answer the next ten short questions. At least 8-10 sentences per each.

Essay Question List

1. How did the rule of ‘absolute’ kings and the divine right of kings change the political and social

culture of Europe?

2. Why was the High Renaissance birthed in the Italian states and what impact would it ultimately

have in Europe?

3. How did Enlightenment philosophies and theories by Rousseau, Kant, Hobbes, and Locke actually

work in application? Explain two historical instances.

4. How did the outcome from the War of 1812 transform the relationship between the United States

and Great Britain?

5. How did the Compromises of 1820 and 1850 both show U.S. sectional divide far before war broke

in 1861?

6. Why was Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 such a defining moment in

changing American history through his powers as President?

7. Was China’s downfall as an empire a result of a failure to adapt or more the strengthening of

neighboring kingdoms?

8. What were the major differences in the political ideas behind the economic systems of Capitalism

and Socialism that helped define the 20

th

Century?

9. Choose either European relations or Japanese/U.S. relations. What events helped lead to the

World Wars between the mentioned areas of influence?

10. How did the United States and Soviet Union emerge after WWII as the world superpowers that

began the era known as the “Cold War” ? (1945-Present)