Name: _____________________________________
Date: _________
Period: ___
APUSH Assessment 1 Short Answer Samples
Describe both the positive and negative effects of the Columbian Exchange on the New and Old World.
The Columbian Exchange, which began in the 15th century and continued through the 16th century, marked the
beginning of a world-wide transfer of, among other things, plants, animals, culture, diseases, and technologies
between the Old and New Worlds. In determining whether the Columbian Exchange had a positive or negative
effect on the Old and New Worlds, one must assess the extent to which society was changed. Economically, the
exchange allowed the Old World an opportunity to meet the growing demands of an increasing population.
Socially, the exchange witnessed the violation of Native American land, customs, and traditions. And
agriculturally, the exchange allowed for a widespread transfer of new plants and animals. While the exchange
did result in both positive and negative economic, social, and agricultural effects in both the Old and New
Worlds, the most dramatic changes were the result of a near destruction of Native Americans and the
supremacy of the Europeans.
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Establish the setting of the essay. Briefly introduce the reader to the subject. The “What”.
Provide an insightful comment that establishes your basis for analysis. Still the “What”.
Provide a partition (plan of attack) that establishes the major sub-topics you plan to discuss.
Finish the paragraph with a clear thesis statement that establishes the purpose of the essay (what you
intend to prove). The “So what”.
Describe what is meant by the Spanish Black Legend. What is your assessment of the Spanish impact on North
American cultures: positive or negative? Why?
The Spanish Black Legend, a version of history that was meant to capture the misdeeds of the Spanish explorers
through their encounters with Native Americans in the New World, tends to reflect an anti-Spanish sentiment
and obscures the significant achievements made by the Spanish in the New World at the time of their
exploration. In determining whether the Black Legend had a positive or negative effect on the Old and New
Worlds, one must assess the extent to which society was changed. Socially, the legend did accurately identify
the Spanish as being responsible for killing, enslaving, and infecting countless natives with incurable diseases.
Ideologically, the legend failed to account for the way a colossal empire was successfully built in the New
World and would one day sprawl from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. And politically, the legend allowed
for laws and ideas of government to be present in a land where there were none. While the legend did represent
a social, ideological, and political revolution in both the Old and New Worlds, the Black Legend laid the
foundations for future Spanish speaking nations to flourish and succeed.
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Establish the setting of the essay. Briefly introduce the reader to the subject. The “What”.
Provide an insightful comment that establishes your basis for analysis. Still the “What”.
Provide a partition (plan of attack) that establishes the major sub-topics you plan to discuss.
Finish the paragraph with a clear thesis statement that establishes the purpose of the essay (what you
intend to prove). The “So what”.