World History
Essay Questions
Choose one question from the four given for each unit or have a question of your own
approved by the teacher. Essays are to be at least 5 paragraphs, double-spaced, typed
or in ink, and will be graded using the attached rubric.
Essay #1 Due: 09/21/15
1. Compare Elizabeth I of England and King Philip II of Spain in terms of their personalities as rulers,
their relationship to religion, and their foreign policy.
2. Write an essay arguing either Locke’s or Hobbes’ position. Be sure to include specific ideas.
3. Write an essay that supports or refutes this statement: Süleyman I was a cruel leader who was more
interested in expanding his empire than in protecting or providing for his subjects.
4. Write an essay on the reasons for the decline of the Mogul Empire beginning with Shāh Jahān.?
Essay #2 Due: 10/26/15
1. Write an essay comparing and contrasting Portuguese and Dutch activities in the spice trade in
Southeast Asia. Be sure to link to specific facts and dates.
2. Write an essay discussing the influence of Enlightenment philosophy on the American Revolution, the
Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution.
3. Write an essay exploring the influences on the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. Be sure
to include a discussion of influential documents from other countries. Also discuss influences specific
to France, identifying cultural, political, and economic concerns the authors wanted to address.
4. Write an essay analyzing whether Napoleon did or did not preserve the ideals of the French Revolution
through his domestic and foreign policies. Demonstrate your knowledge of both sides of the argument,
but ultimately choose one side using support from the text.
Essay #3 Due: 12/07/15
1. Write an essay evaluating the nineteenth-century social reforms that took place in Great Britain,
Russia, and the United States. Were the reforms successful? Did they contribute to the stability of these
nations?
2. Write an essay describing the obstacles that trade unions faced in their effort to improve labor
conditions.
3. Write an essay discussing the effects of colonial rule on the countries that were colonized. Be sure to
discuss at least two specific examples.
4. Write an essay that supports or argues against this point of view: The United States was right to do
whatever was necessary to build the Panama Canal because it is such an important and strategic
waterway.
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Essay #4 Due: 01/25/16
1. Write an essay describing the major events in China related to imperialism during the nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries.
2. In what ways did Sun Yat-sen and the intellectuals and writers who succeeded him embrace Western
ideas? How did they adapt these ideas to the Chinese context?
3. Write an essay discussing the elements of the World War I peace settlement that seemed likely to lead
to future conflict.
4. Write an essay discussing the role that women played in World War I.
Essay #5 Due: 03/07/16
1. Write an essay that explains how President Roosevelt’s New Deal had immediate and far-reaching
effects on the U.S. economy.
2. Write an essay discussing how Hitler used the existing German political structure and the economic
situation in Germany to rise to power.
3. Write an essay imagining that you are an adviser to President Truman. You must persuade him to use
or not to use the atomic bomb against Japan. Which position do you take? How do you make your
case?
4. Research Golda Meir and find out how she became a leader of Israel. What did a woman rising to this
position of power say about the State of Israel at that time?
Essay #6 Due: 04/25/16
1. The United States has increasingly tried to use economic tools rather than military force to resolve
conflicts in Latin America. Research the trade embargo imposed on Cuba. Write a persuasive essay for
or against the embargo.
2. Do research on Japan and the "Asian tigers" and explain in an essay why these countries have been so
successful.
3. Write an essay describing how popular culture has affected your life. Be sure to include examples of
music, film, television, and art and how it impacted you.
4. Do you think the uprisings in North Africa in 2009 and 2010 would have been as effective without the
use of social networking sites? Why or why not?
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