AP European History
Course Outline
First Quarter
TEXT: Kagan, Chapter 10
OUTSIDE READINGS: Machiavelli’s The Prince
I. The Renaissance (2.5 weeks)
A. The Italian Renaissance
1. Italian city-states
2. Women in the Renaissance
3. Humanism
a. Petrarch
b. Dante and Boccaccio
4. Renaissance Art
a. Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo
b. Others
B. Political Decline of Italy
1. French invasions
2. Revival of the monarchy
C. The Renaissance outside of Italy
1. Differences between the northern Renaissance and
the Italian experience.
2. Who’s who outside of Italy?
a. Erasmus
b. Thomas More
D. Voyages of Discovery
E. The Economy of Exploitation
ASSIGNMENTS:
Write a 600-word essay answering the following: “Explain the ways in
which Italian Renaissance humanism transformed ideas about the individual’s
role in society.”
Compile a gallery of no more than 6 pieces of Renaissance art that best
reflects the beliefs and values of the Renaissance. Use the text as well as the art
link given. Include an explanation for the pieces chosen. In this assignment it is
important to write about point of view of the artists.
Using The Prince as a model, describe the characteristics of a
Renaissance ruler. Are Machiavelli’s methods applicable in today’s world? Give
specific examples from recent history. Answer in 2-3 paragraphs.
Kagan, Chapter 11
II.
The Reformation and Counter Reformation (2 weeks)
A. Society and Religion
B. Martin Luther and the German Reformation
1. Justification by Faith
2. Indulgences
3. Charles V
4. Excommunication and the Diet of Worms
5. The Peasant’s Revolt
C. The Reformation outside of Germany
1. The Swiss Reformation
a. Zwingli
b. Anabaptists
c. Calvinism
d. The Diet of and Peace of Augsburg
2. The English reformation
a. Political aspects of the Reformation
b. Henry VIII and Edward VI
3. Why did the Reformation occur in the 16th century and
not the previous century?
D. The Catholic Reformation and the Counter Reformation
1. The Council of Trent
2. Ignatius Loyola, Teresa of Avila
E. Social Implications of the Reformation
1. Education
2. Women
3. Family Life
F. Literature and the Arts
1. Cervantes
2. Shakespeare
3. Artists
ASSIGNMENTS:
Evaluate the validity of this statement: “Luther was both a radical and a
conservative.”
To that extent was the English Reformation of the 16 th both a religious and
a political event?
Write a 600-word essay on the following: “The Reformation was a
rejection of the secular spirit of the Italian Renaissance.” Defend or refute this
statement using specific examples from 16th century Europe.
Kagan, Chapter 12
III.
The Age of Religious Wars (1 week)
A. The French religious Wars (1562 – 1598)
1. Huguenots
2. Calvinists
3. Catherine de Medici
4. Henry of Navarre
5. Edict of Nantes
B. Spain and Phillip II (1556 – 1589)
C. England and Spain (1553 – 1603)
1. Mary I
2. Elizabeth I
D. The Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648)
E. Four Periods of War
F. The Treaty of Westphalia
ASSIGNMENT:
“Between 1560 and 1648, Europe was torn by religious quarrels, but
religion was not the center of Europe’s quarrels.” Discuss this statement in a
600-word essay.
Kagan, Chapter 13
IV.
European State Consolidation in the 17th and 18th Centuries (1.5
weeks)
A. Two European Models
B. Crisis in Stuart England
1. James I
2. Charles I
3. Cromwell
4. Charles II
5. James II
6. The “Glorious Revolution”
C. Absolute Monarchy in France
1. Henry IV
2. Louis XIII and Richelieu
3. Mazarin and a young Louis XIV
D. The Rule of Louis XIV
1. Divine Right of Kings
2. Versailles
3. Jansenists
4. Wars
5. The legacy of Louis XIV
ASSIGNMENTS:
Identify the gentry and the Puritans, and explain why and how they
attempted to limit the authority of the monarchy in England in the period 16031642.
Explain the political balance of power between the House of Commons
and the English monarchy in the late 17th century. How did this balance
contribute to the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688, and the reign of William and
Mary?
“In 17th century England the aristocracy lost its privileges but retained its
power, in 17th century France the aristocracy retained its privileges but lost its
power.” Assess the validity of this statement with respect to political events and
social developments in the two countries in the 17th century. Use supporting
evidence from your reading.
Kagan, Chapter 14
V.
New Directions in Thought and Culture in the 16th and 17th Centuries (2
weeks)
A. The Scientific Revolution
1. Copernicus
2. Brahe and Kepler
3. Gallileo
4. Newton
B. Philosophies
1.
2.
3.
4.
Bacon
Descartes
Hobbes
Locke
C. The New Institutions
D. Women in the Scientific World
E. Science vs Religion
F. Superstition
ASSIGNMENTS:
Using the documents in your text, analyze the impact on social life in 16 th
and 17th century Europe of the Scientific Revolution.
Compare and contrast Hobbes” and Locke’s beliefs on man and
government. Use excerpts from Leviathan and the Treatises to supplement your
discussion.
Using the art from the Renaissance and art from this period, show how
artists’ views of life changed. Specify the pieces of art, artist, time period, and
frame of reference.
You will complete 1 DBQ and 2 FRQs in class over the course of this quarter in
addition to a 40 question multiple choice test at the end of the quarter.
AP European History
Second Quarter
I. Society and Economy in the 18th Century (2.5 wks)
Kagan, Chapter 15
A. Major Features of Life in the Old Regime
B. The Aristocracy
C. The Land and Its Tillers
D. The Family
1. Households
2. Family economy
3. Women and the family economy
4. Children
E. Agricultural Revolution
F. Industrial Revolution
1. Consumption
2. Industrial leadership of Great Britain
3. New methods of textile production
4. Steam engine
5. Iron production
6. Impact on women
G. The Growth of Cities
H. The Jewish Population
ASSIGNMENTS:
Use the pictures in chapter 16 to describe family life in the 18th
century. Compare family life in the 18th century with family life in
the late middle ages.
600 word essay: The Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions of
the 18th century dramatically altered the economic base of English
society. They also brought marked changes in its social and
political structure and its demographic face. Discuss, giving specific
examples of the changes wrought.
Discuss the status of Jews in Europe during this time period.
Include their treatment politically, socially, intellectually, and
economically. Also discuss if the Jews were treated differently based
on where they lived.
II. The Transatlantic Economy, Trade Wars and Colonial Rebellion
(1wk) Kagan, Chapter 16
A. Overseas Empires
B. Mercantilist Empires
C. The Spanish Colonial System
1. Government
2. Trade
3. Colonial reforms under the Bourbons
D. Black African Slavery, the Plantation System, and the Atlantic
Economy
E. Mid-Eighteenth-Century Wars
F. The American Revolution and Europe
ASSIGNMENTS:
Describe and compare the policies of mercantilism and laissezfaire.
Read Pages 489-491. Prepare discussion over questions on page
491.
Read excerpts from Malthus’ Essay on Population.
III. The Age of Enlightenment (1 wk)**
Kagan, Chapter 17, Viault, Chapters 12 and 13.
ASSIGNMENT:
Answer the 6 Review Questions at the end of the chapter. Each
answer should be a minimum of 2 paragraphs using documents from
the chapter whenever possible.
*We will host an Enlightenment Salon at the end of the semester.
IV. The French Revolution (2 wks)
Kagan, Chapter 18, Viault, Chapter 14.
A. The Crisis of the Monarchy
1. Taxes
2. Aristocracy and the clergy
B. The Revolution of 1789
1. Estates General
2. Bastille
3. “Great Fear” and Feudal privileges
4. Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
5. Royal family
C. Reconstruction of France
D. A Second Revolution
E. Europe at War with the Revolution
F. The Reign of Terror
G. The Thermidorian Reaction
ASSIGNMENTS:
Defend or refute the following statement: Political leaders
committed to radical or extremist goals often exert authoritarian
control in the name of higher values.
Identify the major grievances of the Third Estate. Given the
circumstances were they justified? Evaluate the success or failure of
the Third Estate in relieving these grievances.
In 600 words complete the following: “Identify the major social
groups in France on the eve of the 1789 Revolution. Assess the extent
to which their aspirations were achieved in the period from the
meeting of the Estates-general (May 1789) to the declaration of the
Republic (September 1792).”
Examine the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Determine the
source of ideas for each of the clauses. Which of the Enlightenment
writers are most closely associated with each clause?
V. The Age of Napoleon and the Triumph of Romanticism (2 wks)
Kagan, Chapter 19
A. The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
B. The Consulate in France (1799-1804)
C. Napoleon’s Empire
D. European Response to the Empire
1. German nationalism and Prussian reform
2. The Wars of Liberation
3. The invasion of Russia
4. European coalition
E. The Congress of Vienna and the European Settlement
1. Territorial adjustments
2. The hundred days and the Quadruple Alliance
F. The Romantic Movement
G. Romantic Questioning of the Supremacy of Reason
1. Rousseau
2. Kant
H. Romantic Literature
1. English
2. German
I. Religion
1. Methodism
2. New directions
J. Romantic Views of Nationalism and History
1. Herder
2. Hegel
ASSIGNMENTS: You will take a 50 question multiple choice test with
DBQ at the end of this quarter/semester.
AP European History
Second Semester
Choose from the following novels to read. Upon completion write a
1200-word essay that discusses the historical context of the novel.
This essay is due the day before Spring break.
Francis Fukuyama, The End of History and The Last Man (Europe
in the 20th c)
John Ruskin, On Art and Life (Victorian Age)
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
(early USSR)
Robert Graves, Wife to Mr. Milton. (English Civil War)
Victor Hugo, Les Miserables. (19th-century French social
conditions)
Philip Kerr, March Violets. (Germany in 1936)
Guiseppi Tomasi di Lampadus, The Leopard. (Italian unification)
Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago. (Russian Revolution)
Walter Scott, The Heart of Midlothian. (18th-century urban
violence in Scotland)
Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace. (Napoleonic Wars)
Emile Zola, Germinal (French 19th c working conditions)
This is not an exhaustive list and if there is a novel you would like to
read and is not on the list, see me and let me know what novel you
want to read. You will also watch the film “Germinal” based on Emile
Zola’s novel of the same name. The film is about French mining and
19th-century working conditions. Upon completion of viewing the film
you will write a 5-paragraph critical essay discussing the historical
context of the film.
AP European History
Third Quarter
I. Conservatism and Nationalism
Kagan: Chapter 20
A. Challenges of Nationalism and Liberalism
1. The “isms”
B. Conservative Governments: The Domestic Political Order
C. The Conservative International Order
D. The Wars of Independence in Latin America
E. The Conservative Order Shaken in Europe
ASSIGNMENTS:
Complete the questions from page 596 after reading the
documents from 596-597.
Answer questions 4 and 6 from page 621 in essay form.
Find another painting from this era that either complements or
contrasts Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People” (page 593).
Explain your choice and tell how the two relate to the time
period they represent.
V. Economic Advance and Social Unrest
Kagan: Chapter 21
A. Toward and Industrial Society
B. The Labor Force
C. Family Structures and the Industrial Revolution
D. Women in the Early Industrial Revolution
E. Problems of Crime and Order
F. Classical Economics
G. Early Socialism
H. 1848: Year of Revolutions
ASSIGNMENTS:
Complete the questions on page 628 after reading the
documents on pages 628-629.
Choose one of the following classical economists and discuss the
merits of their stated principles: Smith, Malthus, Ricardo,
Martineau, List, or Bentham in 600 words or less.
VI. The Age of Nation-States
Kagan: Chapter 22
A. The Crimean War
B. Italian Unification
1. Cavour’s Policy
2. Victor Emmanuel II
C. German Unification
1. The role of Bismarck
2. Bismarck’s Policies
3. Germany’s industrial machine
D. France’s Third Republic
1. The Paris Commune
2. The Dreyfus Affair
E. The Hapsburg Empire
F. Russia: Emancipation and Revolutionary Stirrings
1. Alexander II ‘s reforms
2. Revolutionaries
G. Great Britain: Toward Democracy
1. Second Reform Act
2. Gladstone v Disraeli
3. The Irish Question
ASSIGNMENTS: Choose 3 of the 7 questions on page 688 to answer
and discuss in class. Your answers should be at least
a paragraph in length per response. Note that each
question contains more than 1 part.
VII. The Building of European Supremacy
Kagan: Chapter 23
A. Population Trends and Migration
B. The Second Industrial Revolution
C. The Middle Classes in Ascendancy
D. Late 19th-century Urban Life
E. Women’s Experiences in the late 19th-century
F. Jewish Emancipation
G. Labor, Socialism, and Politics to World War I
1. Marx and unionism
2. Great Britain
3. France
4. Germany
5. Russia
ASSIGNMENTS:
Analyze the problems and opportunities associated with the rapid
urbanization of western Europe in the nineteenth century.
Historians speak of the rise of mass politics in the period from
1880 to 1914. Define this phenomenon and analyze its effects on
European politics in this period.
Complete the questions on page 718 after reading the
documents on pages 718-719.
Compare and contrast the treatment of women during the time
period, including the Cult of Domesticity, in two European countries.
Compare and contrast Jewish emancipation throughout Europe.
AP EUROPEAN HISTORY
PAPER
You are to choose a topic of interest from Post WWI Europe to 2000 to write a 5
page paper. Your paper will have the following characteristics:





Thesis statement contained within the 1st paragraph
Supporting documentation from your sources
Analysis of the topic including POV of sources
Well- developed discussion of thesis
Concluding paragraph has thesis restated
This paper will be typed, double-spaced using MLA format. You may type in
Times New Roman, Arial, or Sans Serif 12pt. You must have a minimum of 7
sources on a works cited page and cited throughout your paper. Pages must
have 1” margins and the text needs to be 5 full pages to be considered for a
grade. You may go over the 5 page requirement.
You will be graded on the following:





Characteristics listed above
Content of paper
Format
Use of sources
Length
Possible topics: Rise of Cubism in art, Role of women in post-WWI Europe,
Fascism vs. Nazism, Marshall Plan and the rebirth of post WWII Europe, Fall of
the Berlin Wall, Reunification of Germany….
This paper is due one week after the AP Euro exam.
VIII. The Birth of Modern European Thought
Kagan: Chapter 24; Viault: Chapter 26
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
The new reading public
Science at Mid-century
Christianity and the Church under siege
Toward a 20th century frame of mind
Women and modern thought
IX. The Age of Western Imperialism
Kagan: Chapter 25; Viault: Chapter 27
A. Expansion of European power and the new imperialism
B. Emergence of the German Empire and the Alliance Systems
(1873-1890)
C. World War I
D. The Russian Revolution
E. The end of WWI
F. The settlement at Paris
X. Alliances, War, and a Troubled Peace
Kagan: Chapter 26; Viault: Chapters 28 and 29
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Political and economic factors after the Paris settlement
The Soviet experiment begins
The Fascist experiment in Italy
Joyless victors
Trials of the Successor states in Eastern Europe
The Weimar Republic in Germany
XI. The Interwar Years: The Challenge of Dictators and Depression
Kagan: Chapter 27
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Toward the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Nazi seizure of power in Germany
Fascist economics in Italy
The Soviet Union
XII. World War II
Kagan: Chapter 28; Viault: Chapters 34 and 35
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Again the Road to War
World War II
Racism and the Holocaust
The Domestic Fronts
Preparations for Peace
XIII. The Cold War Era, Decolonization, and the Emergence of a New
Europe
Kagan: Chapter 29
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
Emergence of the Cold War
The Krushchev Era
1956
Cold War Confrontations
European Decolonization
Western European Political Developments
Movement towards Western European Unification
The Brezhnev Era
The Collapse of European Communism
XIV. The West at the Dawn of the 21st Century
Kagan: Chapter 30
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
Movement of Peoples
The Welfare State
Women
Knowledge and Culture
Christianity’s Heritage
Technology
Rise of Radical Political Islamism
A Transformed West