Contextualization Thesis/Claim Document Evidence and Analysis (HIPP) Evidence Beyond the Documents Throughout the classical and post classical eras, the regions of Europe, Central, Middle, South, and East Asia traded resources and even exchanged cultures through the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, the Royal roads of Persia and the vast network of the Silk Roads. As a result, governments became at times wealthier. Likewise, cultural interactions became a dynamic part of the Eurasian worlds. Even after the fall of the classical empires of Rome, Gupta, and Han, the trade and interactions of these worlds endured creating an extensive and grand connection between governments and cultures. The commerce, as a result of the vast and relentless trading of the Eurasian worlds, became an attractive need for both the states of these regions as well as for the belief systems of these lands. Both the states and the religious systems of Eurasia expressed similar desires to want to accumulate wealth. In such accumulation, both states and religions responded with the intentions to do good and to serve the desires or needs of their people. Similarly, the states and religious systems of these lands desired positive interactions from its people. However, it appears that governments aimed to maintain peace in order to ensure peace, stability, and possibly control in order to preserve their sovereignty over society. This is strikingly different from the belief systems of Eurasia. Because while governments aimed to do good for possibly maintaining peace and stability within their state, the religions of these worlds appeared to respond to wealth accumulation with the desire to do good for others and glorify their deities in order to be possibly rewarded spiritually and perhaps divinely. States collected valuables from traders and responded with the desire to effectively serve the people of their society Ultimately, however, one can assume that states also aimed at providing for their people in order to preserve peace and stability. This is seen in Document 1, for instance, the source illustrates how a government interacted with its merchants in a contractual manner, and aimed to preserve a peaceful interaction between the state official and the Chinese trader. (Doc. 1). The Chinese state, in this example, responded with respect and reservation in its attempt to collect the Chinese merchant’s valuables without inspiring a rebellion from its own traders and members of its society. (Doc. 1) [historical situation]. It is likely, that the warring states as a result of the Zhou’s corrupt era has tossed this society in to a war zone and the state is willing to cooperate with its merchants in order to maintain internal peace while simultaneously it is defending itself from warring neighbors all claiming the Mandate of Heaven’s blessings. (Doc 1). Therefore, The Chronicle of Zuo is an example of how governments aimed to maintain preserve a good relationship with their own merchant class in order to collect wealth from them, but yet being cautious not to trigger anger among its merchant class in order to preserve internal peace while dealing with China’s War of the States era. (Doc. 1). Document 2 bears much the same idea as Document 1. The Mauryan Emperor of India has established a legal system of maintaining fair prices, protection of its people, and persistent reports of sales in order to ensure proper distribution of food for its people (Doc. 2). But, similar to Document 1, it also demonstrates that being an Indian document, the rules and regulations to food sales and distributions is likely due to the major concerns of the seasonal winds of Monsoons. [historical situation] The dry season of Winter causes drought, and in Mauryan Empire, the summer Monsoon wet season causes floods. Both wind patterns destroy life in India, and while it has created expert traders along the Indian Ocean, it has also brought the state to regulate commerce. This is done to prevent hunger, disunion, and chaos which would ultimately lead to the empire’s loss of sovereignty and power. As a result, regulating commerce may appear to be of good nature for its society, but it would also ensure stability and power for the Mauryan Empire. (Doc. 2). To a lesser extent, another document which proves that state accumulation of wealth was both a response to providing good services for its people, and at the same time aimed to maintain peace and power over its people is Marcus Tullius Cicero’s document of Rome. But this document appears to heavily compliment farmers over all other occupations. The stateman, like the three previously mentioned documents, addresses the idea of articulating respect to its business people, predominantly, the farmers. However, considering this is 50 BCE, a few years before the complete dominance of Julius Caesar, the Republic and Senate is frail, partly due to the level of unrest and possible dissatisfaction among its expanding Roman Republic and its people. (Doc. 3). [Intended audience, and Purpose] Furthermore, agriculture appears to be glorified over all other types of business in this document. This is undoubtedly because when an empire as vast and as dynamic as Rome is becoming frail, food becomes a crucial element for maintaining order and power. (Doc. 3). As a result, the Roman leaders encouraged many to become farmers in order to possibly provide enough food and stability for the empire. Also, many farmers were land owners, and it is important for statemen to address farmers and landowners with great esteem in order to secure wealth and power for the elite and politicians of Rome. (Doc. 3). Similarly, another Indian document over 1200 years after Cicero, expresses a pledge to respect its businessmen and even combines Karma in to its edict or law as it addresses that monarchs who abuse their power on merchants face storms or natural destruction. This is a direct relationship between a government and the leaders desire to reserve peace in India, which in post classical era, South India was threatened by Muslim invaders, Mongols, and Turks throughout northern India. Thus, having a good amount of wealth while respecting its merchants of the vast seas was pivotal to India during this era. (Doc 7) [historical situation]. This document, again, demonstrates the governments of Eurasia expressing their commitment to create laws for themselves, the state, to follow and limitations on how much to accumulate from their merchants in response to maintaining peace and generating revenue for the Indian government. This is yet another example of a state setting its own limits to ensure a good relationship response with its merchants while accumulating wealth. Such concern of struggling to maintain peace and power would endure as India constantly clashed with Islamic Indians (Doc 7). Religious documents also expressed the need to accumulate wealth and ensuring good relationships with the merchants and the peoples of their society. But while this was a similar detail with the state responses to collecting money, religious responses to wealth accumulation differed from the states in that they aimed to do good for spiritual and unworldly incentives rather than for the ambition to maintain power. Document 4, for example, written by a Christian Monk, emphasizes how blessed are those who give away all of their possessions and create community based accommodations for others serving their God. (Doc. 4). This is similar to state documents who demonstrate the need to have good relationship with its society. [historical situation] Such concept in document 4, is inspired by the teachings of the gospel which its doctrine holds the idea that blessed are those who serve in communion with their religious brothers and sisters. The belief of glorifying their deity by serving God in the here and now, allows monks and Christian followers the hope that they will one day inherit heaven, receive sainthood, and as the document itself expresses, that heavenly outcomes will arrive to its people, possibly in the afterlife. Wealth accumulation for this group of religious people, was also used to create monasteries which would in turn become places to teach Christians to spread the gospel to others. (Doc. 4). Document 5 also highlights the religious perspective and need to serve society’s needs by giving charity to the poor. This is similar to the Indian government document of Maurya (Doc 2) in which it encourages food and distribution for the society. The Qur’an, similarly, encourages that food and resources be shared or be given to others to avoid starvation, corruption, and cheating. This was reflected by Doc. 2 in how the government encourages no cheating or abuses on its people. As traders of the Middle East Deserts, Arabs were fascinating travelers and merchants, therefore the Quran is very specific on encouraging Muslims to be charitable to their people in amidst of their wealth accumulation. [historical situation] (Doc. 5). But unlike the state responses to economic gathering, in an attempt to maintain power and control over society, the doctrine of Islam teaches that being charitable is a reward that one would inherit from God and that it is a better blessing to be rewarded by doing good in secrecy. This is inspired by the Christian doctrine of glorifying and loving God from the heart as taught by the doctrine of Jesus the Messiah of Jerusalem. As a result, Islam was therefore inspired by Christian doctrine and the idea of giving and being charitable is a teaching of the first Christians under the Gospel of Christ (Doc. 5). In the same manner, the Buddhist Painting blesses traders who appear to be charitable to a Buddhist temple. This is again an indication that wealth accumulation was a religious response with the awareness that heavenly blessings would be divinely rewarded with an approach (similar to states) to maintaining good relations with traders. But it is a direct contrast to governments because unlike states which aimed for maintaining control in society, religions aimed more at unworldly blessings for serving society. [historical situation] (Doc 6). Religious organizations, did indeed embrace rewards, but not world rewards as this Buddhist painting illustrates the merchants being held in high prestige (possibly as godly men) because they are giving and possibly glorifying the Buddhist temple. The inspiration behind this image is that the Buddha did teach the importance of rejecting desire and serving others. The Buddhist traders bearing gifts for the temples is a wealth accumulation approach that teaches that traders should not be greedy, and therefore reject a degree of items. By giving them away, demonstrates a sign of becoming closer to Nirvana, or reaching spiritual enlightenment, and thus embracing and glorifying Siddhartha Gautama’s teachings of rejecting material items or worldly possessions. This religious collecting approach to wealth would therefore be a direct contrast to state responses to economic gatherings. (Doc. 6) The governments and the religious systems of Eurasia articulated comparable requests to amass wealth. In such buildup, both states and religions retorted with the purposes to do good and to attend the requirements or needs of their people. Such needs include food, shelter, and even harmony. Likewise, the states and religious systems of these lands desired positive interactions from its people, particularly from their merchants. Still, it appears that governments aimed to maintain peace in order to ensure harmony, firmness, and perhaps control in order to reserve their sovereignty over civilization. This is outstandingly disparate from the belief systems of Eurasia. Because while régimes aimed to do good for possibly maintaining peace and stability within their state, the faiths of these worlds appeared to respond to wealth buildup with the desire to do good for others in order to be rewarded spiritually and possibly for the simple nature of glorifying their supernatural being. DBQ Essay Scoring Guide Contextualization – 1 Point Possible ___ Relates the topic of the prompt to broader historical events, developments, or processes that occurred before, during, or continued after the time frame of the question. (1) Improvement Needed ___Attempts at contextualization are underdeveloped, lack explanation, or hastily phrased. ___There are no attempts at contextualization. Thesis/Claim – 1 Point Possible ___ Responds to the prompt with a historically defensible thesis/claim that establishes a line of reasoning. (1) Improvement Needed ___Thesis is properly argumentative but is too simplistic and lacks the necessary level of specificity. ___Thesis simply restates or rephrases the prompt. ___Thesis contains awkward organization, may be off-topic, or contain inaccuracies. Document Evidence and Analysis – 3 Points Possible ___Utilizes the content of at least three documents to address the topic of the prompt. (1) ___Supports an argument in response to the prompt using at least six documents. (2) ___For at least three documents, explains how or why the historical situation, audience, purpose, and/or point of view is relevant to the essay’s argument. (1) Document Usage H.I.P.P. Historical Situation Intended audience Purpose Point of View 1 1A HI P P 2 2A H I P P 3 3A H I P P 4 4A H I P P 5 5A H I P P 6 6A H I P P 7 7A H I P P Improvement Needed: ___Documents are described superficially or simply quoted. ___Only one or two documents are utilized effectively. ___Document analysis fails to take into account historical situation, intended audience, purpose, and/or point of view for at least three documents. Evidence Beyond the Documents – 1 Point Possible ___ Provides additional pieces of specific historical evidence beyond those found in the documents relevant to the argument about the prompt. (1) Improvement Needed: ___Outside evidence consists of the same material in the documents or other scoring categories of this rubric. ___Outside evidence lacks explanation, is inaccurate or irrelevant, or non-existent. Analysis and Reasoning – 1 Point Possible ___Essay as a whole is coherent and employs effective use of historical reasoning and evidence to demonstrate complex understanding of the historical events, developments, or processes. (1) Improvement Needed: ___One or more body paragraphs are ineffective in supporting an argument. ___Topic sentences are vague and/or do not support the thesis or argument. ___Essay is too simplistic and/or incoherent. Score: ____/7 points Letter Grade: ____ Additional Feedback: ___improve topic sentences ___more evidence ___budget your time ___oversimplifications ___use past tense ___be more organized ___no shorthand ___study more ___no quoting ___improve doc usage ___writing needs improvement ___more depth
