By now, you should be well versed in how to identify and categorize causes and consequences. In this activity, you’ll use your causation, contextualization, and claim testing skills to solve a historical problem. By combining these skills, you’ll begin to understand how historians, or in this case government officials, must think about causes and consequences in order to understand historical events or to solve real-world problems, some of which can be life threatening.

Imagine it is 1962. You are United States government officials working with classified information. Your task is to determine what crisis is threatening the safety of the American people. Once you break open the seal on your Top Secret envelope, examine each document carefully for clues. Work with your group to piece together this Cold War emergency situation. You may be asked to explain the crisis to the Commander in Chief, so get your facts straight!

Once everyone has finished determining the imminent threat to America’s safety, your group will act (and think) like a member of President Kennedy’s national security team, known as ExComm (Executive Committee of the National Security Council).

Your job as members of ExComm is to outline a series of consequences (both good and bad) for a number of proposed options on how to respond to this threat. This top-secret mission is of the gravest concern. The security of the entire nation (all 186.5 million Americans) is resting in your hands.

Using the Cold War Crisis worksheet, read the proposed options on how to respond. Next, brainstorm with your ExComm team members about all of the consequences, both positive and negative, that could result from each option. You’ll list these consequences on the worksheet. Finally, as a group, come to a consensus (agreement) on which option to choose, and then write a brief for the president’s consideration.

Your brief must include the following information:

• Which option did you choose and what are the consequences of taking this action (both positive and negative consequences)?
• Two strong supporting reasons for the option you are proposing (why do the benefits, or positive consequences, outweigh the costs, or negative consequences?).
• Acknowledgment that other groups might choose another option or course of action, and for each of the options not chosen, you must provide refutation of that course of action. That is, you must provide counterclaims with evidence to back up your position and explain why the other option is not advisable.

Be prepared to share your brief along with your supporting evidence with the class. Your teacher may arrange a debate between groups or ask you to explain the consequences of this crisis.

In this final sourcing activity of the course, you’ll put all your sourcing skills to use by writing an essay that attempts to answers the question, Who started the Cold War? You’ll complete all sections of the Sourcing Tool to analyze two primary sources that will enable you to identify the causes of the Cold War. This will help you determine whether you’ve mastered this historical thinking skill and are now able to evaluate the reliability of sources you encounter—a useful skill, not just in this course but outside of the classroom as well.

Comparison, contextualization, claim testing
In this activity, you’ll compare two documents from the same time and on the same topic but from two different perspectives. Therefore, you’ll have to use your contextualization skills to analyze these primary sources in order to understand the context in which these documents were written. In addition, you’ll employ your claim-testing abilities to decide which source is more credible.

As this is the final activity in the sourcing progression, your teacher may have you complete this activity in pairs or on your own. For this activity, you will read two primary sources that provide differing perspectives on who started the Cold War, complete the Sourcing Tool for both sources, and write an essay focusing on all rows of the tool. Note that the Sourcing Tool and the source excerpts are included in the Sourcing – Who Started the Cold War? worksheet.

Your teacher will either hand out or have you download the Sourcing – Who Started the Cold War? worksheet. Read the excerpts, starting with the introductory paragraphs, and as you read, think about this question: To what extent were the causes of the Cold War similar in the US and USSR?

After you’ve finished reading each source, complete all rows of the Sourcing Tool.

After you’ve completed the tool for each of the primary source documents, answer these follow-up questions.

1. How do the authors differ in their analysis of who was responsible for starting the Cold War?
2. What are the similarities between the documents?
3. How does each source try to convince the audience of his argument regarding this topic?
4. How do these sources help you answer the Unit 8 Problem: What can we learn when we study the Cold War and decolonization together?

Be prepared to share your answers and the evidence you used to support these answers with the class.

Finally, write a four- to five-paragraph essay in response to this prompt: Develop an argument that explains the extent to which the causes of the Cold War were similar in the US and USSR. Be sure to make specific reference to each row of the Sourcing Tool. Remember to look over the WHP LEQ Writing Rubric, as this is what your teacher will use to assess your essays. Your essays should include the following elements:

1. Introduction: A paragraph that includes a thesis statement and provides the historical context necessary to understand this event and how the thesis relates to this context.
2. Body paragraph 1: An analysis of the first primary source document that includes information on how your reading of this text supports your thesis statement. This paragraph should focus on the purpose, point of view, and/or audience of the source.
3. Body paragraph 2: An analysis of the second primary source document that includes information on how your reading of this text supports your thesis statement. This paragraph should focus on the purpose, point of view, and/or audience of the source.
4. Body paragraph 3: An analysis of how understanding the differing perspectives of these sources helps you understand the importance of these sources and helps you respond to the prompt.
5. Conclusion: A paragraph that synthesizes the information in your essay and explains how your conclusions support your thesis statement.

Your teacher will collect your worksheets and essays to evaluate how your sourcing skills are progressing.

While the United States and the Soviet Union had worked together to defeat the Axis Powers, their alliance soon fell apart without a common enemy. The global conflict of the Cold War came down to competing visions of world order as the two superpowers promoted communist and capitalist ideologies in a struggle for supremacy. Europe was divided between a capitalist west and communist east. Across Latin America, Asia, and Africa, the two superpowers fought each other through proxy wars. The conflict ended without a global nuclear war, and the Soviet Union collapsed with relatively little bloodshed.

This article surveys key events and trends of the Cold War. It will help you understand the complex and interconnected motivations behind the Cold War and the numerous proxy conflicts all over the globe. The Cold War was a huge confrontation between two different economic systems, but it also reshaped national communities and international networks.

Think about the following question as you read the article: To what extent does this article explain the causes and effects of the ideological struggle of the Cold War? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Read 1—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Read 2—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. According to the author, what was the basic difference at the heart of the Cold War conflict?
2. What does this author identify as the three main features of the Cold War?
3. Why did Stalin want to expand Soviet influence in Eastern Europe?
4. What was the policy of containment and what does the author use as an example of this policy?

Read 3—Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. To what extent does this article explain the causes and effects of the ideological struggle of the Cold War?
2. The Cold War was a conflict that divided nations across the world. Which of the AP themes do you think best describes why the Cold War happened?

In this activity, you will evaluate the causes and predict the consequences of the Cold War. Analyzing causes and consequences can be difficult because there are often multiple causes and consequences for historical events. Even professional historians sometimes disagree about the most significant causes and consequences of events, and working on your causation skills will help you understand how to examine and evaluate multiple perspectives in this area. In addition, analyzing the causes and consequences of this historical event will help you achieve the learning objective for this unit, as outlined in the AP^® CED.

In this activity, you will complete the Causation Tool, create a causal map, and write a multi-paragraph response to a causal prompt. As this is the penultimate activity in the causation progression, your teacher may ask you to complete this activity on your own or in pairs.

First, your teacher will either hand out or have you download the Causation – Cold War worksheet, which includes the Causation Tool, along with the article “Cold War: An Overview.” Review the article and pull out any information that will help you complete the Causation Tool, as well as details that will help you craft a response that answers this causal prompt:

What were two of the most significant causes AND two of the most significant consequences of the Cold War?

Next, add your causes to the Causation Tool, following all directions for categorizing by time, type, and role. Then, work in pairs to brainstorm the consequences of the Cold War. Use your list of causes from your completed tool and develop a list of consequences and add these to your tool. Then, work on your own to create a causal map. Your map should have the Cold War in the center circle or box with the causes leading to the center box. Your map should show the consequences stemming from the Cold War on the other side of the circle/box.

Once you’ve completed your causal map, return to the causal prompt and individually write a multi-paragraph response. Remember that you can use your completed tools, the articles in this lesson, and your causal maps to help you craft a response. The first paragraph of your response should focus on the most significant causes; the second paragraph should be about the most significant consequences. Make sure to explain your reasoning for why the causes and consequences you chose are the most significant ones and remember to use the acronym ADE to help determine historical significance. Your teacher will collect your worksheet and paragraphs at the end of class and use them to assess your understanding of this historical event and the historical reasoning process of causation.

The Cold War started just as European colonialism was collapsing all around the world. The new leaders and governments that rose to lead their newly independent nations no longer had to fight colonial rule, but they now had to contend with pressure from the two superpowers. The United States and the Soviet Union were both eager to win allies to their side, and both were willing to use violence and coercion to stop the other from expanding. This article examines how the Cold War and decolonization collided in Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

This article looks at the Cold War from perspectives outside of the US and USSR. Together with the previous overview of the Cold War, this article will help you evaluate how the Cold War conflict shaped emerging states in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and also connect it to decolonization. This is important evidence for responding to the Unit Problem, which asks you to compare the changes that resulted from the Cold War and decolonization in different regions.

Think about the following prompt as you read the article: Using evidence from this article, compare the ways in which the United States and the Soviet Union sought to maintain influence over the course of the Cold War. Write this prompt at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this prompt again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Read 1—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Read 2—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. Why was there so much bloodshed in South Asia in the late 1940s, and how did the British government try to contain the violence?
2. How did the partition of South Asia influence the Cold War in that region?
3. How did the United States try to contain communism in Latin America? Where did they fail?
4. Why was the United States so interested in preventing communism in the former Belgian Congo?

Read 3—Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. Using evidence from this article, compare the ways in which the United States and the Soviet Union sought to maintain influence over the course of the Cold War.
2. This article points out that the United States had to frequently intervene during the Cold War to stop socialist reformers in many places. Why do you think that communist and socialist ideas were so appealing to so many people in the newly independent nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America?
3. How does this article help you answer the Unit 8 Problem about how the Cold War impacted societies around the world?

3x5 note cards or cut up paper

This sourcing collection, along with the Quick-Sourcing Tool, gives you an opportunity to practice a quicker kind of sourcing than you do in the sourcing practice progression. The tool and the process for using it—specifically designed for unpacking document collections—will help you be successful on both the SAQ and DBQ portions of the AP^® World History: Modern exam.

If you are unfamiliar with the Quick-Sourcing Tool or the process for using it, we recommend reviewing the Quick-Sourcing Introduction activity in Lesson 1.4.

The Quick-Sourcing Tool can be used any time you encounter a set of sources and are trying to respond to a prompt or question, as opposed to the deeper analysis you do when using the HAPPY tool that is part of the sourcing progression.

First, take out or download the sourcing collection and review the guiding question that appears on the first page. Then, take out or download the Quick-Sourcing Tool and review the directions. For Part 1, you’ll write a quick summary of each source in terms of how it relates to the guiding question (we recommend using one note card or scrap of paper for each source).

For Part 2, which uses the first four letters of the acronym from the HAPPY tool, you only have to respond to one of these four questions. This will get you a partial point on the AP^® World History: Modern exam. You should always include the historical significance or “why” (the “Y” in “HAPPY”) for any of the four questions you choose to respond to.

In Part 3, you’ll gather the evidence you found in each document and add it to your note cards so you can include it in a response later. Once each document is analyzed, look at your note cards and try to categorize the cards. There might be a group of documents that support the claim you want to make in your response, and another group that will help you consider counterclaims, for example.

To wrap up, try to respond to the guiding question.

This collection explores the emergence and intensification of the Cold War. It provides sources that help us see how the conflict was framed in its early days by political officials. The collection also brings in “popular” sources to give a sense of how propaganda played a role in creating Cold War sensibilities on both sides. Finally, there are sources which examine important events, policies, and political programs that occurred during the Cold War, helping you see the “hot” aspects of a multi-decade tension.

The AP^® World History: Modern CED suggests students develop their sourcing skills in line with certain topics. For Unit 8, one of these topics is “The Cold War”; therefore, we’ve compiled a number of primary source excerpts to help you develop these skills in relation to this content. This should help prepare you to be successful on the AP exam.

We recommend using the accompanying Quick Sourcing activity (above) to help you analyze these sources.

By the time the Second World War ended, China had been a victim of European informal empire for a century and of Japanese imperialism for half a century. Two forces had emerged to fight for an independent China: nationalists and communists. After the Japanese were defeated, these two forces fought each other, and the communists under Mao Zedong emerged victorious almost everywhere. The new government’s policies modernized China rapidly, but at enormous cost.

This article is a regional history of China during the twentieth century. Much of this history involves a fight against imperialism that also brought China into the Cold War as a communist power. This history provides evidence from China that will help you to respond to the Unit Problem, which asks you how decolonization and the Cold War together led to changes in different regions of the world.

Think about the following question as you read the article: To what extent does this article explain the causes and effects of the rise of communism in China? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Read 1—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Read 2—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. Most of China was never formally colonized. So why has twentieth-century China seen itself as so engaged in a struggle against imperialism and colonialism?
2. How did relations between the nationalist Guomindang (GMD) and the Communist Party of China (CPC) change between 1921 and 1949?
3. What were the main policies of the communists under Chairman Mao, once they came to power?
4. What was the goal of the Great Leap Forward, and did it succeed, according to the author?
5. What was the goal of the Cultural Revolution, and did it succeed, according to the author?
6. China is a communist power. Was it a Soviet ally during the Cold War?

Read 3—Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. To what extent does this article explain the causes and effects of the rise of communism in China?
2. The author argues that, despite never formally being colonized, much of China’s recent history has been guided by an anti-imperial mindset. Do you believe she has proven her argument in this article? Why or why not?
3. In the recent past, China has taken over Tibet and is trying to change Muslim citizens to be more “culturally” similar to the majority of the country. The government is also trying to enforce its rule in Hong Kong, which until recently was a British colony and most of whose population opposes many of the policies of the Chinese government. Does this evidence suggest that China is an imperial power, today?

In the first half of the twentieth century, the great power of China lay wounded. Its peasants were impoverished, its armies humiliated, and its lands increasingly captured by enemies. After World War II, however, one of the greatest revolutions of world history brought the Communist Party to power in China. The result would be both hardship and glory, but certainly it laid the groundwork for a resurgent China. In this video, we look at the Chinese Communist Revolution as a transformational event in both Chinese history and the global history of revolutions, with the help of Dr. Prasenjit Duara.

This lesson is all about the connections between the Cold War and decolonization, and China’s story is both unique and very significant in connecting these two global trends. However, it is also an important event in the long history of revolutions around the world, as we will see. So this story will help you both to respond to the Unit Problem, and also to connect it to earlier periods in human history.

Think about the following question as you watch the video: Using evidence from this video, explain the causes and consequences of China’s adoption of communism. You will be asked to respond to this question again at the end of the video.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

Think about the following questions as you watch this video:

1. According to Francesca, what is the difference between liberal and social revolutions?
2. What were the two parties that, during the 1920s and 1930s, sought to lead China, and what were their goals?
3. According to Dr. Prasenjit Duara, what were the internal and external inspirations for the Chinese Communist Revolution?
4. According to Dr. Duara, how did the Chinese Communist Party’s response to the Japanese occupation help them to win the revolution?
5. According to Dr. Duara, can we call the Chinese Communist Revolution part of an anticolonial struggle? Why or why not?
6. What were the successes and failures of the revolution, according to Dr. Duara?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. Using evidence from this video, explain the causes and consequences of China’s adoption of communism.
2. Consider the Chinese Communist Revolution alongside the earlier revolutions you’ve encountered. Which would you label social revolutions? Which were liberal political revolutions? Which were both?
3. How does the Chinese Communist Revolution show the ways in which the Cold War and decolonization were intertwined?

3x5 note cards or cut up paper

This sourcing collection, along with the Quick-Sourcing Tool, gives you an opportunity to practice a quicker kind of sourcing than you do in the sourcing practice progression. The tool and the process for using it—specifically designed for unpacking document collections—will help you be successful on both the SAQ and DBQ portions of the AP^® World History: Modern exam.

If you are unfamiliar with the Quick-Sourcing Tool or the process for using it, we recommend reviewing the Quick-Sourcing Introduction activity in Lesson 1.4.

The Quick-Sourcing Tool can be used any time you encounter a set of sources and are trying to respond to a prompt or question, as opposed to the deeper analysis you do when using the HAPPY tool that is part of the sourcing progression.

First, take out or download the sourcing collection and review the guiding question that appears on the first page. Then, take out or download the Quick-Sourcing Tool and review the directions. For Part 1, you’ll write a quick summary of each source in terms of how it relates to the guiding question (we recommend using one note card or scrap of paper for each source).

For Part 2, which uses the first four letters of the acronym from the HAPPY tool, you only have to respond to one of these four questions. This will get you a partial point on the AP^® World History: Modern exam. You should always include the historical significance or “why” (the “Y” in “HAPPY”) for any of the four questions you choose to respond to.

In Part 3, you’ll gather the evidence you found in each document and add it to your note cards so you can include it in a response later. Once each document is analyzed, look at your note cards and try to categorize the cards. There might be a group of documents that support the claim you want to make in your response, and another group that will help you consider counterclaims, for example.

To wrap up, try to respond to the guiding question.

This collection explores socialist and communist efforts, movements, and responses across the globe. Some sources focus on communist revolutions, policies, and propaganda, while others show how workers’ demands were met in non-communist societies. In the margins, we see a broad variety of socialist beliefs and practice, implemented in many different communities. In some cases, it succeeds, while in others it falters, due to mismanagement, state suppression, or external pressure. We also glimpse the connections between these movements, as well as where the lines begin to get drawn.

The AP^® World History: Modern CED suggests students develop their sourcing skills in line with certain topics. For Unit 8, one of these topics is the “Spread of Communism After 1900”; therefore, we’ve compiled a number of primary source excerpts to help you develop these skills in relation to this content. This should help prepare you to be successful on the AP exam.

We recommend using the accompanying Quick Sourcing activity (above) to help you analyze these sources.

In this video, Sharika Crawford explains how the Cold War and decolonization affected the Caribbean. The region has a long history with formal European colonialism, some of it continuing into the late twentieth century. But informal colonialism was more common by the time the Cold War started. The United States tried hard to control the economy, politics, and culture of Caribbean nations. By the 1960s, people all over the Caribbean sought to break free of this system of informal colonialism. But as they tried, they were caught in the middle of the global conflict between the two superpowers.

This video will help you to assess how anti-colonial movements and the Cold War were intertwined by focusing on one region—the Caribbean. It will help you to assess the impact of these two trends through a case study. This is important evidence for responding to the Unit Problem, which asks you to evaluate how the Cold War and decolonization impacted societies around the world.

Think about the following question as you watch the video: Using evidence from this video, compare the ways in which the United States and the Soviet Union sought to maintain influence over the course of the Cold War. You will be asked to respond to this question again at the end of the video.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

Think about the following questions as you watch this video:

1. What was colonialism like in the Caribbean during the second half of the twentieth century?
2. Why did the Cuban Revolution start, and why did Castro align himself with the Soviet Union?
3. How did Puerto Ricans resist their status as a territory under US control?
4. How has Puerto Rico’s status as a territory (rather than a state) affected people living on the island?
5. How did other nations in the Caribbean learn from the example of the successful Cuban Revolution?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. Using evidence from this video, compare the ways in which the United States and the Soviet Union sought to maintain influence over the course of the Cold War.
2. People in the Caribbean were resisting a different sort of colonialism than most of the other examples you have encountered so far. Do you think the story of the Caribbean’s encounter with the Cold War and decolonization is different than it was for people in Africa and Asia? Why or why not?

In this video, Steve Lee explains how the Cold War and decolonization played out in Asia. The video pays particular attention to anti-colonial and Cold War conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. The roots of both conflicts lay in the colonial era, and in both conflicts, the United States and Soviet Union supported different sides. The video examines several important anti-colonial leaders in both places and lays out the complex Cold War politics of both conflicts.

Alongside the video on the Caribbean, this video will provide you with evidence at the regional level to respond to the Unit Problem, which asks you to evaluate how the Cold War and decolonization impacted different regions.

Think about the following question as you watch the video: Using evidence from this video, compare the processes by which various peoples pursued independence after 1900. You will be asked to respond to this question again at the end of the video.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

Think about the following questions as you watch this video:

1. This video argues that the Korean and Vietnam wars had their roots in the era of colonialism. What events in particular does this article trace these conflicts back to?
2. In both Korea and Vietnam, there were well-known leaders of the communist and anti-communist sides. What were the names of these four leaders? Despite their differences, what did they have in common?
3. In what ways was the civil war in Vietnam a decolonization struggle and also a Cold War conflict?
4. How was Korea’s decolonization and its encounter with the Cold War conflict different from Vietnam’s? How was it similar?
5. How does Steve Lee explain the outbreak of war in Korea?
6. How did the Vietnam War end?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. Using evidence from this video, compare the processes by which various peoples pursued independence after 1900.
2. Would you call the Korean War a “Cold War” episode or a war of decolonization? What about the Vietnam War? Defend your answers.
3. This video describes two conflicts. Both were linked to the Cold War. Both had roots in anti-colonial struggles. And both were wars of national unification. But only Vietnam was able to unite its nation. Korea remains divided between North and South. Since the war ended, the United States has had normal relations with Vietnam, even working closely as a trade partner. But the United States remains officially at war with North Korea. Why do you think the United States has normal relations with one but not the other?

By researching and investigating different events during the Cold War, you will be able to more fully understand why this conflict was so far-reaching. In addition, you will evaluate how the events of the Cold War led to other conflicts, divisions, and interference in the affairs of other nations. Many of these effects can still be seen in the world today, as certain regions continue to recover from outside influences in their governments.

In this activity, you will look at a timeline that includes major events from the Cold War. In pairs or small groups, you’ll research events from the timeline to decide who was “winning” the Cold War at that time—the US or the USSR. Then you will post your group’s choice to the large class timeline and explain your reasoning.

Get into pairs or small groups and take out the Who Is “Winning” the Cold War? Timeline. Your group is going to be responsible for researching a variety of events on the timeline. Based on what you learn, your group will decide who was “winning” the Cold War at that time. In addition to deciding who was “winning” or pulling ahead at that time, you have to come up with a short rationale explaining your choice (short enough to fit on a sticky note).

Your teacher will assign each sticky note color to a country (for example, blue for the US and pink for the USSR). Once you’ve chosen the “winning” country for each event, write your rationale for that event on that country’s sticky note, and then place it on the larger class timeline. After everyone has posted their sticky notes on the timeline, it should become clear who the winner of the Cold War was—unless there is a tie!

Before getting started, discuss what it might mean to “win” the Cold War. Ultimately, it’s up to you and how you defend your choices, but you should keep in mind the three key features of the war as defined by “The Cold War: An Overview”: “1) the threat of nuclear war, 2) competition over the allegiance (loyalty) of newly independent nations, and 3) the military and economic support of each other’s enemies around the world.”

Once your events are assigned, get started. When everyone is done posting, see if there is a clear winner. Be prepared to give some examples of who you chose and why, and whether it was easy or difficult to decide on a “winner.” Also, consider and discuss with your class whether there is actually ever a “winner” when it comes to war.

At the end of the Second World War, industrial empires like France, Britain, Germany, and Japan found themselves much weaker than when the war started. Some were defeated, others were victorious. But none of them were prepared for the wave of anti-colonial activism and shifting global conditions that threatened their control over their colonies. Within three decades, most of the world’s colonies had won their freedom and become independent states.

Why did so many great empires lose their colonies after the Second World War? This article gives you a global view of this transformation that brings together all of the different regional stories you have encountered and will encounter. It focuses on two main explanations: local nationalist struggles, and global conditions, including the Cold War. This material will help you to respond to the Unit Problem, which asks you to evaluate the impact of the Cold War and decolonization on different regions of the world.

Think about the following question as you read the article: To what extent does this article explain how political changes in the period from c. 1900 to the present led to territorial, demographic, and nationalist developments? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Read 1—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Read 2—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. This article makes a distinction between “decolonization” and the end of empires. What is that distinction?
2. How did the Second World War contribute to the end of empires?
3. What were some post-war global transformation that helped to lead to the end of empires?
4. What was the main instrument of those seeking independence within each colony, and why was it so useful?

Read 3—Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. To what extent does this article explain how political changes in the period from c. 1900 to the present led to territorial, demographic, and nationalist developments?
2. In this course, we generally use the term “decolonization” to mean the end of empire. But this author argues that decolonization should properly refer to the ending of all of the legacies of colonialism. What’s the difference? Do you agree with this author? Can you think of any “colonial legacies” that you have encountered in the world?
3. There are many different ways to talk about decolonization and anti-colonial movements. How was decolonization a result of the ways that people thought about themselves as members of nation-states and how was it a result of the increasing interconnectedness experienced as a result of global networks?

In this second-to-last activity in the SAQ practice series, you’ll have an opportunity to apply many of the strategies you’ve learned. This should give you a sense of just how prepared you are to respond to SAQs on the AP^® World History: Modern exam, and will let you know whether you need to revisit the practice activities or spend more time with SAQs before the test.

For this SAQ practice activity, you will respond to one SAQ as if you were actually taking the AP exam. Not only should this give you a good feel for what might happen on the actual test date, it will give you an understanding of your ability to successfully earn points for your SAQs, and whether you may need to spend more time with this particular assessment item before taking the AP exam. Because you are allotted 40 minutes for three SAQs on the actual exam, your teacher will likely give you about 13 minutes to respond to this practice SAQ.

Once time is up, be prepared to discuss your responses with your class. As you do this, mark up and correct your own SAQ if there are any areas that could be improved on. Take note of any mistakes you have made repeatedly (for example, do you often forget to fully explain the evidence you use in your responses?). Doing so will give you a good idea of what you need to work on before the actual exam.