AP European History

An Introduction
 • The AP Exam questions measure students’
knowledge of European history and their
Test ability to think historically. Questions are
based on key and supporting concepts,
Information course themes, and historical thinking skills.
Course Objectives
(1) to increase the student’s understanding of European history,
(2) to have each student take and pass the AP European Exam in May
(3) to prepare students for college.

The A.P. Exam will be sponsored by the College Board in May.

Students with a score of 3 or above on the exam may receive credits in an appropriate college course. The
qualification for receiving credit is determined solely by the college you attend.
Course Outline:
Unit 1 Renaissance, Reformation
Unit 2 Age of Religious Wars
Unit 3 Constitutionalism vs Absolutism in England/France
Unit 4 Successful/unsuccessful Paths to power 1686-1740
Society and Economy under the Old Regime 18 th century
Transatlantic Economy, Trade Wars, Colonial Rebellion
Unit 5 New Directions in Thought and Culture in the 16 th and 17th centuries (Scientific Revolution)
Age of Enlightenment: 18th Century
Unit 6 The French Revolution
Unit 7 The Age of Napoleon and the Triumph of Romanticism
Unit 8 The conservative Order and the Challenges of Reform
Economic Advance and Social Unrest (1830-1850)
Unit 9 The Age of Nation-States
The Building of European Supremacy: Society and Politics to WWI
Unit 10 The Birth of Modern European Thought
Unit 11 Imperialism, Alliances, and War (WWI)
Unit 12 Political Experiments of the 1920s
Europe and the Great Depression of the 1930s
Unit 13 World War II
Unit 14 The Cold War Era and the Emergence of the New Europe
The West at the Dawn of the 21st Century

Unit 15 Latin America, Asia

Unit 16 Africa, Middle East
 Benefits of AP European History
• Preparation for future college level courses
• Development of time management skills
• Increased expectations for student performance
• Improve efficiency in reading and writing skills
• Involvement in one of the most demanding classes offered at Westlake
• Discover a passion for history!!!
 The Exam
Format & Explanation
 • Exam Sections:
• Section 1:
• Part A (40%) Multiple Choice, 55 questions, 55
minutes

Exam • Part B (20%) Short Answer, 3 questions, 50

minutes

Format • Section 2:
• Part A (25%) DBQ, 1 question, 60 minutes
• Part B (15%) LEQ, 1 of 3 questions, 40 minutes
 • Section I: Part A Multiple Choice | 55
Questions | 55 Minutes | 40% of Exam Score
Exam • Questions appear in sets of 2–5.
Breakdown • Students analyze historical texts,
interpretations, and evidence.
: Multiple
• Primary and secondary sources, images,
Choice graphs, and maps are included.
 • Section I: Part B Short Answer | 3
Questions | 40 Minutes | 20% of Exam Score
• Questions provide opportunities for students
to demonstrate what they know best.
• Some questions include texts, images,
Exam graphs, or maps.
Breakdown • The SAQ section includes:
• Question 1, required: 1600-2001
: SAQs • Question 2, required: 1600-2001
• Choose between –
• Question 3, covering periods 1 & 2 or
• Question 4, covering periods 3 & 4
 • Section II: Part A Document Based | 1
Question | 60 Minutes (includes 15 minute
reading period) | 25% of Exam Score
Exam • Analyze and synthesize historical data.
Breakdown • Assess written, quantitative, or visual
materials as historical evidence.
: DBQ • 1600-2001
 • Section II: Part B Long Essay | 1 Question
| 40 Minutes | 15% of Exam Score
• Students select one question among three.
• Three options on the same theme:
• Period 1
Exam • Periods 2-3

Breakdown • Periods 3-4

• Explain and analyze significant issues in
: LEQ European history.
• Develop an argument supported by an
analysis of historical evidence.
Historical Reasoning Skills
 • Describe an accurate historical context for a
specific historical development or process.
• Explain how a relevant context influenced a
specific historical development or process.
Contextualization • Use context to explain the relative historical
significance of a specific historical
development or process.
 • Describe similarities and/or differences
between different historical developments or
process.
• Explain relevant similarities and/or
differences between specific historical
Compariso developments and processes.
n • Explain the relative historical significance
of similarities and/or differences between
different historical developments or
processes.
 • Describe causes or effects of a specific
historical development or process.
• Explain the relationship between causes and
effects of a specific historical development
or process.
Causation • Explain the difference between primary and
secondary causes and between short- and
long- term effects.
• Explain the relative historical significance
of different causes and/or effects.
 • Describe patters of continuity and change
over time.
Continuity • Explain patterns of continuity and change
and over time.
• Explain the relative historical significance
Change of specific historical developments in
reflection to a larger pattern of continuity
over Time and/or change.
Historical Themes
INSPECT
 •Motivated by a variety of factors, Europe’s
interaction with the world led to political,
social, and cultural exchanges that influenced
Interaction both European and non-European societies.
• Why have Europeans sought contact and
of interaction with other parts of the world?

Europe • What political, technological, and intellectual

developments enabled European contact and
interaction with other parts of the world?
and the • How have encounters between Europe and the
World world shaped European culture, politics, and
society?

(INT) • What impact has contact with Europe had on

non-European Society?
 •Definitions and perceptions of regional,
cultural, national, and European identity have
developed and been challenged over time, with
National varied and often profound effects on the
political, social, and cultural order in Europe.
and • Why have certain definitions and perceptions of
regional, national, and European identity
European developed?
• How have these identities been challenged over
Identity time?
• How do art, literature, and philosophy reflect or
(NEI) challenge these identities?
 •Economic, political, and cultural factors have
Social influenced the form and status of family, class,
and social groups in European history,
Organization affecting both the individual and society.
• What forms have family, class, and social groups
taken in European history, and how have they
and changed over time?
Development • How and why has the status of specific groups
within society changed over time?
(SCD)
 •European states and nations developed governmental and civil institutions
from 1450 to the present to organize society and consolidate political
power, with a variety of social, cultural, and economic effects.

States and • What forms have European governments taken, and how have
these changed over time?

Other • In what ways and why have European government moved toward
or reacted against representative and democratic principles and
practices?

Institutions • How did civil institutions develop apart from governments, and
what impact have they had upon European states?
• How and why did changes in warfare affect diplomacy, the
of Power European state system, and the balance of power?
• How did the concept of balance of power emerge, develop, and

(SOP)
eventually become institutionalized?
 •Economic development, especially the
development of capitalism, played an
important role in Europe’s history, often
having significant social, political, and cultural
effects.
Economic & • How has capitalism developed as an economic
system?
Commercial • How has the organization of society changed as
Developments a result of or in response to the development and
spread of capitalism?
(ECD) • What were the causes and consequences of
economic and social inequality?
• How did individuals, groups, and the state
respond to economic and social inequality?
 •The creation and transmission of knowledge, including the
relationship between traditional sources of authority and the
development of differing world views, had significant political,
intellectual, economic, cultural, and social effects on European
and world societies.
• What roles have traditional sources of authority (church
Cultural and and classical antiquity) played in the creation and
transmission of knowledge?
Intellectual • How did the major Western philosophical traditions
reflect the changing European economic, political social,
Developments and cultural climate?
• How did the changing European economic, political, and
(CID) social climate of Europe affect the European cultural and
intellectual movements?
• How and why did Europeans come to value subjective
interpretations?
 •Scientific and technological innovations have
increased efficiency, improved daily life, and
shaped human development and interactions,
Technological having both intended and unintended
consequences.
and • How did Early Modern Europeans challenge the
Scientific nearly sacrosanct Classical understanding of the
world?
Innovation • How did technological and scientific innovations
(TSI) affect European culture, social order, economic
development, and political climate?
Periodization
 • Renaissance to Peace of Westphalia
• Humanism
• New Monarchies
Period 1 • Age of Exploration

1450-1648 •
•
Renaissance Art
Reformation
Units 1 & • Counter-Reformation
• Baroque
2 • Wars of Religion
• Thirty Years War
 • Peace of Westphalia to Congress of Vienna
• Absolutism
• Bourbons, Stuarts, & Hapsburgs
Period 2 • Constitutionalism
• Scientific Revolution
1648-1815 • Enlightenment
•
Units 3, 4, •
Balance of Power
Wars of Louis XIV

&5 •
•
Dutch Republic
English Civil War
• French Revolution
• Napoleon
 • Congress of Vienna to World War I
• Concert of Europe
• Industrial Revolution
• The Isms

Period 3 •
•
Darwin
New Imperialism
1815-1914 • Nationalism
• Communist Manifesto
Units 6 & • Revolutions

7 •
•
1848
Crimean War
• Unification of Italy & Germany
• Realpolitik
 • World War I to the Present
• Total War

Period 4 • World Wars 1 & 2

• Age of Anxiety
1914- • Fascism

Present •
•
Cold War
NATO vs Warsaw Pact
Units 8 & • European Union

9 • Physics, Psychology, Medicine

Resources
 • College Board Course and Exam
Description
• AP Classroom (Personal Progress Checks)
• AP Euro class page
Important • Tom Richey’s review videos (as well as
Resources review videos created by others)
• Relevant Crash Course videos