AP European History Practice Questions, Examples, and FRQ Samples

Which factor most directly contributed to the emergence of Italian Renaissance humanism in the 14th and 15th centuries?

• AThe growth of wealthy urban city-states like Florence and Venice
• BThe Council of Trent and its doctrinal reforms
• CThe rise of constitutional monarchy in France
• DThe discovery of the Americas

"I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe." - attributed to Martin Luther, Diet of Worms, 1521

Luther's refusal to recant contributed most directly to

• Athe establishment of religious uniformity across the Holy Roman Empire
• Bthe fragmentation of Western Christianity and the spread of Protestantism
• Cthe founding of the Jesuit order in 1540
• Dthe end of the Catholic Church as a political institution

Which pair correctly identifies a difference between 17th-century France and England?

• AFrance was constitutional; England was absolutist.
• BFrance centralized power under the monarchy; England expanded parliamentary authority after the Glorious Revolution.
• CBoth saw their monarchs executed during civil wars.
• DBoth abolished noble privileges by 1700.

Which idea most clearly distinguishes Enlightenment political thought from earlier medieval political theory?

• AThe divine right of kings
• BSocial contract theory grounded in natural rights
• CPapal supremacy over temporal rulers
• DThe hereditary principle for all government offices

Which was NOT a major cause of the French Revolution of 1789?

• AFinancial crisis from participation in the American Revolution and earlier wars
• BResentment among the Third Estate over tax burdens and lack of representation
• CThe spread of Enlightenment ideas about natural rights
• DThe Ottoman invasion of Western Europe

Which best describes how industrialization changed European social structure between 1800 and 1900?

• AIt eliminated class distinctions and produced social equality.
• BIt reinforced feudal relationships between landowners and peasants.
• CIt expanded urban middle and working classes while reducing the economic dominance of rural landed elites.
• DIt returned most of the population to subsistence agriculture.

The unifications of Italy and Germany in the 19th century were similar in that both

• Awere achieved peacefully through international negotiation
• Bwere driven by a combination of nationalist movements and skillful realpolitik leadership
• Cestablished constitutional monarchies modeled exactly on England
• Dexcluded German or Italian speakers from the new states

Which sequence most accurately reflects the July Crisis of 1914?

• AGerman invasion of Belgium → assassination in Sarajevo → Austro-Hungarian ultimatum
• BAssassination in Sarajevo → Austro-Hungarian ultimatum to Serbia → Russian mobilization → German declaration of war
• CFrench mobilization → German ultimatum → assassination in Sarajevo
• DRussian mobilization → assassination in Sarajevo → Austrian surrender

Which factor most contributed to the rise of fascist and authoritarian regimes in interwar Europe?

• AEconomic instability combined with weak democratic institutions after World War I
• BThe spread of constitutional democracy across Eastern Europe
• CRapid industrialization and stable full employment
• DPacifist movements that reduced military spending

Which development most directly signaled the end of the Cold War in Europe?

• AThe Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962
• BThe signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957
• CThe fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and subsequent collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe
• DThe formation of NATO in 1949