(^276) › STEP 5. Build Your Test-Taking Confidence
Section I, Part B: Short-Answer
Questions
Strategies
Step 1. Compose a topic sentence that responds to
the question and gives you something specific to sup-
port and illustrate.
Step 2. Support and illustrate your assertion in the
topic sentence with specific examples.Suggested Responses- a) A good response will identify ONE change in
agricultural practices during the seventeenth
century that contributed to the Industrial
Revolution, and explain how it contributed to
the Industrial Revolution, such as:
- The enclosure movement was developed in
response to new agricultural technologies
like seed drills, and supported in England by
a Parliament dominated by landed nobility.
The movement increased agricultural produc-
tivity at the same time it displaced small farm-
ers. The increased efficiency of agriculture
further reduced the need for labor, creating a
mobile, wage-based workforce that was neces-
sary for the Industrial Revolution. - The demise of the village common is a second
agricultural change, which would have a simi-
lar impact on farmers and the creation of a
mobile, wage-based workforce.
b) A good response will describe ONE social prob-
lem caused by the growing urbanization, such as: - ousingH was insufficient to cope with a huge
influx in population, resulting in overcrowd-
ing, with multiple families often staying in a
single apartment. Overcrowding also led to
disease spreading quickly as many people were
forced into close contact. - The increase on population strained sanitation
services, with streets filled with sewage and
other waste. This resulted in contamination of
water sources and outbreaks of illnesses such as
cholera and dysentery. - Ther e was little regulation of food. Consumers
were sold food cut with contaminants like
alum in bread, or lead in pepper, to increase
profits by improving the food’s appearance or
decreasing the cost to produce it.
c) A good response will explain ONE way in which
cities responded to the social problem, such as:- ocialS investigations were performed by
governmental bodies such as the Poor Law
Commission in England. Often these advo-
cated for the government to take proactive
approaches to the social problems by establish-
ing reforms in things like water and sanitation.
While governments, often comprised of indus-
trialists, were initially reluctant to support
reforms, fear of diseases like cholera went a
long way to securing their support. Ultimately
Great Britain passed the Public Health Act in
1848, inspiring governments in Germany, the
United States, and France to follow suit. - Cities hired urban planners to eliminate slums,
widen streets, create open spaces and parks,
and implement improvements in sewers and
water. An example of this is Georges-Eugène
Haussman’s redesign of Paris which began in
1853. - Scandals over adulterated foods causing death,
together with the increasing risk to exports
posed by such negative publicity, prompted
eventual passage of laws regulating the quality
of food and drugs, such as the Sale of Food
and Drug Act in Great Britain.
- a) A good response will include ONE factor that
contributed to the New Imperialism in the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
and explain how it contributed to the New
Imperialism, such as:
- The spread and intensification of industriali-
zation created a need for raw materials, many
of which European nations did not have. By
controlling new territories, they simultane-
ously gained control over their resources while
denying rival nations access to those same
materials. - ocialS Darwinism helped make the conquest
and domination of other nations more palat-
able by justifying it as part of the ultimate
evolution and improvement of humanity. By
framing indigenous cultures as inferior to
European cultures, one could then justify their
subjugation. Additional social theories, like
the idea of the “white man’s burden,” encour-
aged Europeans to practice a form of cultural
imperialism, suppressing indigenous religions
and cultural practices.
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