Long Essay Question answers periods 1 & 2 Question 1

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  The Renaissance was a dramatic turning point in the history of western civilization.
  
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  The Renaissance was not a significant turning point in history.
  
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  The Renaissance had a profound impact upon some aspects of western civilization but maintained continuity in major aspects of life and society.
  

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  The Renaissance produced fundamental changes in all areas of European society and knowledge.
  
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    The main focus of Renaissance study is often art; in which there was dramatic change in the approach and style.
    
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      Renewing classical skill in representing the human form, Renaissance art was more lively and realistic than its predecessors of the Middle Ages as illustrated by the works of Michelangelo, Raphael, and others.
      
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      The application of perspective and other new artistic approaches allowed for greater expression in art.
      
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    Renewed interest in and study of classical philosophers spurred a better understanding of the world and motivated further scientific investigation.
    
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      Classical scholars rediscovered Greek and Roman ideas about the universe as well as mathematics and engineering.
      
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        Works by Archimedes, Eratosthenes and others inspired and challenged Renaissance scholars.
        
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      During the Renaissance, debates about the merits of various classical philosophers/scientists and their conflicting ideas about the world sparked the Scientific Revolution.
      
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    The rise of secular humanism shifted the focus of society away from the Church and toward the state and individual.
    
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      Challenges to Church authority through the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution helped to inspire the Reformation.
      
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    Renaissance art and architecture enlivened churches and cathedrals, providing inspiration and wonder in the lives of everyday citizens.
    
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      Architecture of Renaissance greats, such as Brunelleschi still dominate Italian cities.
      

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  The changes of the Renaissance were not a significant turning point because they simply marked a return to the advances and discoveries of ancient Greece and Rome.
  
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    Renaissance art was, in many ways, just beginning to equal work the ancients had done a thousand years earlier.
    
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    Renaissance advances in science and philosophy were attempts to understand and reclaim knowledge which the ancients had already possessed.
    
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    Renaissance art and architecture were reliant upon classical works for inspiration and technical applications.
    
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  Christianity remained the dominant force in the lives of almost all people during and after the Renaissance.
  
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  The great art and advances of the Renaissance benefited the wealthy and ruling elites and had little impact upon the lives and knowledge of the average European.
  
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    Most people remained ignorant of ideas put forth by ancient or Renaissance philosophers and scientists; continuing to attribute natural phenomena to supernatural or superstitious origins.
    

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 medieval Age of Faith was shattered by the Renaissance which began a steady progress toward the modern world.
  
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  The Renaissance returned continuity between the ancient world and Europe which had been lost for centuries.
  

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 Renaissance signified a shift in the functioning of European society and understanding, much as the collapse of the Roman Empire had done.
  
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  The Renaissance parallels the Industrial Revolution in regard to the changes in all aspects of society that would be instigated in each instance.
  

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  The Enlightenment ushered in dramatic changes in the lives and society of Europe.
  
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  The Enlightenment brought major changes for some aspects of society and for a portion of the population, but much of European life continued largely as in earlier periods.
  
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  The Enlightenment did not bring significant change for the majority of Europeans.
  

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  The Enlightenment philosophes attempted to apply the rational analysis of the Scientific Revolution to the study and understanding of society and other problems.
  
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    The works of Hume, Voltaire and others challenged traditional religious belief.
    
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      The rise of Deism as a religious philosophy arguing for a dispassionate uninvolved creator modified traditional Christian beliefs.
      
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    The Enlightenment challenged traditional sources of political authority.
    
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      Many writers criticized the precepts of absolutist or monarchical power.
      
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      Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau all argued that government was a social contract and that authority came from this agreement rather than being inherent in royal prerogative or handed down from God.
      
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      Many writers, such as Voltaire, argued for varying degrees of religious toleration.
      
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    Enlightenment thinkers challenged many aspects of traditional society.
    
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      Montesquieu and Rousseau criticized traditional power structures and social constructs.
      
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      Adam Smith and others criticized the precepts of mercantilism as a hindrance to economic progress.
      
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      Beccaria critiqued the absurdity of torture and the death penalty as means to prevent and punish crime.
      
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    The adoption and implementation of Enlightenment ideals by so-called “Enlightened Monarchs” spread the impact of the Enlightenment to new realms and greater numbers of people.
    
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      Frederick the Great in Prussia, Catherine the Great of Russia, and Joseph II in Austria all implemented various enlightened policies in their territories.
      

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  The Enlightenment, by the admission of its own advocates, was a movement for the educated elite of the nobility and middle class.
  
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    The philosophes envisioned political reform to limit monarchs but only to include and benefit the nobility and bourgeoisie in the governance of society, which still would leave the majority of the population without any voice in government.
    
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    The majority of the population continued to follow traditional religion and superstitious folk tales as guides in life, ignorant of the advances and theories of science and rationalism.
    
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    The economic policies favored by the physiocrats and Adam Smith aided the wealthy merchant classes and not the average farmer, peasant, or artisan.
    
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    The ideas of republicanism and democracy favored by Enlightenment writers had been around since ancient Greece and Rome and were simply borrowed by later Europeans.
    
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      Various states had adopted republican forms prior to the Enlightenment, notably several Italian city-states.
      
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    The “Enlightened despots” did not entirely embrace enlightened ideas but only those which served their purposes.
    
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      In Prussia and Russia, serfdom persisted and power and wealth remained firmly in the hands of the nobility.
      
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      In Austria, the majority of Joseph II’s attempted reforms failed due to opposition from nobles and peasants.
      

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 Renaissance served as a bridge from the ideas of the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution and the application of those ideas as inspiration for the French Revolution and beyond.
  
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  The Enlightenment ideals were a clear break from medieval European beliefs and traditions, presenting a first glimpse of a modern worldview.
  

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 Enlightenment challenge to political and religious authority mirrored the earlier turmoil surrounding the Reformation and its challenge to traditional Catholic and papal authority.
  
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  The Enlightenment was a redefining of social, political, and religious ideals in much the same way that the ideas of fascism and communism would seek to reshape the world in the twentieth century.
  

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  The rise of absolutist government was a radical departure from earlier models of governance with profound ramifications for society.
  
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  The emergence of absolute monarchy simply was a re-imagining of forms of government which had previously existed within western civilization under new names and justifications.
  
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  The rise of absolutist governments caused dramatic changes in some aspects of life and politics, but for much of society caused little change.
  

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  Absolute monarchy was a new justification for existing policies and government but not a drastic change in society.
  
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    Monarchs with absolute power had been a norm in many parts of the world throughout the history of mankind, so modern European concepts of absolute monarchy was nothing new.
    
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    The concepts of absolutism as spelled out in the 17^th century, such as James I’s concept of the Divine Right of Kings, were a restatement of past religious justifications for monarchical rule.
    
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    The centralizing of modern states in Europe, such as in France and Britain, led to a return of strong authority such as had been seen in Europe in the time of the Roman Empire and thus continued in well-established governmental ideals to consolidate power against the decentralizing influence of Feudalism.
    
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    The ideas of proponents of absolutism, such as Jean Bodin and Bishop Bossuet, relied upon traditional and religious justifications for royal absolutism.
    
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  Enlightened Absolutists, such as Frederick the Great and Catherine the Great, used their power to implement some changes in their realms but the majority of institutions were not changed.
  
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    In Prussia and Russia, nobles continued to exercise enormous political and financial influence.
    
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    Peasants continued to toil for meager returns and serfdom persisted as an institution for the benefit of the state and nobles.
    

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  Absolute monarchy broke with the prevailing norms of medieval Europe which had governed society for nearly a thousand years.
  
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    The centralizing impetus from monarchs seeking absolute control accompanied and reinforced the creation of the modern nation-states which broke with the feudal political make-up of medieval Europe.
    
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    The consolidation of power in royal hands broke the power of the nobility.
    
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      Although positions of nobility would persist for centuries onward, those positions lacked the true power they had previously enjoyed distinct from royal patronage.
      
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      Jean Bodin argued for absolutism as the only means to maintain peace and order in the face of the turmoil and conflicts of religious and political factions.
      
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      Seeking to staff their new expanded royal bureaucracies, European monarchs increasingly turned to the burgeoning middle class for government officials rather than the noble and clerical elites of the past.
      

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 trend of centralization would continue throughout the modern period, but often in the absence of absolutism in states such as Britain and later France.
  

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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  Royal attempts to consolidate power at the expense of the nobility parallel attempts by communist regimes to expunge bourgeois elements from government administration and society.
  

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  The increased imperialism of the 19^th century had profound implications for society and the nations of Europe.
  
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  The “new imperialism” of the 19^th century was nothing “new” and continued the same policies and trends seen in earlier European history.
  
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  The imperialism of the 19^th century had profound impacts upon some aspects of European society while many things continued along the same path as in the past.
  

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  The desire for imperial conquest and colonies in the 19^th century was part of the trend of overseas exploitation which European nations had been pursuing since the 15^th century.
  
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    European conquests in Africa (by the British, French, and others) built upon the in-roads established in the hey-day of exploration by the Spanish and Portuguese in the 16^th century.
    
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    European expansion into Asia and Africa followed the example of conquest and colonization seen earlier in the Americas.
    
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      In the 19^th century, the British government assumed direct control of India from the British East India Company.
      
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    Europeans continued to force concessions of trade and territory from Asian countries just as they had since the first explorers arrived in India in the 1500s.
    
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      China was forced to concede territory and commercial control through the Opium Wars.
      
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    The “Race for Africa” was simply an acceleration of the process of seizing and colonizing African territory by European powers which had begun with the first Portuguese outposts in the 15^th century.
    
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    The imperial expansion of the 19^th century had as its aim the acquisition of land, wealth, and international prestige; just as expansionist policies had been for ages.
    
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  Europeans justified their imperialism along racial, ethnic, and religious grounds just as in earlier centuries.
  
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    Kipling’s suggestion of the “white man’s burden” in civilizing non-European lands and people could be applied equally to the perspective of the 16^th century as well as to that of the 19^th century.
    

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  The imposition of European domination was a definitive shift in status and lifestyle for African and Asian populations who would be marginalized in their own lands.
  
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  The imperialism of the 19^th century was a dramatic expansion of the policies of expansion and colonization from earlier centuries.
  
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    Throughout the 16^th, 17^th, and 18^th centuries, European powers had acquired various colonies throughout the world. In the 19^th century, the European powers essentially moved to divide up all non-European territory.
    
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  Following the rise of industrialization in Europe, the European powers furthered the search for natural resources and markets far in excess of what had been done in the past.
  
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  The rise of nationalism in Europe further spurred the quest for imperial domination as a sign of national superiority and prestige.