Name __________________________       Second Test for World History Since 1500

 Multiple Choice: (choose the best answer for two points each)

1)___ After the initial period of European discovery and exchange of diseases and products with the New World, a new class of merchants and property owners began to accumulate wealth and began to question the nature of government and citizenship. Of the following theorists, which believed that human nature was basically evil and that monarchy was the most natural political organization? A) John Locke, B.Thomas Hobbes, C) Jean Jacques Rousseau, D) Charles Darwin, E) Emmanuel Kant.

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Answer: B. In the context of the years leading to England's Glorious Revolution, Thomas Hobbes represented a more conservative strain of thinking regarding the self-governing potential of the common person. After all, literacy was still a long way from becoming a common skill and an elite minority headed by a monarch was considered to be the natural course of history.

 2)___ The Renaissance/Reformation view of “divine monarchy,” gave way to parliamentary forms of democracy in which the tradition of monarchy remained, but  had to answer to the parliament. Which of the following countries was the first to achieve a Parliamentary form of government? A) France, B) Germany, C) America, D) England, E) Belgium.
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Answer: D. England's Glorious Revolution in 1644 placed a clear legal parliamentary check on the power of the king. No longer could taxes be levied without the consent of the leading property owners in England. British landowners in North America merely wanted the same rights as their countrymen, no more.

3)___ Democratic forms of government were nothing new, as the Iroquois Indians in New England practiced a form of representative democracy that was not unlike the one established by the Founding Fathers of the American Revolution. Which European philosopher was the most radical regarding democracy and the first to acknowledge the “nobility” of native peoples? A) John Lock, B) Thomas Hobbes, C) Jean Jacques Rousseau, D) Charles Darwin, E) Emmanuel Kant.
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Answer: C. Jean Jacques Rousseau idealized the precivilized state, before the constrictive effects of social classes had taken hold. French exposure to American Indians certainly must have affected his coining of this term as well.

 4)___ Interestingly, political philosophers of the day mentioned nothing of “race,” when considering human nature and ideal forms of government before the industrial revolution. Which philosopher proposed that every person has a “blank slate,” or “tabula rasa” when born and had the potential to learn anything given the chance? A) John Locke, B)Thomas Hobbes, C) Jean Jacques Rousseau, D) Charles Darwin, E) Emmanuel Kant.

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Answer: B. Reflecting the optimism of the Enlightenment, John Locke, belief in the potential of every human being, marked a break from Hobbsian elitism.

 

 5)___ Although many philosophers and founding fathers believed that people had the potential for independent thinking, the main attribute of enlightenment, others doubted that every person would choose the path of independent thinking. Which philosopher believed that many citizens who lacked the courage to question authority and “dare to know,” would be easily manipulated by leaders? A) John Lock, B)Thomas Hobbes, C) Jean Jacques Rousseau, D) Charles Darwin, E) Emmanuel Kant.

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Answer: E. In his "What is Enlightenment," Kant considers the eternal question, to what extent the average man is capable of questioning the conventions of his or her society to get at the underlying truths and issues.

 

 6) In China, which of the following social-poltical philosophies argued that human nature was basically good if the humaneness, or jen be nurtured by the proper social rituals, or li, through family life, formal education and government? A) Taoism, B), Legalism, C) Communism, D. Confucianism, E. The Mandate of Heaven

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Answer: D. Using the analogy of the baby crawling on the edge of a well, and the human inclination to want to save the baby from falling in, Confucianism breaks from Legalism in proposing that humaneness, or jen, is fundamental to human nature and through the practice of proper social/educational rituals, or li, can be nurtured to fruition for a well functioning society.

 

7)___ Which of the periods represented women’s GROWING status in the workplace? A) 8000BCE (Agricultural Revolution), B) 1644-1800 CE (Political Revolutions), C) 200BCE—200CE (Common Era of Empires), D)1800—1914 (Industrial Revolution)

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Answer: D. The Industrial Revolution (1800-1914) did more for women's economic independence than any development since the Agricultural Revolution (circa.8000BCE) when men came to dominate the means of production and its surpluses.

 

8)___ Which of the following countries’ early revolutions granted incomplete religious freedom during the era of political revolutions between 1644 and 1850? A. France, B. America, C. England, D. Germany, E. Paraguay

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Answer: C. Jews and Catholics in England still had incomplete religious freedom until after 1850.

 

9)___ After revolutions in France, America, and England, peoples in the Caribbean, South America, and Central America fought and won independence from their European colonizers. Who was the first to lead slaves in a successful slave revolt? A. Ben Franklin, B. Hidalgo, C. Tousant L’Overture, D. Simon Bolivar, E. Poncho Villa.

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Answer: C. Tousant L'Overture, a freed slave and leader of the slave revolt against the French, ironically, could not extend the political rights to freed slaves after the revolution.

 

10)___ Theodore Hertzle came to the conclusion that Jewish national identity was problematic in which country? A. America, B. England, C. Germany, D. France, E. Italy.

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Answer: D. Despite the legal equality as French citizens, French Jews continued to suffer discrimination in their homeland. Theodore Hertzle was covering the Richard Dreyfus treason trial which, while it resulted in his acquittal, showed that many non-Jews did not expect Jews to be loyal to France in wartime.

 

11)___ While Western European nations encouraged Christian communities in the Ottoman Empire to struggle fight wars for independence, they supported the Ottoman Empire in their war against A. India, B. Russia, C. Egypt, D. Italy, E. Japan.

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Answer: B. Economic and geopolitical rivalry between Northern European nations and the still emerging Russia caused the former to support the Ottoman empire in the Crimean War with Russia. This rivalry would continue, of course, in the building tensions and incidents leading up to the First World War.

 

 

Matching two points each for two points each 

Match each term with .  .  .

.  .  .  the best possible answer below

1)____ Thomas Carlyle

2)____ Chartists

3)____  Ben Franklin

4)____  voudoon

5)____   Paraguay

6)____   Jethro Tull

7)____  Otto Von Bismark

8)____   H.D. Thoreau

9)____   Enclosure Acts

10)___   Joseph-Ernest Renan

11)___  Emmeline Pankurst

12)___  extraterritoriality

13)___  Simon Bolivar

14)___  "cultivation system"

15)___  Mary Wallstonecraft,

16)___  Napoleon Bonaparte

17)___  Spinning Jenny

18)___  corsets

A. First to promote Enlightenment ideals to American farmers

B. Proposed wide-ranging rights for women

C. Modeled his rule on the Roman Republic

D. Rare failed attempt in S.America to give representation to all of the social classes

E. Increased efficiency for sowing

F. Increased migration to urban areas from rural areas

G. believed that the "cash nexus" was an inhumane development of the industrial rev.

H. foreign immunity to local laws

I. Warned that patriotism can be like a “maggot on one’s brain” if it is the be all and end all of one's identity

J. Dutch policy in Southeast Asia

K. Increased efficiency for sewing

L. Led the Suffragettes

M. Worried that people would identify with nationalism more than religion

N. an example of Victorian domesticity

O. First to offer social security

P. Scared European monarchs and sparked nationalist sentiments

Q. provided cultural integrity to slaves

R. Fought for universal suffrage for men

 

1)____ Thomas Carlyle -- G. Believed the "cash-nexus" to be an incomplete basis for healthy human relationships

2)____ Chartists -- R. Fought for the universal suffrage for men in England during the 19th century

3)____  Ben Franklin -- A. Interjected wise sayings and advice for citizen self-improvement in the Farmer's Almanac

4)____  voudoon -- Q. Africans practiced this blend of African and Catholic religion to preserve some self-respect for their home culture

5)____   Paraguay -- D. The only South American country to attempt to extend political rights beyond the creole elite -- the attempt was crushed by surrounding countries under financial support from Britain.

6)____   Jethro Tull -- E. The first seed sowing machine, increasing agricultural efficiency in the build-up to the Industrial Revolution

7)____  Otto Von Bismark -- O. The first prime minister to offer social security among other benefits to workers in Germany in the mid 19th century

8)____   H.D. Thoreau -- I. Observing the rise of nationalist sentiment in the mid 19th century, Thoreau warned that patriotic passions could be detrimental to one's state of soul, therefore like a "maggot on the brain."

9)____   Enclosure Acts -- F. By eliminating the common lands, poor people used to graze their sheep in rural areas, these people had to move to urban areas in search of work to survive other ways.

10)___   Joseph-Ernest Renan -- M. Like H.D. Thoreau, Renan, was shocked that nationalism was becoming more spiritually significant to people than religion.

11)___  Emmeline Pankurst -- L. courageously led the Suffragette movement in England, asserting the rights of women in the face of severe repression by the authorities

12)___  extraterritoriality -- H. Western European powers claimed this legal privilege in numerous countries they traded with to protect their people from local laws they may have knowingly or unknowingly broken. To the local leadership, this assertion of foreign privilege was a humiliation and reason to fight against western Imperialism

13)___  Simon Bolivar -- C. educated in Europe, Bolivar imagined himself as another Bonaparte leading South Americans to a great Republic like the Roman Republic of the Roman Empire. He failed to unite the various peoples of South America.

14)___  "cultivation system" -- J. Since slavery was illegal, the Dutch in Malaysia used a taxation system in which a large percentage of an exportable crop was extracted from the local farmers.

15)___  Mary Wallstonecraft -- one of the first to make a persuasive public argument that women are equally deserving of rights during the French Revolution

16)___  Napoleon Bonaparte -- in his failed attempt to "liberate" the rest of Europe from the old feudal order and its monarchs, Napoleon created a reaction that actually increased the nationalist sentiments of peoples in the surrounding countries as they rallied behind their monarchs.

17)___  Spinning Jenny -- increased the efficiency of the production of yarn in England's pioneering of the industrial revolution

18)___  corsets -- while the industrial revolution created a new middle class of the managers of new factories in Victorian England during the 1850s, the women of this social class were often relegated to the home almost as trophies, wearing corsets to make them more attractive to the men but inhibiting their ability to do any physical labor. This phenomenon is comparable to the Chinese practice of foot-binding in that it was a bragging right for wealthy men to have a wife that lived for his pleasure at home and could not work outside the home even if she wanted to.

 

Short Response (for 6 points each, respond to THREE OUT OF FOUR with no more than a couple of thoughtful sentences):

1) What was Karl Marx's (Communist/Socialist) critique of 19th century England?

Marx observed the working conditions of the people who worked in the new factories in the growing urban industrial environment of England. He criticized management's Utilitarian, Malthusian view of workers as replaceable parts in a machine. Marx believed that workers deserved better and he predicted that if such working conditions continued workers of the world would unite and overthrow the management system in the creation of a more just system owned jointly by the workers.

 

2) What did Germany do to avoid some of the problems England experienced?

Under the leadership of Otto Von Bismark, Germany instituted workers' disability insurance, social security, and child labor laws. His actions showed that the rest of the world would not follow the same pattern as Britain, as Marx had predicted thereby proving that a revolution from one system to another is a complex and slow process that changes according to the culture and state of technology.

3) Discuss how Herbert Spencer's theory of Social Dawinism was useful to the imperialistic ambitions of industrializing nations?

Spencer's Social Darwinism created new categories for classifying humanity according to the nation in which they lived. According to Spencer's twisting of Darwin's theory of evolution, each nation represented a race that was superior to others to the extent that they could evidence technological (industrial) development and dominate other nation/races of the world. Industrialized nations applied this theory to their colonial policy in their subjugation and disrespect of non-industrialized peoples. Modern racism developed out of Social Darwinism.

4) How did the Opium Wars reflect apparent contradictions in Europe's belief that they were morally superior to other parts of the world?

While Britain believed to be bringing progress to the world in the form of a morally superior and technologically advanced civilization, it had to force China to allow them to sell Opium on the streets of China against the wishes of the Chinese government. China fought and lost two wars over this issue with Britain the memory of it would begin to taint China's relationship with the West (Britain, France, and America).

Extended Response (for twelve points each, respond to TWO OUT OF THREE with a a well developed paragraph or two):

1) What environmental and economic factors helped enable England's Industrial Revolution?

As the British population increased as a result of the Columbian Exchange and the introduction of New World crops, especially the potato, the island became increasingly deforested as people needed more fuel for energy. Deeper and deeper coal mines, consequently, became essential for alternative fuel sources, but being an island, the water table flooded the mines unless it was continually pumped out. A primitive form of steam engine, invented to power the pumps became further refined to provide locomotion for rail cars. The economy benefited from the steam engine as well as numerous other inventions during this period and Britain developed its textile manufacturing industry while it taxed the importation of Indian textiles until Britain gained the competitive edge.

2) Compare and contrast Japanese and Islamic responses to the European challenge.

The relative geographic isolation of Japan probably allowed it to keep a healthy distance from Europe to learn from it without being dominated by it. The Dutch studies movement during the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries familiarized Japanese researchers with the potential of Western Science so that when the American admiral Perry forced Japan to open trade with America, Japan could quickly industrialize and meet the challenge. On the other hand, Africa, being so close to Europe geographically, and so entwined in the Atlantic trade system through the export of millions of slaves, had a less than constructive relationship with Europe be the end of the 19th century. Muslim responses, and the Wahabists in particular, were much more defensive and reactionary to European challenges, both intellectual and military. The Japanese were much more receptive to the idea of learning from the West and applying some of the best models for use. The Wahabists were more interested, understandably, in driving European power out of the region to reclaim their lands and their traditional Muslim lifestyles.

3) How did the global industrial economy and related neo-colonialism potentially slow social and political progress in Paraguay and the American South in the 19th century?

The global industrial economy and related neo-colonial relationships between European industrial powers and landed elite powers in the American South and Latin America inhibited social and political progress because the relationships supported the old social-political structures to the detriment of the non-landed, slave, and mixed (mestizo, mulatto, indian) groups in each region. The American South provided Europe with raw cotton and Latin America provided Europe with cotton as well as other tropical products like sugar and silver. The revolution in Paraguay would have been politically empowering to mestizos as well as creoles but the surrounding countries' armies, funded by Britain, squashed the revolution in Paraguay and actually killed the adult male population there.

Bonus: Analyze the historical dimensions of Liberation Theology in Latin America and the dilemma for priests there.

Liberation Theology represents a break from the official church doctrine to stay out of the local politics and related economic issues like land reform, fair wages, etc. Mexican priests like Hidalgo during the Mexican revolution wanted the old power structure, the church and the creoles, to give up land to the poor farmers as well as grant more political rights to non-creole peoples. These issues remain relevant in Latin America and a dilemma for priests there.