporters.
DOCUMENT #3 CON’T
• The imperialist business interests have powerful
allies. Military and naval leaders believe strongly
in extending the white man’s rule over the
‘inferior races,’ To this company may be added
another element—the missionary. Missionaries
went forth to preach a kingdom beyond this world.
But they often found themselves the builders of
very earthly empires. . . . Last, but by no means
least, let us add politicians to our list of empire
builders."
• Imperialism and World Politics, Parker T. Moore,
1926
3. Who are the empire builders
described in this passage?
DOCUMENT #4
• "When the whites came to our
country, we had the land and they
had the Bible, now we have the Bible
and they have the land."
• African proverb
4. How did the Africans feel about the
missionaries?
DOCUMENT #5
• The White Man killed my father,
My father was proud.
The White Man seduced my mother,
My mother was beautiful.
The White Man burnt my brother beneath the
noonday sun,
My brother was strong.
His hands red with black blood
The White Man turned to me;
And in the Conqueror’s voice said,
"Boy! a chair, a napkin, a drink.
• An Anthology of West African Verse, David Diop,
1957
5. What were some negative effects of
imperialism on Africa?
DOCUMENT #6
• "Colonialism’s greatest misdeed was to have tried
to strip us of our responsibility in conducting our
own affairs and convince us that our civilization
was nothing less than savagery, thus giving us
complexes which led to our being branded as
irresponsible and lacking in self-confidence. . .
• The colonial powers had assimilated each of their
colonies into their own economy.
• Our continent possesses tremendous reserves of
raw material and they, together with its potential
sources of power, give it excellent conditions for
industrialization. . ."
• Sekou Toure, West African nationalist, 1962
6. In 1962, what was the response of
this West African nationalist to
years of colonialism?
DOCUMENT #7
7. What is the point of view
of this cartoonist about
European imperialism?
Essay Response
• Your essay should be well organized
with an introductory paragraph that
states your position. Develop your
position in the next paragraphs and
then write a conclusion. In your
essay, include specific historical
details and refer to the specific
documents you analyzed in Part A.
You may include additional
information from your knowledge
of global history.
EXAMPLE #3
• Historic Context
• The industrialization, which followed the
Civil War, had a great impact on many
different area of life in the United
States. One of the groups most affected
by the growth of industry was the worker.
• Question: Discuss the impact of
industrialization on workers in the
United States form 1865 to 1914 and
evaluate the ways that individuals and
government responded to the problems
created by industrialization.
DOCUMENT #1
• The opportunity to get rich, to attain
great wealth is here…now within the reach
of almost every man and woman…. You have
no right to be poor. It is your duty to be
rich…. I sympathize with the poor, but the
number of poor who are to be sympathized
with is very small… let us remember, there
is not a poor person in the United States
who was not made poor by his own
shortcomings… Russell Cornwell, Acres of
Diamonds, 1900
•
1. What was the attitude of Russell
Conwell toward the poor?
DOCUMENT #2
• It is true that wealth has been greatly
increased, and that the average comfort,
leisure, and refinement have been raised,
but these gains are not general. In them
the lowest class do not share…There is a
vague but general feeling of
disappointment; and increases bitterness
among the working classes; a widespread
feeling of unrest and brooding revolution.
Henry George, Progress and Poverty, 1905.
•
2. Why did Henry George warn against
dissatisfaction among the working classes?
DOCUMENT #3
• The employer desires to reduce wages and
lengthen the hours of labor, while the
desire of employees is to obtain shorter
hours of labor and better wages, and
better surroundings. Strikes establish or
maintain the rights of unionism; that is, to
establish and maintain the organization by
which the rights of worker can be better
protected. Samuel Gompers
3. According to Samuel Gompers, what
are the differences between the
goals of employers and employees?
DOCUMENT #4
5. What does this poster show about
the government response to the
Haymarket affair
DOCUMENT
#5
•
6. How did government and
management respond to strikes
between 1902 and 1904?
DOCUMENT #6
• I am going to fight… If it takes all
summer and all winter, and all next
summer and all next winter. Yes, even
life itself. I will fight this to the
bitter end. I will never recognize the
union, never, never. HC Frick,
President, Carnegie Steel, 1892
4. What was the attitude of many
"captains of industry" toward
unions?
DOCUMENT #7
7. What does this cartoon show
about working conditions?
DOCUMENT #8
The
Dumbbell
Tenement
Plan
8. What does this floor plan show
about living conditions in the
tenements that housed immigrant
workers?
Part B: Essay response
• Write an essay that discuss the impact of
industrialization on workers in the United
States from 1865 to 1914 and evaluate the
ways that individuals and government
responded to the problems created by
industrialization.
• Our essay should be well organized with an
introductory paragraph that states your
position on the question. Develop you
position in the next paragraphs and write a
conclusion. In your essay, include specific
historical details and refer to the specific
documents you analyzed in Part A. You may
•
include additional information from
your knowledge of American History