2015 – DBQ WRITING
AP EUROPEAN HISTORY
WHAT IS AN AP EURO DBQ?
AP Euro DBQs are multi-paragraph essays that do not
simply measure what you know (in formal writing fashion) but
what you can do. (in formal writing fashion)
Similar to an FRQ…
1. You are given a prompt w/ similar tasks & terms
2. You are going to construct a thesis which is the
foundation of the essay
3. You are going to construct body paragraphs that support
& develop you thesis
DIFFERENT FROM AN FRQ…
1. You are actually expected to know nothing about the
topic – all of the evidence is provided for you!
2. The construction of your thesis is completely dependent
on your analysis of the documents, and ability to make
connections with what the prompt calls for.
3. You will need to identify Point-of-View and/or the personal
bias that is associated w/ the source of some of the
documents.
4. You must ALWAYS have at least 3 body paragraphs
5. Outside knowledge is a bonus, where with an FRQ it is a
must!
IT’S JUST PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER
STEP #1: TASKS & TERMS
Prompt:
Analyze various arguments that emerged over the
course of the nineteenth century about how to improve
the lives of European workers.
Historical Background:
Economic changes in the nineteenth century dramatically
increased the number of European industrial workers and
transformed the conditions under which they lived and worked.
Tasks: Analyze
Terms: arguments / 1800s / how to improve lives of workers
TASKS: ANALYZE
TERMS: ARGUMENTS / 1800S / HOW TO IMPROVE LIVES OF WORKERS
• Brainstorm what you know about the topic
•A udience → who is this written to / or for
•P lace & time → a German soldier in the trenches may have
different perspective compared to others
•P rior knowledge → what do YOU know about it
•A uthor → what characteristics does author have
•R eason for writing → writer’s objective, ulterior motive
•T he main idea → knowledge / interpretation
•S ignificance → why did the writer of the dbq include this
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
• What do you know about the author / source…
• What is the main point of the document – how does
it relate to the prompt (what are they arguing in regards to
improving workers lives?)
• What category (or categories) would you label it as in
regards to the prompt
DOCUMENT #1
The main idea:
Thomas Malthus,
English Economist, An
Essay on the Principal
of Population, 2nd
edition, 1803
“the causes of poverty and social inequality cannot be
resolved by the rich or by government intervention; the
poor should have patience”
Category ⟶ laissez-faire / non-government intervention
DOCUMENT #2
David Ricardo, English
economist, Principles of
Political Economy &
Taxation, 1817
• Main Idea: – legislative reforms to increase workers’ wages (like
the poor laws) run counter to the principles of free-market enterprise
(laissez-faire); further, Ricardo shifts responsibility to the poor and
suggests ironically that the legislature regulate population size. The
principal thrust of this document is that Ricardo opposes government
intervention
Category ⟶ laissez-faire / non-government intervention
DOCUMENT #3
Saint-Amand Bazard,
French social theorist,
public lecture, 1828
• The Main Idea: – Laissez-faire policies are not effective in
alleviating miseries of the poor in the short term.
Category → Government Intervention / Socialist/ Reformist
DOCUMENT #4
London Workingmen’s
Association
Petition to Parliament for
the “Peoples Charter,” 1838
• The Main Idea: – Granting the suffrage to all workers over the
age of 21 will relieve the suffering of the laboring poor.
Category → suffrage (workers need the right to
vote) / unity
DOCUMENT #5
Flora Tristan, French writer and
political activist, The Workers’
Union, 1843
The Main Idea: – only through unity will the working class be able
to demand concessions from the bourgeoisie, and the unity of working
men and women will result in gender equality
Category → unity, women’s equality & rights / socialist / radical
Karl Marx & Friedrich
Engels, German social
theorists, The German
Ideology, 1845 - 1846
DOCUMENT #6
• The Main Idea: – A wholesale revolution is the only way to
achieve the overthrow of the
ruling class
Category → revolutionary / radical
DOCUMENT #7
Louis Blanc, French political
leader, The Organization of Labor,
introduction to the second
edition, 1848
• The Main Idea: – only strong government intervention can
successfully overturn laissez-faire principles in order to alleviate social
inequality
Category → government intervention / activist / socialist
DOCUMENT #8
Pauline Roland, French writer
and political activist, letter to the
editor of the French newspaper
Universal Well-Being, 1851
• The Main Idea: – Women should have a right to the same
employment opportunities as men in order to establish their
independence
Category → Women’s equality & rights / radical / socialist –
state intervention
DOCUMENT #9
Ferdinand Lasalle, German political
activist, “The Workers’ Program,”
public speech delivered in Berlin,
1862
• The Main Idea: – only the state,
ruled by the ideas of the working class, can
promote and protect the moral principles
of equality for all people
Category → government intervention
DOCUMENT #10
John Stuart Mill, English political
theorist and member of
Parliament, Chapters on Socialism,
unfinished book, begun in 1869 &
published posthumously in 1879
• The Main Idea: – contrary to the beliefs of
Socialists, the current system of liberal
government is slowly eradicating social injustices
Category → laissez-faire / non-government
intervention
DOCUMENT
#11
Central Electoral Committee of the
Eleventh Arrondissement of the city of
Paris during the period of the Paris
Commune, March 1871
• The Main Idea: – the realization of
the commune will ensure the
establishment of individual rights for all
citizens and eliminate class distinctions
Category → revolution
DOCUMENT #12
Alexandre Millerand, member of
the French national legislature,
speech, 1896
• The Main Idea: –
suffrage seeks to establish
economic & political liberation for all, rather than to
resort to revolution
Category → Suffrage (workers need the right to vote),
Socialism
CATEGORIES
1. Laissez-Faire / non-interventionist
(1,2,10)
2. State or Government intervention /
socialism (3,5,7,8,9,12)
3. Radical / Revolutionary (5,6,8,11)
4. Unity (4,5,9,11)
5. Working women’s rights (5,8)
6. Expanded suffrage / workers’ rights
(4,8,12)
ACTION AT GHS 2009
JUNIOR CLASS WERE WINNERS THAT YEAR
Five individual responses from people who were there:
1. Junior Football Player
2. Senior Cheerleader
3. Principal
4. Over-protective mother of a Freshman girl
5. Sophomore band member
3 IMPORTANT POV POINTS TO CONSIDER
1. POV is an analysis of the SOURCE not the
DOCUMENT
2. POV analysis must be explicitly REASONABLE
3. POV analysis must be explicitly RELEVANT
4 CATEGORIES OF POV
1.
2.
3.
4.
Authorial (background of the author)
Reliability
Tone or Intent
Grouping / Types of Documents &
their purposes
DEMONSTRATING POINT OF VIEW / BIAS
(AUTHORIAL)
Show your awareness that the gender, occupation, class,
religion, nationality, political position, or ethnic identity of
the author could influence his/her views.
• Example:
• “Mr. Hart, a long time cynic of the GHS marching band, was obviously critical of
the band’s performance at the Rose Parade.”
• “Senator Davidson, leader of the Republican Senate Committee, was naturally in
disagreement of President Obama’s plan for health care reform due to the longstanding feud between Republicans and the President’s administration.”
POINT OF VIEW / BIAS
RELIABILITY
Examine a source for its reliability and accuracy by
questioning if the author of the document would be in a
position to be accurate.
• Example:
• Mr. Hart’s book, “How to Survive & Thrive at GHS,” is probably
accurate, since he has worked and observed student life and
culture at Glendora High School for over 15 years.
POINT OF VIEW / BIAS
TONE OR INTENT
Examine the text of a document to
determine its tone (satire, irony, indirect
commentary, etc.) or the intent of the
author. Especially useful for visual
documents, like art work or political
cartoons.
Example: Michaelangelo, through his
sculpture of David, intended to glorify
not simply himself or the human body,
but the strength and vitality of Florence
as the center of culture and economic
dominance among the other competing
city-states.
POINT OF VIEW / BIAS
GROUPING OF DOCUMENTS
Show an awareness that certain types of authors, simply by
their authorship, will express similar views when you group
documents by type of author.
• Example:
• As former UCLA football players, John, Alex, and Jim all poked
fun at the scandal that rocked the USC football program.
POINT OF VIEW
AUTHORIAL
“David Ricardo stated that wages should not be controlled by
government. As a classical economist and supporter of laissezfaire, Ricardo would have collected evidence to reinforce his
conclusion that free markets should continue.” (Doc.2)
“Marx and Engels were two of the most anti-capitalistic men of
their era and it is easy to see that their main course of action
would be to overthrow the imperialistic, capitalistic government
of Europe.” (Doc.6)
“The Workingmen’s Association, made up of members of the
class most afflicted by the government’s apathy, experienced
first-hand the problems caused by a lack of representation.”
(Doc.4)
POINT OF VIEW
RELIABILITY
“Bazard is speaking in a public lecture, meaning that he may
have been trying to gain the worker’s favor by pointing out the
cruelties of capitalism.” (Doc.3)
“But the fact that Louis Blanc is a French political leader where
the workers were more inclined to demand equality and
betterment of living standards, indicates that he may have
inevitably chosen to cater to their needs to gain their support
and bring stability to France.” (Doc. 7)
“Roland, a writer and political activist, expressed her ideals of
gender equality. She, as a woman, is a reliable source of the
reformist viewpoint that many women held on the topic of
gender equality.” (Doc.8)
POINT OF VIEW
TONE
“The urgency and passion of this document was obviously
intended to appeal workers’ emotions and inspire
revolution, making it propaganda.” (Doc.6)
“It is no surprise that Blanc would use such strong rhetoric,
being that he would be instrumental in calling for the
socialist June Days Revolt that protested the liberal victory
in the popular election.” (Doc.7)
UNACCEPTABLE POV
“Tristan would obviously feel inclined for women’s rights
because she is a woman.”
“Marx is a communist, therefore, he is obviously biased.”
“Ricardo’s work was published in a book and can be
read as reliable and informed, as he is a very educated
man.”
“Louis Blanc is a politician, so what he states cannot be
trusted or considered reliable.”
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH W/ THESIS
EXAMPLE
•
As a revolution in politics left its imprint upon European society
throughout the 19th century, so to did the ever-changing revolution in
industry. From the steady increase in enclosure on the country side, to
the new rising demand for labor in factories, Europe began to evolve
into a strong industrial and urbanized society. This historic transition,
though, came with many obstacles and challenges that plagued
urban laborers and their families. With these challenges lurking in the
shadows of new political ideologies, there came loud and distinct
arguments to remedy the plight of the new urban working class.
Many socialists advocated reforms that would put government in
greater control of both the economy and society, while a group of
conservatives espoused a laissez –faire approach which had been
more widely practiced in the early stages of industrialization. Along
the way there were arguments that both greater gender equity as
well as universal suffrage would improve working society.
REVOLUTION / RADICAL BODY
PARAGRAPH
EXAMPLE
Along with the notion of more government intervention, there were
those who argued that it was revolution that would be needed for real and
effective change. The ideas of Marx and Engels’ revolutionary communist
philosophy gained traction in politically unstable France, leading to multiple
uprisings in the nineteenth century. Their insistence that “revolution is
necessary” inspired many to do just that in 1848. (doc. 6) Marx and Engels
were two of the most anti-capitalist men of their era and it is easy to see that
their main course of action would be to overthrow the imperialistic,
capitalistic governments of Europe. One of those whom they inspired was
Louis Blanc, French political leader, who in his Organization of Labor called
out the “regime of inequality” that he felt was plaguing the modern state.
(doc. 7) It is no surprise that Blanc would use such strong rhetoric, being that
he would be instrumental in calling for the socialist June Days Revolt that
protested the liberal victory in the popular election. The call for socialist
revolutionary change reached its peak with the Paris Commune, an
organization of radical, egalitarian socialists, who briefly took control of the
capital in 1871. They wanted to fulfill Marx’s ideal of having “no class
distinctions.” (doc. 11) The reliability of this point of view can be questioned
due to the overwhelming numbers of commune members who were from
the poor ranks themselves, and therefore would most likely not benefit from
class distinctions in society
FINALLY…THE ASSIGNMENT!
Word Process your DBQ Essay
1. Highlight your thesis
2. Highlight your attempts at POV (different
color)
3. Where you incorporate “outside
information,” write the initials “O.I.” next to it
in the margin.
4. Staple the Green Check-off sheet to the
front of your essay, fill out “writer’s check-off”