Western Civilization II: 1648 to the Present examination covers material usually taught in the second semester of a two-semester course in Western Civilization. Questions cover European history from the mid-seventeenth century through the post-second World War period. Questions may require candidates to interpret, evaluate, or relate the contents of a passage, a map, a picture, or a cartoon to the other information.
Western Civilization II: 1648 to the Present examination covers material usually taught in the second semester of a two-semester course in Western Civilization. Questions cover European history from the mid-seventeenth century through the post-second World War period. Questions may require candidates to interpret, evaluate, or relate the contents of a passage, a map, a picture, or a cartoon to the other information.
Western Civilization II: 1648 to the Present examination covers material usually taught in the second semester of a two-semester course in Western Civilization. Questions cover European history from the mid-seventeenth century through the post-second World War period. Questions may require candidates to interpret, evaluate, or relate the contents of a passage, a map, a picture, or a cartoon to the other information.
Copyright 2004 by College Entrance Examination Board. All rights reserved.
Visit our Web site at www.collegeboard.com/clep for the most up-to-date information. 2 Copyright 2004 by College Entrance Examination Board. All rights reserved. Western Civilization II Description of the Examination The Western Civilization II: 1648 to the Present examination covers material that is usually taught in the second semester of a two-semester course in Western Civilization. Questions cover European history from the mid-seventeenth century through the post-Second World War period including politi- cal, economic, and cultural developments such as Scientific Thought, the Enlightenment, the French and Industrial Revolutions, and the First and Second World Wars. Candidates may be asked to choose the correct definition of a historical term, select the historical figure whose political viewpoint is described, identify the correct relationship between two historical factors, or detect the inaccurate pairing of an individual with a historical event. Groups of questions may require candidates to interpret, evalu- ate, or relate the contents of a passage, a map, a picture, or a cartoon to the other information or to analyze and use the data contained in a graph or table. The examination contains 120 questions to be answered in 90 minutes. Some of these are pretest questions that will not be scored. Any time candi- dates spend on tutorials and providing personal information is in addition to the actual testing time. Knowledge and Skills Required Questions on the Western Civilization II examina- tion require candidates to demonstrate one or more of the following abilities: Understanding of important factual knowledge of developments in Western Civilization Ability to identify the causes and effects of major events in history Ability to analyze, interpret, and evaluate textual and graphic historical materials Ability to distinguish the relevant from the irrelevant Ability to reach conclusions on the basis of facts The subject matter of the Western Civilization II examination is drawn from the following topics. The percentages next to the main topics indicate the approximate percentages of exam questions on those topics. 7 9% Absolutism and Constitutionalism, 1648 1715 The Dutch Republic The English Revolution France under Louis XIV Formation of Austria and Prussia The westernization of Russia 4 6% Competition for empire and economic expansion Global economy of the eighteenth century Europe after Utrecht, 17131740 Demographic change in the eight- eenth century 5 7% The scientific view of the world Major figures of the scientific revolution New knowledge of man and society Political theory 7 9% Period of Enlightenment Enlightenment thought Enlightened despotism Partition of Poland 10 13% Revolution and Napoleonic Europe The Revolution in France The Revolution and Europe The French Empire Congress of Vienna 7 9% The Industrial Revolution Agricultural and industrial revolution Causes of revolution Economic and social impact on working and middle class British reform movement 6 8% Political and cultural developments, 1815 1848 Conservatism Liberalism Nationalism Socialism The Revolutions of 1830 and 1848 3 W E S T E R N C I V I L I Z A T I O N I I Copyright 2004 by College Entrance Examination Board. All rights reserved. 8 10% Politics and diplomacy in the Age of Nationalism, 1850 1914 The unification of Italy and Germany Austria-Hungary Russia France Socialism and labor unions European diplomacy, 18711900 7 9% Economy, culture, and imperialism, 1850 1914 Demography World economy of the nineteenth century Technological developments Science, philosophy, and the arts Imperialism in Africa and Asia 10 12% The First World War and the Russian Revolution The causes of the First World War The economic and social impact of the war The peace settlements The Revolution of 1917 and its effects 7 9% Europe between the wars The Great Depression International politics, 1919 1939 Stalins five-year plans and purges Italy and Germany between the wars Interwar cultural developments 8 10% The Second World War and contempo- rary Europe The causes and course of the Second World War Postwar Europe Science, philosophy, the arts, and religion Social and political developments W E S T E R N C I V I L I Z A T I O N I I 4 Copyright 2004 by College Entrance Examination Board. All rights reserved. Sample Test Questions The following questions are provided to give an indication of the types of questions that appear on the Western Civilization II examination. CLEP examinations are designed so that average students completing a course in the subject can usually answer about half the questions correctly. Directions: Each of the questions or incomplete statements below is followed by five suggested answers or completions. Select the one that is best in each case. 1. Colberts economic policies ran into difficulties chiefly because of the (A) relative poverty of France (B) loss of Frances colonial empire (C) wars of Louis XIV (D) abandonment of the salt tax (E) reckless spending by the nobility 2. Which of the following best describes the use of the inductive method, as described by Francis Bacon? (A) Consult established scientific opinion and formulate a philosophical system based on it. (B) Begin with a mathematical principle and draw inferences from it. (C) Begin by making observations and then draw conclusions from them. (D) Begin with self-evident truths and draw inferences from them. (E) Advance learning by comparisons, analogies, and insights. 3. Which of the following is a major theme depicted in the painting above? (A) A scientific view of the world (B) Enlightened rationalism (C) Romantic concern with nature (D) Realistic appraisal of industrial progress (E) The world of the unconscious mind 4. Which of the following occurred as a result of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740 1748) and the Seven Years War (1756 1763)? (A) Prussia emerged as an important economic and military power. (B) Sweden ceased to be a great power. (C) Russia extended its territory to the shores of the Baltic Sea. (D) Hapsburg claims to Polish territory were dropped. (E) France acquired the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. Collection, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. 5 W E S T E R N C I V I L I Z A T I O N I I Copyright 2004 by College Entrance Examination Board. All rights reserved. 5. Which of the following describes Joseph II of Austria? (A) An absolute monarch who consolidated his authority through military force (B) An absolute monarch whose policies were considered reactionary by the intelligentsia (C) An adroit politician who coined the expres- sion Politics is the art of the possible (D) A monarch who tried to impose religious uniformity throughout his domains (E) A monarch who sought to translate Enlight- enment principles into government policies and objectives 6. Which of the following statements best describes the term Romanticism? (A) A belief that the rules of art are eternal and unchanging (B) Interest in expressing general and universal truths rather than particular and concrete ones (C) Emphasis on logical reasoning and exact factual knowledge (D) Emphasis on a high degree of emo- tional subjectivity (E) A value system that rejects idealism 7. All of the following were related to the Eastern Question EXCEPT (A) Pan-Slavism (B) the Congress of Berlin of 1878 (C) the Crimean War (D) the Kruger Telegram (E) the Treaty of San Stefano 8. The cartoon above refers to the (A) Napoleonic Wars (B) Crimean War (C) Boer War (D) Russo-Japanese War (E) First World War 9. All of the following were instrumental in the emergence of Italy as a modern nation-state EXCEPT (A) Mazzini (B) Napoleon III (C) Cavour (D) Francis II (E) Garibaldi 10. Men being by nature all free, equal, and independent, no one can be put out of this estate and subjected to the political power of another without his own consent, which is done by agreeing with other men, to join and unite into a community for their comfortable, safe, and peaceable living in a secure enjoyment of their properties. The quotation above is from a work by (A) John Locke (B) Karl Marx (C) Edmund Burke (D) Voltaire (E) Adam Smith W E S T E R N C I V I L I Z A T I O N I I 6 Copyright 2004 by College Entrance Examination Board. All rights reserved. 11. Which of the following characterizes the size of the population of Europe during the eigh- teenth century? (A) It increased rapidly. (B) It stayed about the same. (C) It declined. (D) It dropped drastically in Western Europe, but rose in Eastern Europe. (E) It dropped drastically in Eastern Europe, but rose in Western Europe. 12. The term collective security would most likely be discussed in which of the follow- ing studies? (A) A book on the twentieth-century wel- fare state (B) A monograph on Soviet agricultural policy during the 1920s (C) A book on Bismarckian imperialism (D) A treatise on Social Darwinism (E) A work on European diplomacy during the 1930s 13. The map above shows national boundaries in which of the following years? (A) 1789 (B) 1812 (C) 1815 (D) 1870 (E) 1914 14. The three classes, being associated and united in interest, would forget their hatred. . . . Labor would put an end to the drudgery of the people and the disdain of the rich for their inferiors, whose labors . . . they would share. . . . There would no longer be any . . . poor, and social antipathies would disappear with the causes which produced them. The quotation above typifies which of the following schools of thought? (A) Utopian socialism (B) Marxism (C) Utilitarianism (D) Social Darwinism (E) Stalinism 15. The British economist John Maynard Keynes did which of the following? (A) He urged governments to increase mass purchasing power in times of deflation. (B) He defended the principles of the Versailles Treaty. (C) He helped to establish the British Labour party. (D) He prophesied the inevitable economic decline of capitalism. (E) He defined the concept of marginal utility to replace the labor theory of value. 16. The vast increase in German military expendi- tures in the two decades preceding the First World War occurred primarily because Germany (A) had extended its imperialistic activities to the Far East (B) was planning to militarize the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine (C) was extending military aid to Russia (D) feared an attack from France (E) was rapidly expanding its navy 7 W E S T E R N C I V I L I Z A T I O N I I Copyright 2004 by College Entrance Examination Board. All rights reserved. 17. In comparison to a preindustrial economy, the most distinctive feature of a modern economy is its (A) greater capacity to sustain growth over time (B) increased democratization of the workplace (C) lower wages for the literate middle class (D) lack of economic cycles (E) elimination of hunger and poverty 18. Which of the following was NOT an issue disturbing Europe on the eve of the Revolutions of 1848? (A) Socialism versus capitalism (B) Hungarian independence (C) The unification of France (D) The power of the papacy (E) The condition of serfs 19. The primary goal of Marxist socialists in the latter half of the nineteenth century was to (A) establish constitutional government (B) ensure equal rights for women (C) end government regulation of business (D) institute trial by jury in all criminal cases (E) abolish private ownership of the means of production 20. Each individual, bestowing more time and attention upon the means of preserving and increasing his portion of wealth than is or can be bestowed by government, is likely to take a more effectual course than what, in this instance and on his behalf, would be taken by government. The quotation above best illustrates which of the following? (A) Fascism (B) Mercantilism (C) Syndicalism (D) Classical liberalism (E) Utopian socialism 21. The aim of the Soviet Unions First Five-Year Plan was to (A) acquire foreign capital (B) produce an abundance of consumer goods (C) encourage agricultural production by subsidizing the kulaks (D) build up heavy industry (E) put industrial policy in the hands of the proletariat POPULATION DENSITY IN FRANCE PER SQUARE KILOMETER 22. The increase in population density between 1801 and 1846 shown above indicates that (A) the growth of Paris absorbed any natural population increase (B) there was a reversing trend in which indus- try moved to the center of France while agriculture moved to the north (C) the population distribution in existence in 1801 was almost unchanged in 1846 (D) by 1846 southern France was declining in population (E) by 1846 central France was declining in population W E S T E R N C I V I L I Z A T I O N I I 8 Copyright 2004 by College Entrance Examination Board. All rights reserved. 23. The National Assembly in France (1789 1791) did all of the following EXCEPT (A) issue assignats (B) ban strikes (C) pass the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (D) abolish guilds (E) abolish private property 24. The cartoon above, published in 1955, sug- gested that (A) the Soviet Union intended to seize and control the bone of contention (B) France and Germany should cooperate with each other to meet the Soviet threat (C) France and Germany were industrially and economically weak (D) communism dominated Western Europe (E) France, Germany, and the communist nations should seek to form a tripartite pact in Europe 25. Historical explanations for nineteenth-century European imperialism include all of the follow- ing EXCEPT a (A) need to discover new sources of raw materials (B) need to find new markets for manufac- tured goods (C) need to invest excess financial resources (D) desire to establish world government (E) desire to maintain the European balance of power 26. All of the following factors contributed to the rise of the National Socialist German Workers party (Nazis) EXCEPT (A) the weakness of the Weimar Republic (B) dissatisfaction with the Versailles Treaty (C) the impact of the Great Depression (D) the support of German conservatives (E) the support of Socialist trade unions 27. He used extreme methods and mass repres- sions at a time when the Revolution was already victorious, when the Soviet state was strength- ened, when the exploiting classes were already liquidated and Socialist relations were rooted solidly in all phases of the national economy, when our party was politically consolidated and had strengthened itself both numerically and ideologically. In the quotation above, which of the following spoke and about whom? (A) Khrushchev about Stalin (B) Khrushchev about Trotsky (C) Stalin about Trotsky (D) Trotsky about Lenin (E) Brezhnev about Lenin 9 W E S T E R N C I V I L I Z A T I O N I I Copyright 2004 by College Entrance Examination Board. All rights reserved. 28. Albert Einsteins theory of relativity proposed (A) a new structure for the atom (B) a new conception of space and time (C) the fundamental concepts for developing the computer (D) the origin of the universe from the explosion of a single mass (E) the particulate nature of light 29. Which of the following is a central and essential component of the European welfare state? (A) Nationalization of all major sectors of the economy (B) Decentralization of the state (C) State responsibility for assuring access to medical care for all citizens (D) Elimination of large private fortunes through taxation (E) Elimination of independent trade unions 30. In the mid-eighteenth century, European popula- tion increased sharply for all of the following reasons EXCEPT (A) improved agricultural techniques (B) improvements in medical care (C) fewer famines (D) a decline in the death rate (E) a decline of the plague 31. One of the goals of the physiocrats was to (A) reform the French monarchy along Dutch lines (B) implement more stringent mercantilist economic policies (C) implement free-trade policies (D) repudiate the national debt (E) effect a complete redistribution of arable land in France 32. During the reign of Catherine the Great (1762 1796), all of the following occurred EXCEPT (A) Russia increased its commercial and cultural contacts with the West. (B) In the wake of peasant uprisings, manorial controls over the serfs were increased. (C) A new class of powerful merchants appeared in Russias major cities. (D) The Russian population increased in size. (E) Increasingly, the upper classes were edu- cated in and spoke French. 33. The map of Europe shown portrays national boundaries as they existed in (A) 1871 (B) 1913 (C) 1925 (D) 1948 (E) 1950 34. The dictum form follows function is asso- ciated with which of the following trends in the arts? (A) Neoclassicism (B) Modernism (C) Humanism (D) Romanticism (E) Realism W E S T E R N C I V I L I Z A T I O N I I 10 Copyright 2004 by College Entrance Examination Board. All rights reserved. 35. The Ostpolitik of West German Chancellor Willy Brandt was designed to (A) nationalize German banks (B) win Soviet diplomatic recognition for West Germany (C) deepen West Germanys commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (D) normalize West German relations with the communist states of Eastern Europe (E) promote free trade in Europe 36. Which of the following resulted from the Peace of Westphalia (1648)? I. The emergence of Austria-Hungary as a major power in Europe II. The end of religious wars in Western Europe III. The recognition of the independence of the United Provinces of the Netherlands IV. The end of the Hapsburg-Bourbon rivalry (A) III only (B) I and IV only (C) II and III only (D) II and IV only (E) I, II, and III only 37. Each contract of each particular state is but a clause in the great primeval contract of eternal society, linking the lower with the higher natures, connecting the visible and invisible world, according to a fixed compact sanctioned by the inviolable oath which holds all physical and all moral natures, each in their appointed place. The quotation above reflects the ideas of (A) Charles Fourier (B) Voltaire (C) Rousseau (D) Adam Smith (E) Edmund Burke 38. Which of the following is true of the French Revolution of 1830? (A) It strengthened the power of the work- ing class. (B) It overthrew the Restoration Monarch Charles X. (C) It produced a constitutional monarchy based on universal adult male suffrage. (D) It was suppressed by Charles X with the aid of Austria and Russia. (E) It strengthened the power of the Roman Catholic Church in France. 39. Which of the following countries remained most closely aligned, ideologically and economically, with the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1989? (A) The Peoples Republic of China (B) Bulgaria (C) Czechoslovakia (D) Hungary (E) Poland 40. We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it or they crush us. A. Charles de Gaulle calling for France to prepare for tank warfare (B) Winston Churchill demanding that Britain expand its air force and navy (C) Joseph Stalin explaining the need for continued industrial development in the Soviet Union (D) Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung) introducing the Cultural Revolution in China (E) Adolf Hitler inaugurating German rearmament 11 W E S T E R N C I V I L I Z A T I O N I I Copyright 2004 by College Entrance Examination Board. All rights reserved. 41. By the end of the seventeenth century, which of the following was a social or political conse- quence of the policies pursued by Spain in its colonial possessions in the New World? (A) Economic and social mobility were greatly inhibited by a rigid class structure. (B) The native inhabitants had secured a degree of political independence. (C) The Roman Catholic Church had been forced to tolerate Protestant mission- ary activities. (D) Most colonists had come to view themselves as fundamentally opposed to their compa- triots remaining in Spain. (E) There had been virtually no intermarriage among various racial groups. 42. The eighteenth-century political cartoon reproduction shown above relates most closely to which of the following events of the French Revolution? (A) The emergence of the power of the Third Estate (B) Tensions between the nobility and clergy (C) The mistreatment of political prisoners (D) The death of Marat (E) The Thermidorean Reaction 43. Which of the following joined Nazi Germany in its attack on the Soviet Union? (A) Vichy France (B) Finland (C) Sweden (D) Turkey (E) Japan 44. Churchills famous phrase Never was so much owed by so many to so few referred to (A) those who evacuated the Allied army from Dunkirk (B) those who convoyed food and material across the Atlantic in the early 1940s (C) the scientists who developed radar and other early warning technologies (D) the fighter pilots of the Royal Air Force who won the Battle of Britain (E) the cryptographers who broke the German and Japanese military and diplomatic codes 45. The Soviet foreign policy of peaceful coexis- tence was most closely associated with which of the following Soviet domestic policies? (A) Lenins New Economic Policy (NEP) (B) Stalins program of collectivization (C) Khruschevs policy of de-Stalinization (D) Brezhnevs policy toward dissidents (E) Andropovs program of increased industrial output 46. This is what I see and what troubles me. I look on all sides and I see only darkness everywhere. Nature presents to me nothing which is not a matter of doubt and concern. It is incomprehen- sible that God should exist and that God should not exist. The quotation above expresses the view of (A) Pascal (B) Newton (C) Bacon (D) Galileo (E) Hobbes W E S T E R N C I V I L I Z A T I O N I I 12 Copyright 2004 by College Entrance Examination Board. All rights reserved. 47. Which of the following countries intervened militarily in Mexico in the 1860's in an attempt to establish colonial control? (A) Germany (B) Sweden (C) Portugal (D) Italy (E) France 48. The theories of which of the following had the most influence on the American and French Revolutions? (A) Condorcet, Voltaire, Jefferson (B) Pitt, Hobbes, Raynal (C) Diderot, Burke, Fox (D) Montesquieu, Locke, Rousseau (E) Wilkes, Turgot, Helvetius 49. The country that pioneered social insurance legislation in the late nineteenth century was (A) Great Britain (B) France (C) Germany (D) Austria (E) Russia 50. One accomplishment of the British Reform Bill of 1832 was the (A) reduction in the parliamentary power of the House of Lords (B) reduction in the constitutional powers of the Crown (C) extension of parliamentary representation to the new industrial centers (D) extension of the right to vote to all males over the age of 21 (E) increase in the representation of the colonies in Parliament 13 W E S T E R N C I V I L I Z A T I O N I I Copyright 2004 by College Entrance Examination Board. All rights reserved. Study Resources Most textbooks used in college-level Western Civilization courses cover the topics in the outline given earlier, but the approaches to certain topics and the emphasis given to them may differ. To prepare for the Western Civilization II exam, it is advisable to study one or more college textbooks, which can be found in most college bookstores. When selecting a textbook, check the table of contents against the Knowledge and Skills Required for this test. You will find it helpful to supplement your reading with books listed in the bibliographies found in most history textbooks. In addition, contemporary novels and plays, as well as works by Homer, Shakespeare, and Dickens, provide rich sources of information. Classic works of nonfiction are equally valuablefor example, Machiavellis The Prince, Mills On Liberty, and Paines The Rights of Man. Books of documents are an excellent source for sampling primary materials; A Documentary His- tory of Modern Europe, edited by T.G. Barnes and G.D. Feldman (Little, Brown), is one such collec- tion. Actual works of art in museums can bring to life not only the reproductions found in books but history itself. Films such as A Man for All Seasons and The Return of Martin Guerre and television series such as Civilisation, I, Claudius, Eliza- beth R, and the Ascent of Man provide enjoyable reinforcement to what is learned through reading. The Internet is another resource you could explore. Additional suggestions for preparing for CLEP exams are given in Preparing to Take CLEP Examinations. Answer Key 1. C 2. C 3. E 4. A 5. E 6. D 7. D 8. E 9. D 10. A 11. A 12. E 13. B 14. A 15. A 16. E 17. A 18. C 19. E 20. D 21. D 22. C 23. E 24. B 25. D 26. E 27. A 28. B 29. C 30. B 31. C 32. C 33. C 34. B 35. D 36. E 37. E 38. B 39. B 40. C 41. A 42. A 43. B 44. D 45. C 46. A 47. E 48. D 49. C 50. C