AP World History: Modern Unit 5: Revolutions — Free Review Games.

A Document-Based Question excerpt reads: 'All men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights... namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property.' Identify the Enlightenment thinker whose ideas are most reflected here and explain how this idea was applied in a specific revolution.

This passage most directly reflects John Locke's theory of natural rights, particularly from his Second Treatise of Government. You should connect it to the American Declaration of Independence (1776) or the French Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789), both of which explicitly cited natural rights as justification for overthrowing existing authority. On the exam, always name the specific thinker, cite the specific text or revolution, and explain the causal link.

Short-Answer Question: Explain ONE way the French Revolution challenged existing social hierarchies AND ONE way it failed to fulfill Enlightenment ideals of equality.

For the challenge: the abolition of noble privileges and the feudal system in August 1789 directly dismantled aristocratic hierarchy rooted in birth. For the failure: despite proclaiming universal rights, women were explicitly excluded — Olympe de Gouges' Declaration of the Rights of Woman (1791) was rejected and she was executed, demonstrating that 'universal' rights remained gendered. This two-sided analysis is exactly the structure the AP exam rewards.

Continuity and Change Over Time prompt: 'Evaluate the extent to which the Haitian Revolution represented a continuity with OR a change from Enlightenment political ideals.'

For continuity: Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines directly invoked natural rights and popular sovereignty — the same Lockean framework used in France and America. For change: the Haitian Revolution went further by applying these ideals universally, including to enslaved Africans, which no Enlightenment philosopher had explicitly advocated. A strong essay acknowledges both sides but argues the Revolution represented a radical change by exposing and resolving the hypocrisy within Enlightenment thought.

Comparison question: 'Compare the causes and outcomes of the Haitian Revolution and ONE Latin American independence movement. What accounts for the differences in their social outcomes?'

In Haiti, the revolutionary leaders were themselves enslaved or formerly enslaved, so the destruction of slavery was inseparable from the revolution's goals. In contrast, in Venezuela or Mexico, creole leaders sought to end Spanish imperial control but depended on existing labor systems (including slavery and debt peonage) to maintain their economic power. The difference in outcome — radical social transformation in Haiti vs. elite power transfer in Latin America — stems directly from who led each revolution and what they stood to gain or lose from social equality.