Dbq Essay Ap World History

The American Historian and Diplomat George Kennan once said that “The very concept of history implies the scholar and the reader. Without a generation of civilized people to study history, to preserve its records, to absorb its lessons and relate them to its own problems, history, too, would lose its meaning.” Humans must heavily analyze the past via themes when reviewing sources in order to understand the past through our ancestors eyes. This is why the themes of the 3Cs, Change, Comparison and Connection are fundamental. Connection must be considered due to the way countries can affect each other, such as the way the Industrial Revolution had a widespread impact across the world. Secondly, sources can often create a strong comparison

Though the comparison between two countries has a weakness in the way it can be mistaken for connection. Comparison is more of the differences and similarities between two countries, as opposed to the impact that the countries have on each other. One very obvious comparison between two countries lies in the depiction of Western society penetrating that of the Japanese civilization. Visual Source 19.2 shows Japanese women dressed in European styled dresses, and engaging activities typically normal to the European elite such as playing a violin, or playing the piano. The Japanese incorporation of the West is very different from the Chinese who believed they were self-sufficient and did not need European aid. In Document 19.4, Sun Yat-Sen certainly saw no need to incorporate American ideas of government in his new form of government he wanted. Sun said that the “members of America’s House of Representatives have often been foolish and ignorant people who have made history quite ridiculous” (965). This is a strong example of the comparison between a western incorporating Japan, and an exclusive China that preferred to avoid western

Connection helps to see how other countries affected each other. In the case of China, some connections were made to Russia. Although the connection to Russia was not very strong, it proved that connections could be made between countries that seem distant. Comparison, sometimes mixed up with Connection, helps readers to see the differences and similarities between two countries. China and Japan, were alike in the way that they were both being pressured by the West, but the Chinese refused to assimilate into European culture. The Japanese, however, allowed Western civilization to be incorporated into their society. Change, one of the most important themes when looking at history, helps readers to see how far the human race has come in terms of government and industrial advances. The Japanese were a prime example of this, due to the way they quickly developed into an advanced powerhouse that would become a force to be reckoned with coming into the twentieth century. The 3Cs are important when considering historical documents because without the basic themes, it would be difficult to analyze history