Application of Historical Thinking Skills

Students earn points by using the evidence offered in support of their argument to identify and illustrate continuity and change over time. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

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  The impact of World War I reshaped the economic, political, and social life of Europe as all groups reacted to the deprivations, death, and turmoil of the war years.
  

Students can earn the point for synthesis by crafting a persuasive and coherent essay. This can be accomplished by providing a conclusion that extends or modifies the analysis in the essay or by connecting to another historical period or context. Examples could include, but are not limited to, the following:

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  World War I and its peace settlement laid the groundwork for the turmoil of the 1930s and World War II.
  
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    The technological advances of World War I would be refined and improved for even greater destructive capacity in World War II.
    
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    The bitterness of nations such as Germany and Italy from the peace settlements would lead to the rise of fascism and the reigniting of war in less than 30 years.
    

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  The Age of Exploration reshaped European understanding of the world and Europe’s place in it.
  
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  The Age of Exploration had a profound impact on some aspects of European commerce and politics, but significant portions of society continued along the same path as in earlier periods.
  
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  The Age of Exploration did not fundamentally alter Europe’s interactions with the rest of the world.
  

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  Europeans continued to perceive themselves as a superior race even after the discovery of new territories and peoples that had been previously unknown.
  
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  European nations continued the same economic, imperial, and religious rivalries that had predated the Age of Exploration.
  
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  The economic, social, and political lives of Europe continued to progress along the same lines as before, dominated by nobles and economic elites under the rule of monarchs.
  
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    The majority of the population continued to make its living from agriculture and, as a result, continued to be dominated by the landed elites.
    
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  Although Europeans “discovered” new lands and cultures, the majority of Europeans continued to live with no exposure to those outside influences, instead continuing to live much the same lifestyle as their ancestors with little social or geographic movement throughout their lives.
  

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  New products and resources were introduced into Europe and the New World as categorized by the Columbian Exchange.
  
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    Gunpowder, horses, and European settlers were introduced into the Americas.
    
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    Potatoes, corn, squash and other produce were introduced into Europe from the Americas, with many becoming staples of European diets.
    
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  Encounters with non-Europeans reinforced and heightened European concepts of racial superiority.
  
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    The seemingly less advanced cultures encountered by Europeans in the Americas, Africa and Asia convinced many that Europe was the pinnacle of human development.
    
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    Most Europeans came to view non-Europeans as inconvenient obstacles to the acquisition of new territories and resources.
    
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  The “discovery” of new lands led to a quest for colonies by European nations and overseas trade introducing completely new concepts of governance and economics.
  
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    The competition for colonies, overseas trade, and natural resources provided yet another source for conflict and war between Europe’s nations.
    
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  The influx of gold and silver from the New World, particularly into Spain, provided an economic boost to certain European countries but brought with it rampant inflation.
  
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  The desire to convert native groups religiously and to “civilize” them socially led to the rise of the concept that would later be referred to as the White Man’s Burden.
  
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  The Age of Exploration broadened the knowledge of the world amongst most Europeans and inspired a curiosity about the world and its functioning that would aid not only exploration but also scientific inquiry.
  
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    Naturalists spread throughout the globe cataloging new species of plants and animals.
    

Students earn points by using the evidence offered in support of their argument to identify and illustrate continuity and change over time. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

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  The Age of Exploration shifted Europe into a position of increasing power and dominance in the world, a profound change from the Middle Ages when Europe was the poor uncivilized neighbor of the Byzantine and Muslim worlds.
  

Students can earn the point for synthesis by crafting a persuasive and coherent essay. This can be accomplished by providing a conclusion that extends or modifies the analysis in the essay or by connecting to another historical period or context. Examples could include, but are not limited to, the following.

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  The Age of Exploration had as drastic an impact upon European knowledge of the world as the Scientific Revolution.
  
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  The Age of Exploration compares well with the same sense of excitement and adventure that accompanied the “Space Race” of the 1950s and 1960s for its quest into the unknown.
  

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  The Cold War fundamentally altered Europe’s position in the world and how Europeans perceived themselves and their interactions with the rest of humanity.
  
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  The Cold War changed important aspects of European society and the relationship between Europe and the world, but major segments of society remained unchanged.
  
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  The Cold War did not alter European society or its interaction with the wider world.
  

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  The Cold War was a continuation of the mistrust and anti-communist sentiment that pervaded the 1920s and 1930s.
  
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    The same fear of communism that allowed the rise of fascism contributed to the paranoia that shaped the Cold War.
    
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  The Cold War, with its focus upon alliance systems and the exercise of spheres of influence, was a direct continuation of the alliance policies that led to both World Wars.
  
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  The Cold War was the next step in the division of Europe into opposing factions as seen previously in the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, and World War II.
  
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  The nuclear arms race of the Cold War was the next step in the increasingly deadly arms races that began in earlier eras, notably the naval arms race leading up to World War I.
  
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  The Cold War and the resulting NATO alliance kept the majority of western Europe dependent upon the U.S. military and aid, just as American loans and aid had been essential during World War I, World War II, and the interwar period.
  

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  The Cold War turned the traditional alliance divisions of Europe on end.
  
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    No longer was Europe divided merely along ideological, ethnic, or religious lines; it now was divided in a clearly eastern vs. western axis.
    
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    The “Iron Curtain” of the eastern bloc made clear the divisions between western capitalist democracies and the communist regimes of the east.
    
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  The nuclear arms race cast a shadow over all of Europe and all of European life, with the prospect of eradicating European civilization in just moments.
  
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  The Cold War policy dominated by the United States and its NATO alliance freed European member states to focus most of their spending upon non-military expenditures.
  
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    The flexibility to invest more resources into other aspects of society than the military allowed many European nations to invest heavily in social welfare programs that dramatically increased the standard of living amongst their citizens.
    
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  The Cold War and fear of Soviet expansion made western Europe even more dependent upon U.S. aid and investment than it had been following World War I.
  
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  The Cold War led to artistic and literary reactions against the brinkmanship and tensions of the Cold War governments.
  
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    Developments such as the Berlin Blockade/Airlift and the Cuban Missile Crisis made people fear that political leaders were toying with the lives of millions again as they had in World War I and World War II.
    
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    Pop and modern art reveled in forms devoid of the political and religious symbolism that dominated much of previous art work.
    
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    Films and novels provided glimpses and warnings of possible human self-destruction through nuclear war.
    
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    Many films and novels provided fantasy escapes from the realities and fears of Cold War life.
    

Students earn points by using the evidence offered in support of their argument to identify and illustrate continuity and change over time. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

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  The Cold War continued decades of military expansion and alliances that had set the world on the path to massive World Wars before, yet the Cold War avoided such direct conflict on a large-scale.
  
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  The Cold War replaced nationalistic competition between the major powers with competition between more purely ideological differences, at least for the time being.
  

Students can earn the point for synthesis by crafting a persuasive and coherent essay. This can be accomplished by providing a conclusion that extends or modifies the analysis in the essay or by connecting to another historical period or context. Examples could include, but are not limited to, the following:

• 
  The Soviets and Americans spent the Cold War competing for satellites and allies in much the same way early world powers had competed for colonies and resources.