CRAcKING
rHEDocutulEnrrBAsE
QuEsnoN
llBQl
WHATISTHEDBQ?
"document-based
question."The DBQ is an essayquestionthat requiresyou to
DBQ standsfor
documents
in a DBQ.)These
(Therearetypicallyninedocuments
documents.
interpretprimarysoltrce
diaries,
letters,
editorials,
and
articles
newspaper
will include many, if not all, of the following:
will
not
excerptsfrom legislation,politicalcartoons,charts,and graphs.The documents
speeches,
one or two of the documentswill be taken
includeexcerptifrom currenttextbooks.Occasionally,
"classic"that you may havepreviouslyseen,but generallythe documentswill be
from something
new to you. Ho*eu.r, they will discusseventsand ideaswith which you are familiar. All the
documentswill pertainto a singlesubject.Thedocumentsareusuallybetweena quarterand a half
you will seesomethinglonger.
pagelong, althoughoccasionally
Thehour-longDBQis the secondpart of the AP U.S.History tesf it is administeredimmediately
afterthe 5 to L0minutebreakthat follows the multiple-choiceiection.At the beginningof the DBe
you will be handeda greenbookletin which the essayquestionand documentJ*u p.it ted aswell
as a seParateform on which to write your essay.The DBQ sessionbegins with a ,15-minute,
mandatoryreadingperiod, during which you are allowed to read the documentsand takenotesin
the DBQ booklet.You may not start recordingyour essayon the essayform until the 45-minute
writing period begins.However, if you finish taking notes and outlining yow essaybefore the
readingperiodis over,you shouldwrite a first draft of your openingp.tagruph in your DBQbookleq
then,when the writing period begins,you can transcribeit into y;* esJalbookietand continue.
Tgnve you an ideaof what you canexpecton your DBQ,let's look at what appearedon a recent
test.The questionaskedstudentsto decidewhether liberal opponents,conserviiue opponents,o1
PresidentWoodrowWilsonborethe responsibilityfor the Senaie'sdefeatof the Treatybi Versailles.
The nine documentsincludedexceqptsfrom the following:
o a speechby a conservativesenator,denouncingthe Leagueof Nations
.
o an editorialfrom the then-liberalmagazineTheNat Rryublic,cnni:.c:rng
the Treaty
of Versailles
.
a speechby PresidentWilsorydefendingthe Leagueof Nations
.
a letter from Herbert Hoover to Wilson, urging him to compromisewith the Senate
O an editorialcartoonfrom a newspaper,opposingthe Leagueof Nations
''
o an articleby economistIohn MaynardKeynes,discussingthe Europeanvictors'
, oppositionto Wilson'sFourteenPoints
,
.
a 1920speechby Wilson,askingvotersto supportthe Leagueof Nations
.
a 1921'
articleby W.E.B.DuBois,criticizingWilson for his handlingof the treaty
negotiationswith the Senate
o a
by ]aneAddams,discussingthe necessityof the Leagueof Nations
,!9,22article
As you can see,a typical DBQ may containdocumentsyou might haveseenprior to the exam.
(Thefirst Wilson speech,for example,is famous.)However,the DBQ alsoincludesdocumentsyou
cer$ainlyhave not seenbefore.Eachof the documents,though,representsa political positionyou
havestudied.M*y arewritten by famouspeopleaboutwhom you iho,tld know quiteu Uit (Keynes,
Addams, DuBois,Hoover),evenif you do not know preciselyhow th.y felt a6out the Treaty of
Versaillesbeforereadingthe documents.ln other *ords, you will not be startingfrom ,qrlur. or,.,
evenwhen the'documents
arenew to you.
ls TnrnE
A "R tcHT"AnswrR
ToEncrDBO?
No. DBQSare worded in sucha way that you can argueany numberof positions.[n the example
above,the documentsprovide evidencefor thosewho would blame the failure of the Treaty of
Versailleson Wilson, liberals,conservatives,or some combinationof the three. So long as you
support your argumentwith evidencer/ou canarguewhateverthesisyou want.
"checklist"
of factsand ideasagainstwhich
_ _ Similarly,The CollegeBoardclaimsthat thereis no
DBQsare graded.Accordingto their official material:
40 I
(RACKIN
GE
TH
A PU . SH
. ISTORY
Answersto standardessayquestionswill bejudgedon the shengthof the thesisdeveloped,the quality of the historicalargument,and the evidenceofferedin supportof the
thesis,ratherthan on the factualinformationper se.Unlessa questionasksotherwise,
studentswill not be penalizedfor omitting oneor anotherspecificillushation.
Gradersaresupposedto takeinto accountthe strengthof your argumentand the evidenceyou
offerin supportofii. In otherword,s,if you forgetto mentiona good,illustrativehistoricaleventbut
manageto backyour point up in someotherway,you will'not be penalized
information.You
However,in orderto earnthemostcreditfor your essay,you mustincludeoutside
will noticethat your DBQ containsa phrasethat looks sornethinglike this:
oFTHE
Suslrcr. . .
AND YounKnowtEDGt
DocuInENTs
UslncTHE
"Your knowledgeof the subject"is theoutsideinformation.It includeshistoricalfactsartdideasthat
arerelevantto the questionbut which arenot mentionedin the DBQdocuments.For example,in the
Treatyof VersaillesDBQ describedabove,any informationofferedaboutthe writers'backgrounds
would countasoutsideinformation,aswould informationaboutthe war itself.Of course,to receive
for thefailureof theTreaty
credit,that informationwould haveto helpexplainwho wasresponsible
of Versaillesin theUnited States.Somestudentsmakethemistakeof throwing everythingtheyknow
whetheror not it pertainsto the question.Thattypeof information
abouta subjectinto their essays,
receivespartialcredit,at best.
Howls rnr DBOSconro?
accordingto TheCollege
TheDBQis gradedon a l" to 9 scale.Here'show thosegradesareassigned,
Board:
tooubide
references
numerous
onolysis;
thesis;
in-deoth
documenl
focused
Well-deveboed,
well-written
viewpoinls;
ofopposing
ocknowled!mint
oIissue,
oiolysis
ofcomplbxiry
informotionl
well-orgonized.
ond
(onsi$enl
ondlo numerous
lo mosldocumenls
reference
documents;
onolysis
ofseverol
thesis;
flows.
but
wifi
logicol
cleorly
writlen,
of
outside'infordrotion;
items
oulside
themwell;skefthy
butdoes
nofonolyze
fiesis;describes
documents
Portiolly
developed
writing.
occeptoble
theeniirequesfion;
oddress
nolnecessorily
errirs;does
coirtoins
informdfion;
(onfused
mosl
ignores
ofdocuments;
onolysis
erroneous
ofqueslion;
fiesis;poorunderstonding
weok
wriling.
moiorenors;
coitoins
dndoftehinoccurole;
informotion
spi'rse
outiide
documenfs;
Awful.
tD 0 C U I , t E N T - B
QAUSt S
E TDI 0( D
NB 0 l 4 l
C R A C K ITl 'Hl G
GETTING
STARTED
oN THEDBQ:THEouEsTloN
Startby readingthequestion.This directionmay seemobvious,but it obviouslyis not, given how
manystudentswrite essayson subjectsthat areonly marginallyrelatedto thequestionb.i"g asked.
Studentsmissthe questionbecausethey get anxiousduring the exam.Theypinic. Theytdlk they
"A-ha!
aregoingtoo slowly.In an effortto speedup, they readhalf the question,suyto themselves,
I know what they'regoing to ask!" and stop reading.Do NOT makethis mistake!The questionis
probably the shortestthing you have to read on the DBQ. Take your time; savor it. Elxploreits
nuances.Essaysthat addressthe questionfully earnhugebonuses;thoseessays
that ignorepartsof
the questionaredoomedto a gradeof 5 or lower.
Here'sa samplequestion
1. 'Both the constituencies and the agenda of the Progressive movement of the early 1900s were
more similar to those of the reform movements of the 1.830sand 1840s than to those of the
Populist movement of the 1890s." Using the documents and your knowledge of the periods in
question, assessthe validity of the statement.
As you look the questionover,you shouldaskyourselftwo questions:
.
Do I havean opinionaboutthis su$ect?
.r ,what mustI discussin orderto write a successful
essay?
J
,Of the two questions,the secondis much moreimportant.You canconstructa positicinlater,after
you havegatheredthe informationyou want to include in your €ssdlr:First,you needto figure out
what iszuesyou must addressand what datayou will usein your discussion.
To begin with, you should noticethat the questionasksyou to comparethreemovemerits:the
Progressives,
the Populists,and the reformersof the 1830sand 1840s.Your essaywill obviouslyhave
to mentionall threeSrouPS.Equallyimportant,the questionasksyou to considerthe constituencies
agendasof tf,eseihtu. gtonpt in drawing your comparisons.
Also,1loumust decidewhether
1"d]h.
the Progressives
were more similar to the Populistsor to the reformers.Finally,you must include a
discussion-'of
the given documentsand your outsideknowledgein your .suy.
Somepeoplefind it helpful to circleand underlinekey elemerttsof un .rsiy question.If you did
_
that,youi questionprobablylookedsomethinglike this:
I
sl
",3"",T*?ffi
*rffi
*s:HmmTr%t"#T,"J-'*',i*Io'nfl
Bl"
of thePapulist-movement
of the 1890sJUsingthedocumentandyourt "o*iuJg; of th;
periodsin'question,
assess
thevalidityof the"statement.
Using the documentsand your knowledgeof the periodsin question,assess
the validity of the
statement.
Howeveryou decideto approachthe question,it is essential
that you not rush.Readcarefullyto
makesurethat you understandwhat issuesmustbe addressed
in your essay.Then,determinehow
to'organizethe informationyou are going to collectfrom the documentsand from memory for
inclusionin the essay.
42 I
CRACKING
THEAPU.5. HISTORY
Cotumns
OncluzrNcYounEsslv:GntosAND
For thosequestions,you can alwaysorganizeyour
Many DBQsask you to draw comparisons.
thoughtsabouta DBQin a grid. Drawinga grid particularlyhelpsin seeingall sidesof an argument,
argumentsotherthan
DBQgraderswill rewardyou for acknowledging
whichis importantbecause
your own. Considerthe questionabove;hereis how you could grid this question:
(onslituency
Agendo
Progressives
Reformers
Populists
takenotesin
As you rememberappropriateoutsideinformationand asyou readthe documents,
will
find
it
to
compare
and
easier
theappropriateboxes.Whenit comestime to write your essay,you
contrastthe threemovementsbecauseyour informationwill alreadybe organizedin a way that
more obvious.
makessimilaritiesand differences
every
a
for
a
If you cannotdraw grid
question,1loucaninsteadset.upcolumnheadings.Because
DBQ can be arguedfrom at leasttwo differentpositions,you can alwaysset up two (or more)
which
columns,designatingonefor eachposition.Considerthe DBQaboutthe Treatyof Versailles,
"It wasWilson's
You
create
one
column
entitled
beginning
of
the
chapter.
could
we discussed
at the
"It
fault," oneentitled "It was the Senate'sfault," a third entitled wasboth their faults," and evena
fourth for informationthat you know belongsin your essaybut which you cannotyet classify(give
that the title "To be classified").
Theyhappenwhen you know what you
do not just flow out of your penby accident.
Goodessays
you startwriting.Although,given the time constraints,it is difficult (if not
are going to say before
anda good
impossible)
to prepareyour entireDBQessaybeforeyou beginwriting, pre-organization
outlinewill get you much closerto that goal.
AU
SED
C R A C K ITNHGTD O ( U M E N T - B O
S T I(ODNB AII 4 3
A SnrnPH
SuEsTtoN
Let'stakea look at anotherquestion.Circle and/or underlinethe key elementsof the question,then
' ,
createa grid (or columns)in which to organizeyour information.
1. From the end of World War II through the Eisenhower administration, rnany Americans
feared that communism threatened the existence of the United States. Using BOTH the
documents AND your knowledge of the 1940s and 1950s,assessthe reasoni for and the
validity of those fears.
,
Your questionshould look somethinglike this:
many Americansfearedthat
H fhp documenfsAND your
, assessthe reasonsfor an? thevalidityof@@
Your essaywill haveto addressthe "RedScare,"the widespreadfear of a Communisttakeover
that Americansexperiencedduring the earlyCold War. you will, of course,haveto includeanalysis
of both the docurhentsand outsideinformation,and your essayshouldcoverthe yearsbetweenthe
'the
erid of
war and the end of the Eisenhoweradministration.Last (andwhat moststudentsmiss),
you must ahswertwo questions:I{hy did Americansfear a Communisttakeover?And, how valid
were their fears?
'Because
thequestiondoesnot askyou to draw anycomparisons,
you mightwantto organizeyour
informationin cbl.t*tts titled "Valid reason,""Not i valid r.uror,,/and "fraybe valid/ilaybenot."
However,'thequestionnaturally lendsitself to comparisonsamongthe variousperceivedand real
threats to the United States,which meansthat you could use a grid instead.Americansfeared
Communistattacksboth from Communistnationsand from subversivesin the government.You
could"therefore,draw a grid, giving your rows theheadings"Threatsfrom othercountries"(e.g.,the
U.S.S.R.
and China),and "Threatsfrom within the United States"(e.g.,the CommunistPartyof tft.
United Stlrtesof America).This analysiswould leaveyou with a grid that lookslike the fodowing:
Volid
IhreoB
from
olher
counlries
Threob
from
within
the
Uniled
Sloles
44 J CRA(KIT
NH
GEA PU . SH
. IST(}RY
Notvolid
Maybe/moybe
nol
Onceyou havecreatedyour grid, begin collectinginformationfor your essay.At this point, you
are probably anxiousto start reading the documents.Resistthe temptation.You have one more
importantjob to do beforeyou start reading.
InronmATrol{
GlrnrnOursror
Most studentsread the DBQ documentsfirst and then try to think of outside information to
supplementtheir essays.This is a mistake.The reason?Thqpawerof suggestion.
Onceyou haveread
the documents-a chorethat cantakesix to eight minutes-those documentswill be on your mind.
If you wait until afteryou havereadthem to think of outsideinformation,you will not be ableto get
the documentsout of your head.lnvariably, you will think of thingsyou havealreadyread about,
ratherthan thingsyouhnaenot readabout,which is preciselywhat outsideinformationmeans.
Plus,readingandprocessing
the documentsis a big task.Onceyou haveaccomplished
that,you
will want to get startedright away on organizng and writing'your essaywhile the documentsare
freshin your mind. You donot want to stop to think of outsideinformationto includein your essay.
And you certainlydo not want to be trying to comeup with outsideinformationwhileyou arewriting
your essay.So,do itbeforeyou readthe documents.
Here'swhat you do. Look at your grid or columnsand brainstorm.In a separateblank spacein
your greenbooklet(notrn your grid/columns),write down,everything
you canthink of that relates
to the question.Spendtwo or threeminuteson this task,then look at what you havewritten, cross
out what you know you cannotuse,and enter the rest into your grid/columns in the appropriate
sPaces.
Chancesare that some of the "outside information" you think of will be mentionedin the
documents,which meansthat it will not be outsideinformationany more.Thatis no big deal.ln fact,
you should think of it as somethinggood. If some of what you rememberedshows up in the
documents,that meansyou are on the right track toward answeringthe question!
This is what a brainstorminggrid for the communismquestionmight look like:
Volid
Threofs
from
ofiercounlries
Threob
from
wifiinfie
Uniled
Stoles
Notvolid
develop
H-bomb
Soviels
corif
rontolions:
U.5.-Soviel
conloinmenl,
Greece,
Morsholl
Plon,Trumon
Doctrine
Koreon
Worheiohtens
lensions
e
follof Cubo
Moybe/moybe
nol
Chinese
revolution
follof Hungory:
Soviel
oggression,or
Soviels
protecting
border?
inVielnom
U.S.involvemenl
lieslo USSR
Guolemolo's
- Rosenberos'
loo - AlgerHiss
cose
therewosonAmericon
ounishmenl
porty
greol
foririme,shows
Communisl
U.5.
p0r0n0r0
Ihouohsmoll.obrtywos
in'pbweiful
Review
infludntol
lobor - Red
Score:Lovoltv
Boord;
Mc(orthyrs
listofStote
unions
subversiv6s;
blocklisting;
of espionoge: Depl.
sgme
evidence
bomb
shelters.
lheRosenbergs
- posl-Wor
offluence
mode
Americons
moreconservolive
( R A ( K I NTG
H TD O C U M I N T . BOAU
S TT S
DT I(ODNB AI)4 5
RrnoTHE
DocuMENTs
After you have gatheredoutsideinformationto includein your essay,you are readyto read the
documents.As you read,keepthe following things in mind:
o The orderin which documentsappearis almostalwayshelpful. Very often,the
documentsin the DBQ appearin chronologicalorder.\A/henth.y do, it often
indicatesthat the AP wantsyou to tracethe historicaldevelopmentof the DBQ
subject.On suchquestions,you do not haveto write an essaythat adheresstrictly
to chronologicalorder,but chronologyshouldplay an importantpart in the developmentof your thesis.When the documentsappearin an order other than chronological,they usually areorganizedso that you caneasilycompareand contrast
differentviewpointson a particulareventor issue.On thesequestions,oneof your
main goalsshouldbe to draw thosecomparisons.
O Watchfor inconsistencies
within and amongthe documents.Thedocumentswill
not necessarilyagreewith one another.In fact,they are almostcertainto present
differentviewpointson issues,and almostascertainto presentconflictingaccounts
of a historicalevent.Somedocumentsmight evencontradictthemselves!
This is
intentional.The AP is testingyour ability to recognizethesecontradictions.You are
to resolvetheseconflictsin your essay.To do so,you will haveto identify
,expected
the sourcesof the documents.(Seebelow.)
,,
.
Identify the sourcesof the documents.lVhy do two accountsof the sameevent
contradicteachother?\{hy do two economists,looking at the samedata,comeup
' with dissimilar
inteqpretations
of their significance?
It is becausethe peopleglving
theseaccounts-the sourcesof the documents-havedifferentperspectives.
Identify
the sourcesand explainwhy their opinionsdiffer. As you explainthesedifferences,
look for the following differencesbetweensources:
,
-politicalideology
'
,-class
' -race
,
'
-religion
-gender
t
Considerthe questionof whethercommunismposeda seriousthreat to the United Statesin the
1940sand 1950s.A Northeasternurbanintellectual,a wealthyMidwesternindustrialist,and anAsian
irnmigranton the WestCoastwould offer very different answersto that.question.Thegraderswill
be looking,specifically
to seeif you havetried to explainthosedifferenceJ.
.
,
46 I
Look for evidencethat could refuteyour argument.Onceyou havedecidedwhat
your thesiswill be, you will be looking throughthe documentsfor evidenceto
supportyour argument.Not all the documentswill necessarilybackyou up. Some
may appearto contradictyour argument.Do not simply ignorethosedocuments!
As you readthem,try to figure out how you might incoqporatethem into your
argument.Again, let's considerthe communismDBQ.Supposeyou arguethat
Americansoverreactedto the Communistthreat.Now supposethat oneof the
documentspresentsevidenceof subversiveCommunistaitivity in the United
States.You might be temptedto pretendthat the documentdoesnot exist.How-
(RACKIT
NH
GE
A PU . SH
. ISTORY
ever,you will be betteroff if you incorporatethe documentinto your essay:Acknowledgethat Americawas not immuneto Communistsubversionbut that the
threatwasnowherenearasgreatasmostanti-Communists
claimed.By doingthis,
you will be acknowledgingthat this historicalissue,like all historicalissues,is
complex.
This acknowledgment
is good.AP essaygradersareinstructedto look for
evidencethat you understandthat historyhasno simpleanswers,and to reward
you for it.
As you readthe documents,
be awarethat eachoneholdsa few morselsof informationfor your
essay.bo not fixateon any onedocument,and try to ignore,asfew aspossible.Weston,Connecticut
historyteacherJeanBennettsays:
"Don't panic if you are initially confusedby a document.Remember,the AP
puts
eachdocumentin theDBQto serveoneor two purposes,ratherthanfive.Think about
it and try to figure out why they'veincludedthis documentand you'll havea pretty
good idea of why it's in the DBQ and how to fit it into your essay.Unlessyou are
clueless(whichis unlikely),you will be ableto find h way to includeeachdocument
in your essay:that'sbetterthan leavingit out entirely.And be confident:If you're in
an AP Historycourse,you'resmartenoughto figureout why thedocumenthasbeen
includedirr the DBQ."
As you readthe documents,
takenote of any "outsideinformation"that the documentreminds
you of and enterit into your grid/columns.Agrir, as Bennettsays:
"Don't panicif you can'tthink of any outsideinfo afterreadingthe question,because
you will rememberstuff afterlooking at the documents.Eventhoughbrainstorming
first is best,if you freeze,thenyou shouldgo to the documentsandlet thedocuments
get you goingon the outsideinfo.'
C R A C K ITNHGTD ( ) C U M E N T . BOAUSEESDT I((D
) lBI OJ) 4 7
I
DRIL L
Below is a "mini-DBQ' (it has only four documents,insteadof the usual nine). Readthrough the
, ,
,
documents,taking notesin the marginsand blank spaces.
1. From the end of World War II through the Eisenhower administration, many Americans
feared that communism threatened the existence of the United States. Using BOTH the
documents AND your knowledge of the 1940sand 1950s,assessthe reasons for and the
validity of those fears.
Document A
by
Intercepted
NewYorktoMoscow.
Decoded
fromaKGBagent,
Source:
Telegram
intelligence.
U.S,
14i19M
November
ToVIKIO&
,
isagoodpal
Kh'YuS
ofKh'YuS.
ttrouehtheconhactins
hassafelv
LIBERAL
carried
theirown"materials
Weproiose
ofMETR'sr
topairtheilroffandgetthefrtophotograph
thefilmfiom
forthispurpod. , . LIBEfiALwillr^eceive
having
$ventliemacame'ra
.
.
.
METR
for
passing
on
' ,
. . . withaviewto
inShMEL'
withusindrawing
tocooperate
0SAhas
agreed
fortheC*p
on2 November
fromKALERsheiileaving
ENORN,IOUS.
0nsumirons
2uea...
Notes:
Moscow]
P.M.FIIIN[KGB
VIKIOR=Lt.Gen.
=juliusROSEMERC
LIBERAL
=probably
orAlfredSARANT
Kh'YuS
IoeIBARR
=piobabhldet
nnnnorAlfredSARANI
METR
RuthGREENGLASS
OSA=
=David
GREENGLASS
ShMEL'/KALIER
=Atomic
Project
Energy
ENOnUOUS
4EI
( R A ( K I NTG
A PU . SH
HE
. ISTORY
,
DocumentB
Source: Speechin Congress,RepresentativeJolur F. Kennedy, fanu ary 7949
Mr. Speakgr,over this we€kend we have learned the extent of the disasterthat has
befallen Chine.and the United States.The responsibility for the failure of our foreign
policy in the Far East rests squarely with the White Hoirse and the StateDepartmeirt.
The continued insistencethat aid would not be forthcoming unless a coalitidn
government with the Communists was formed, ryas a crippling blow to the National
Government.
So concernedwere our diplomats and their advisers . . . with the imperfection of
the democraticsystemin China . . . and the tales of corruption in high placesthat they
lost sight of our lremendous stakein a non-Communist China . . .
This House must now assum,ethe responsibility of preventing the onrushing tide
of Communism from engulfing all of Asia.
DocumentC
Source:Speechby PresidentHarry Truman,luty 29, 1951This malicious propaganda has gone so far that on the Fourth of Tulv . . . people
were afraid to say thev bdlieved in the Declaration of Independence.A 6undr^eddnd
twelve people w6re asked to sign a petition that containednothinq exceptquotations
from thb Declaration of Indepehdence and the Bill of Rights. One hundrbd ind eleven
of thesepeople refused to sign that paper-many of them becausethey were afraid that
it was so'mekind of subversiVedocumbnt and thit they would lose their jobs or be called
Communists.
C R A C K ITNHGED O C U M E N T - BOAUSEESDT I(ODNB OTI 4 9
DocunientD
' ,
,
,
TO: CTVIL DEFENSEAUTHORITIES, EDUCATORS, AND PARENT.TEACHER
ASSOCIATIONS
Source: Advertisement, Ciail Drtnder magazine, 1955
STUDENT IDENTIFICATION DURING AN'ATOMIC"
ALERT
NEED: Is Civil Defenseneeded?If the answer to this question is yes, then we must
entertain the thought of evacuation. Since the advent of the Hydrogen Bomb the
only safety lies in not being "there."
l
l
EVACUATION: Should it be necessaryto evacuate the children during school hours,
it is also necessaryto identifv them. Many educators feel that this i-dentification is
more necessaryf6r the grad6s from sixth down through kindergarten.
IDENTIFICATION: Identification must be positive, practical,and nontransferable.
Identification must be kept in the school, to be uSedonly during the time of the
actual aldrt or drill. Identi?cation must be inexpensive, since neither the schoolshor
the Civil Defensepeople have a lot of money to spend.
How do we of NATIONAL SCHOOL STUDIOS fit in to this picture?
We offer the solution of the Identification problem . . .
We will furrrish the Identification Card, chain, and pin (pictured in this ad) for the small
sum of 60 centsper student. . . . We will furnish theldentification Card . . . free of charge
if we are permitled to submit our envelopesof pictures to the parents for possible
purchasebf theseenvelopes bv the parerits. Incidentally, this entails absolutely NO
OnftCATION on the part of the parbnt to purchase the bnvelope of pictures. We submit
the envelope of pictufes 100%on speculation...
IFFFfi.rNo couH:f
('vr'
'Dt$tHtt
Cg'ct
lja*lrf,(olr{n
howlo crock
Here's
il
DocumentA is a good exampleof a documentthat startsout confusingbut endsup beingpretty
straightforward.At first glance,this documentmakesvery little sense;it is just a jumbleof words and
First,look at the sourceinformation.It is a telegram
names.Do not panic;l,ookfor familiarelements.
Now, look at the
it musthavesomethingto do with Sovietespionage.
from a KGBagent.Therefore,
HG
E
A PU . 5H
. IST()RY
5 OT C R A C KTI N
notes,and noticethat they mentionJuliusRosenberg,
the Atomic EnergyProject,and LosAlamos.
areprobablyall you needto know to understandwhy this documentis includedin
Thosereferences
the DBQ. It presentsevidencethat the Sovietswere spying on the United Stateswhile it was
developingthe atomicbomb.
Whenyou write your essay/do not fall into the trap of explainingeverydetailof this telegram.
Yourjob is to analyzethe importanceof the document,not to describeexactlywhat it contains.This
is trueof everydocumentin a DBQ,but it'is particularlytemptinghere.Youwill besoproudthatyou
havefiguredout what this documentis all aboutthat you might be temptedto spenda paragraph
Forgetit. You havebiggerfish to fry.
describingyour achievement.
Yog probablyaskedyourselfwhy this DBQstartswith a documentfrom 79Msincethe question
is abouttheperiodfrom 1945throughL960.Thedocumentis hereto demonstratethat therewassome
foundationior America'santi-Communist
fearsafterWorld'WarII. You canusethis documentasa
springboardto discussotherreasonsfor that fear suchas the'relativepopularityof the American
CommunistParty (CPUSA)in the 1930sand the party's,disproportionate
representation
in some
Mentioning
unions then allows you to discusslabor problemsin the postwarera.
labor unions.
(Laborhetdmorethan5,000strikesinl946 and7947,
whichspurredthe anti-unionTaft-HartleyAct).
Thisdocumentcanalsobeincorporated
easilyinto an "Americawastoo paranoid"essaybecause
it raisestheissueof theRosenberg
trial andthecontroversyovertheir sentence.
Manypeoplebelieve
their executionresultedfrom anti-Communist
paranoia,not from reasonedconsideration
of their
allegedcrimes.(Albert Einsteintestified that the Rosenbergsgave the Sovietsnothing that they
wouldn'thavefiguredout on their own.)Of course,the Rosenberg
trial generated
a nationaldebate,
which illustratesthe nation'spreoccupation
with communismduring this period.
Youmay havethoughtof otherissuesthatthis documentraises.Thatis good,andit highlightsan
will beadaptableto a discussion
importantpoint MostDBQdocuments
of manydifferenteventsand
(Remember,
ideas.Consequently,
you havea lot of leewayin your essay.
thereis no single"correct"
answerto the DBQ.)It also meansyou cannotpossiblydiscussevery event that relatesto this
question.Thereis simply too muchto discuss.Believeit or not, that is good,too.DBQtopicsareso
you to write the definitive essayon the subject.Hence,you will not be
large that no oneexpecfs
penalizedfor forgettingone or anothereventthat illustratesyour point as long as you backyour
pointswith otherevidence.
DocumentB is taken from a speechin Congressby Iohn F. Kennedy,and it raisesseveral
importantissues.Primarily,it bringsup theChineseRevolution,which givesyou an opportunityto
discussthe expansionof Communistpower in other parts of the world. Using DocumentB as a
startingpoint, you could discussthe KoreanWar, the crisesin EasternEuropein the 1950s(e.9.,
Hungary),and the fall of Cubaand otherLatin Americannationsto Communistinsurgents.All of
theseeventssupportthe positionthat America'sfear of communismwas valid, especiallyif you
chooseto attributetheseeventsto Communistexpansionism.
the same
On the otherhand,you might arguethat this speechshowsKennedydemonstrating
Cold War paranoiathat laterinspiredthe Bayof Pigsfiasco.You might attributethis speechto his
political skills and argue that Kennedyis exploiting a sensitiveissue for his own political gain.
(Remember,
many early "Cold Warriors"gainedpolitical supportby accusingthe governmentof
"giving away"Chinato the Communists.)
Interestingly,Kennedyfelt it soimportantto keepChina
from conununistcontrolthathe waswilling to overlookthe flagrantcorruptionof ChiangKai-shek's
If you think he was right, this documentjustifiesAmericanfears;if you arguethat he
government.
waswrong,1loucanuseit to illustratehow anticommunism
distortedAmerica'sjudgment.
DocumentC clearlysupportsthe argumentthat Americanswere paranoidaboutcommunism
PresidentTruman'sreference
to people"losing
andthat this paranoiawasthe resultof propaganda.
DN
B QI I5 I
C R A C K ITNHGED O C U M T N T - BQAUSTTSDT I(O
I
their jobs" opensthe door for you to talk aboutblacklistingduring the L950sand, by extension,
McCarthyismand othe, .*.usus of this anti-communistera.His descriptiolof thosecitizenswho
was a "subversivedocument"illustratesthe conservaof Independence
thoughtihat the D'eclaration
' I
tism of the era.
However,DocumentC alsogivesyou a chanceto discussTruman'santicommunism.Remember,
he establishedloyalty boards*lttt tremendouspower to fue governmentefnployeesmerely on the
suspicionof Communisttendencies.PIus, his loreign policy initiatives,from containmentto the
Marshall plan and the Truman Doctrine,might all be consideredthe ideasof an overzealousantiCommunist.You certainlycould argue that thosepolicies antagonizedCommunistcountrlesand
tension
tensions.You iould evensay that the growing American-Communist
thereforeexacerbated
Truman'spolicies.Americans,you could conclude,had plentyto fearfrom the Soviets,
resultedfrom
but ohly afterTrumanfinishedscaringthem.As usual,nothing is cut-and-driedin the DBQ,which
meansthat you havemany optionsavailableto you.
i .i,.
t.
Document D addressestwo important issues,the Hydrogen bomb and its chilling effect on
America.Thedocumentis an advertisementthat very clearlytriesto exploitparents'fearsasa means
of sellingtltem picturesof their children.\rVhileit is exploitative,it alsoindicatesjust how far fear of
usethis documentas a startingpoint to
the H-bomb hqi infiltrated the Americanpsyche.You can
"Duck and Cover"
campaign,
the
in
school,
ProPaganda
,discussair-raid shelters,atomicbomb drills
the
Communists.
of
fear
and civil defensborganizations.All of theseeventsstem from American
hadtheH-bomb.Formany
theU.S.S.R.
primarilybecause
MostAmerican,*.ti afraidof theU.S.S.R.
Americans,it was conceivableand even titety that the Sovietswould use that bomp againstthe
Uirited States.
That's it for thq documents.Now, formulate a thesis,figure out how and where to fit all your
informationinto your argument,and write an essay.Relax. It is easierthan it sounds
I Tnrsts
DrvttoPlnc
As'you finish readingthe documentsand prepareto formulateyour thesis,rememberthat you do
NOT havete answetihir questionby falling squarelyon onesideor theotherof the issue.ln fact,you
shouldnot. A safe,effectiveroute to take on yo,rt DBQ essayis to indicatethat the truth lies in that
'
-grayareabetweenextremes.
aswe
route,
best
The
queslon.
our
sample
on
argue
can
you
TherEareany numberof positions
justifiable
and
of
combination
to
a
jgst said,wouldbe to attribuleAmerici's fear of the Communists
essay
an
to
consfruct
reasons.Furthermore,therearea numberof waysyou canchoose
exaggerated
thai demonstratesthis thesis.You might want to argue chronologically,indicating which events
causedjustifiablealarmand which wereblown out of proportionby anti-Communistpropagandists.
'you
might wish to divide the body of your essayinto tw9 largeparagraphs,one dealingwith the
Communist threat posedfrom abioad-andthe other dealingwith the threatposedby American
Communists.
MORETIME!
Fefpreyou decideon your thesis,GO BACK AND READTHE QUESTIONONE
all the pertinentaspectsof the question.
Make surs that your thesisaddresses
BtrOntTHEWRtTlNcPtntOoBtOttlS. o . Cnnn ANOUTtll{E
At this point, you should still havetime left in the mandatoryLS-minutereadingperiod. Createan
outlinewith oneromannumeralfor eachparagraph.Decideon the subjectof eachParagraPhand on
what informationyou will includein eachparagraph.Do not rely on your grid/columnsif you do not
have to. The gridlcolumns are good foi organizrrrgyour information but are less efficient for
stucturing an essay.
A
NE
GPU . SH. I S T O R Y
5 2 I C R A C KTI H
If yousiill havetime afterwriting an outline,w{ite a roughdraft of your first paragraphin your
greenbooklefthentranscribeit to your essayform oncethewriting periodstarts.
WnrrrYounEsslv
"Cracking the Essay
Go back and read the first chapter in the
Questions" to review good essay-,
writing techniques.An4 follow this advice lrom JeanBermetl
"Don't write flowery introductionsor conclusions: saywhat you aregoing to say.
iust
Ihe readerswant to get right to the, point and see.how much you know. Also
rememberto back up your thesisstatementwith lbts of facts,evenif you arestretching it becausethey want to hearsolid evidenceand not a lot of fluff, Lasdy,makesure
to rememberwhat is being askedin the question,ahd refer to the questionseveral
times during the essaywriting asit is easyto wander off from the question."
And, stay confident. Everyoneelse taking the test, ali acrossthe country, is at least as nervous
about it as you are.
SUMI{IARY
o TheDBQco4sistsof an essayquestionand approximatelynine historicaldocuments.Most
before,but theywill all relateto major
likely, you will havenot seenmostof the documents
historicaleventsandideas.TheDBQbeginswith a l5-minutereadingperiod,followedby a 4F
minutewriting period.
r Thereis no single"correct"answerto theDBQ.DBQsareframedsothattheycanbesuccessfully arguedfrom manydifferentviewpoints.
Once
o Readtheessayquestioncarefully.Circleand/or underlineimportantwordsandphrases.
notes
on
the
your
in
which
to
organize
grid
a
or
columns
questio&
create
you understandthe
essay.
r
brainstormaboutthe question.This way you will
Beforeyou start readingthe documents,
yourselfin thedocummts.
gathertheall-important"outsideinformation"beforeyousubmerge
o Readthedocumenb.Readthemin order.asthereis usuallya logicto theorderin whichthey
within andamongthe docummts,andalsoto
Payattentionto contradictions
arepresented.
If you havedecidedon a
haditions/he represents.
who is speakingandwhat socio-political
thesis.keepaneyeoutfor informationthatmightrefuteyourthesis,andbepreparedto address
it in your essay.
r , Decideon a thesis,thenwrite an outlinefor your essay.
asyou canin youressay.
o Try to includeasmanyof thedocuments
r
Staypositive.Do not panic.Everyoneelseis at leastasnervous.lsyou are.
D B A fI 5 3
AS
UE
I SDT I 0( N
C R A C K ITI IHGtD 0 ( U l , l E N T - B Q