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AP United States History Exam

SECTION II

BE SURE TO MANAGE YOUR TIME CAREFULLY

• DO NOT OPEN THIS INSERT UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO

• Do not break the seal on the pink booklet until you are told to do so
• Use this green insert to outline your answers and make notes, but do not write
your answers in the green insert. They will not be scored
• WRITE ANSWERS IN THE PINK BOOKLET ONLY
• Use black or blue pen only

Total reading and planning period for Part A, Question 1 – 15 minutes

Part A consists of Question 1 (document-based question) which appears on pages 2-6.

You MUST answer this question
Total writing time for document-based question – 45 minutes

Part B consists of two questions (2 and 3) from which you will choose only ONE
question to answer. Part B appears on page 7.
Suggested planning period in Part B – 5 minutes
Suggested writing period in Part B – 30 minutes

Part C consists of two questions (4 and 5) from which you will choose only ONE
question to answer. Part C appears on page 8.
Suggested planning period in Part C – 5 minutes
Suggested writing period in Part C – 30 minutes

• Be sure to indicate, at the top of each page in the pink booklet, the question you
are answering on that page by circling the appropriate question number
• AFTER THE EXAM, YOU MUST FILL IN YOUR QUESTION CHOICES
ON THE FRONT COVER OF THE PINK BOOKLET. FAILURE TO DO SO
MAY DELAY YOUR GRADE.

DO NOT OPEN THIS INSERT UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO

 UNITED STATES HISTORY
SECTION II
Part A
(Suggested writing time – 45 minutes)
Percent of Section II Score – 45

Directions: The following question requires you to construct a coherent essay that
integrates your interpretation of Documents A-G and your knowledge of the period
referred to in the question. High scores will be earned only by essays that both cite key
pieces of evidence from the documents and draw on outside knowledge of the period.

1. Despite prevalent anti-Semitism in the years before World War II, the
United States entered the war against Adolf Hitler, and even after defeating
Hitler and ending the Holocaust, Jewish citizens of the United States still
experienced extreme anti-Semitism. Using BOTH the documents and your
knowledge of the period between 1920 and 1960, assess the reasons for
entering the war and the reasons for the continuance of anti-Semitic views
after the war.

Document A

Source: Herman Horowitz, “To the Jewish People of the Pacific Northwest.” The Jewish
Transcript. March 6, 1924.

During the last ten years, however, conditions [for Jewish people] have changed. Then
the Jew was being encouraged in his effort to become thoroughly Americanized. Today
much is being done to discourage him. There has been formed the Ku Klux Klan, an
organization based on the most bigoted, narrow, and unamerican principles, whose efforts
seem to be to make American not the land of liberty and equality where all races and
creeds may dwell in harmony and peace… but a land governed by the few belonging to
certain creeds and a land wherein the Jew and the Catholic, – no matter what the land of
his nativity or what his record for patriotism and Americanism may be – shall be an
outcast and a stranger.

It is this condition that confronts Jewry of today that has convinced me that the Jew must
organize not for aggression but for self-protection.
 Document B

Source: Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, “Laurelhurst Beach Club Fact Sheet.”
Laurelhurst Beach Club. 1955.

The history of the discriminatory admission policy of the LBC [Laurelhurst Beach Club]
is a long one. For nearly twenty years, Jewish residents and property owners in
Laurelhurst have been denied membership in the Beach Club although all others who
own property seem to have been admitted…

Since 1939, all Jewish residents and property owners who have applied for membership
in the LBC have been rejected…

In July 1939, Mr. K. was denied membership. He protested in letters to the Seattle Post
Intelligencer and to Merville McInnis, President of the LBC... without result. He asserted
that he had been flatly told it was “the policy of the LBC to exclude any further Jewish
members,” and he was urged by LBC officers to move out of the neighborhood to avoid
embarrassment.

Document C

Source: Alvin Johnson, “The Rising Tide of Anti-Semitism.” Survey Graphic. February,
1939.

There are about 800 organizations in the United States carrying on a definite anti-Semitic
propaganda. Some are nation-wide in their operations, some regional… The most
important organizations are:
The Silver Shirts
The Defenders of the Christian Faith
The Industrial Defense Association
The American Nationalist Confederation
The James True Associates
The Knights of the White Camellia

Also, there is the notorious “Bund,” a monstrous and impudent intrusion into our
American life… To this list we should add the most reckless one man show of the entire
unsavory lot, Father Coughlin…

Collectively, [these organizations] claim six million followers, and allege that they reach
one third of the population of the United States by literature of personal agitation.
 Document D

Source: Harold Loeb and Selden Rodman. “American Fascism in Embryo.”The New
Republic. December 27, 1933.

About the time that Hitler seized power, William Dudley Pelley came out into the open
with his Silver Shirt national organization… The first headquarters of the Silver Shirts
were in Asheville, North Carolina… Most of their strength – 2 million claimed – lies in
Southern California, and the first violent deed attributed to them occurred in Salt Lake
City. A suspected Communist, Daniel Black, was kidnapped in the presence of officers,
beaten and tied to a tree. At night he was beaten again and left for dead…

The Siler Shirts, according to Mr. Pelley, not only sympathize with the aims of the Nazi
movement, but keep in close touch with Hitler’s representatives… [They] seem ready to
believe that a secret committee of Jewish elders is plotting to destroy civilizations with
such disparate tools as the Communist party and the international bankers.
 Document E

Source: Hulton-Deutsch Collection. An American Nazi rally at New York’s Madison

Square Garden. 1935.
 Document F

Source: Associated Press. “Refugees Quit Cuba, Buoyed By Hope US Will Harbor
Them.” Washington Post. June 3, 1939.

A desperate boatload of 907 German Jewish refugees sailed out of Havana harbor today,
heartened somewhat by a shipboard rumor that they might yet find new homes in the
Western World after being denied entry into Cuba…

To avoid collective suicide attempts, word was spread on board that the United States
Government had authorized their landing in New York if continuing efforts for their
entry into Cuba failed.

Kept from them was the news from Washington that Government officials there said no
arrangements had been made for them to land in New York or any other United States
port.

Document G

Source: William C. Kernan. “Coughlin, the Jews, and Communism.” The Nation.
December 17, 1938.

On the past few Sundays the Reverend Charles E. Coughlin of Detroit has made radio
addresses which are of grave concern to America. Their purpose has apparently been to
stir up racial hatred against the Jewish people… Father Coughlin has attempted the
Jewish people with an unpopular social and economic movement known as communism,
and by this and similar devices to place the race in a most unfavorable light…

His contention is that Nazism is the effect of communism, that it is a defense mechanism
against communism, and that there will always exist some defense against communism
“as long as misguided Jews and Gentiles in such great numbers continue to propagate the
doctrines of anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-patriotism, and anti-property…

The weight of [Father Coughlin’s] argument is gradually but certainly thrown against the
Jews… He tells us, “that Jews … were responsible for the economic and social ills
suffered by [Germany] since the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.”

END OF DOCUMENTS FOR QUESTION 1

 Document Paragraphs

Document A: Document A could be used to set up the essay, as it deals with fairly vague
and broad examples of anti-Semitism, and was written very early in the time period to be
discussed (1924). I would show that anti-Semitism only became prevalent after WWI and
the fall of Germany and Austro-Hungary, when Hitler first began his rise to power and
began blaming the Jews for Germany’s economic and social problems. As Horowitz
states, conditions for Jewish people have only shifted in the last ten years. One could also
mention the Immigrant Act of 1924, and the rise of nationalism and xenophobia, since
many Jews were immigrants in those years. Also, Horowitz’s last sentence can be
compared to the African American civil rights movement in the 1960s and the Black
Panthers of Oakland and Black Pride, when African Americans began to organize for
self-protection and adopt militant tones.

Document B: In direct contrast to Document A, Document B is a very specific example

of anti-Semitism in the 20th century, and can be used (since it was written in 1955) as an
example of extreme anti-Semitism AFTER WWII, even though the example of “Mr. K”
takes place in 1939. Laurelhurst Beach Club is a perfect example of the exclusion of Jews
from owning apartments, joining member organizations, and much more. The bluntness
that answered Mr. K’s request is a shocking example of anti-Semitism in the post-WWII
era.

Document C: Like Document A, Document C is quite broad, listing many different anti-
Semitic organizations, a few of which could be expanded upon by knowledgeable essay
writers (especially Father Coughlin). In addition, the “six million followers” of these
organizations show how widespread anti-Semitism was in the US when this article was
written in 1939. Something interesting to point out is how anti-anti-Semitic the author is,
showing that not all Americans were against Jews at this time.

Document D: Document D is a natural continuance of Document C, focusing on one

organization that Document C mentions. Specific points about Document D to point out
are the strength of the Silver Shirt members and the areas in which they reside, as well as
the “first violent deed.” In addition, the close relationship that the Silver Shirts have with
the Nazis is important. Also, the fact that Pelley began his organization at the same time
Hitler seized power is very interesting – did Hitler or his representatives encourage/ask
Pelley to begin the Silver Shirts?

Document E: The enormous amount of people at this Nazi rally is all that needs to be
pointed out or emphasized in this photograph.

Document F: Document F, about the S.S. St. Louis, is a very powerful piece that shows
the anti-Semitism in the US government, illustrating that not only the people of the US
were prejudiced against Jews. A knowledgeable student can expand on this piece, stating
that the S.S. St. Louis and the Jewish refugees aboard did end up having to return to
uncertain fate in Germany.
Document G: Like Document D, Document G expands on an organization (or in this
case, person) mentioned in Document C. Father Coughlin’s attacks against the Jews are
extreme, but a perfect example of what many people believed at this time. Since Kernan
mentions the Treaty of Versailles, this is a perfect opportunity for the essay writer to
discuss the debt cycle and Great Depression that followed WWI, leading to Hilter’s rise
to power and use of the Jews as scapegoats.

Outside Information

Useful Outside Information Includes:

 WWI (especially Treaty of Versailles)
 First Red Scare (Russia)
 Post-WWI Debt Cycle (Dawes Plan)
 Immigration Act of 1924
 Nationalism/Xenophobia
 Ku Klux Klan
 American Nazis
 Great Depression
 Hitler’s Rise to Power
 Father Coughlin’s Radio Speeches
 Beginning of Holocaust/WWII
 Lack of US media attention on Holocaust
 US decision to enter WWII
 End of WWII (Yalta, D-Day, V-E Day, etc)
 SS St. Louis
 Cold War
 McCarthyism
 The Second Red Scare
 Recognition of Israel
 African American Civil Rights Movement
 Bibliography

Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith. Laurelhurst Beach Club Fact Sheet. Seattle:
Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, 1955. Seattle Civil Rights and Labor
History Project. Web. 23 May 2010. < http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/images/l
aurelhurst/pdfs/LBC_factsheet.pdf>.

Associated Press. “Refugees Quit Cuba, Buoyed By Hope U.S. Will Harbor Them.” The
Washington Post. 3 June 1939: Pg. 1. Proquest Historical Newspapers. Web. 23 May
2010. <http://ezproxy.castilleja.org:2100/hnweb/hn/do/document?set=search&lastset
=&rendition=x-article-image&start=1&inmylist=false&urn=urn:proquest:US;PQDO
C;HNP;PQD;HNP;PROD;x-article-image;287126192&pagemapurn=urn:proquest:U
S;PQDOC;HNP;PQD;HNP;PROD;x-pagemap;287126192&pageimageurn=urn:proqu
est:US;PQDOC;HNP;PQD;HNP;PROD;x-pcpage-image;287126192&mylisturn=urn:
proquest:US;PQDOC;HNP;PQD;HNP;PROD;x-abstract;287126192&pdfurn=urn:pro
quest:US;PQDOC;HNP;PQD;HNP;PROD;x-article-image;287126192&abstracturn=
urn:proquest:US;PQDOC;HNP;PQD;HNP;PROD;x-abstract;287126192&returnpage
=document&doframe=1>.

Horowitz, Herman. “To the Jewish People of the Pacific Northwest.” The Jewish
Transcript. 6 March 1924. Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project. Web. 23
May 2010. <http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/display.cgi?image=/blanchard/Trans
cript-3-6-24-3-cr700.jpg">.

Hulton-Deutsch Collection. An American Nazi rally at New York’s Madison Square

Garden. 1935. Reproduced in American Decades Primary Sources, 1930-1939.

Johnson, Alvin. “The Rising Tide of Anti-Semitism.” Survey Graphic. February 1939.
Reproduced in American Decades Primary Sources, 1930-1939.

Kernan, William C. “Coughlin, the Jews, and Communism.” The Nation. 17 December
1938. Reproduced in American Decades Primary Sources, 1930-1939.

Loeb, Harold and Selden Rodman. “American Fascism in Embryo.” The New Republic.
27 December 1933. Reproduced in American Decades Primary Sources, 1930-1939.