AP European History › Unit 4
This unit follows a new way of knowing. Scientists such as Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton used observation and experiment to challenge ancient authority, and Enlightenment thinkers applied reason to government, religion, and society. You will also study 18th-century population growth, consumer culture, and enlightened absolutism. The exam asks you to analyze philosophers' writings and explain causes and effects. Students often assume every Enlightenment thinker rejected God, when many were deists who criticized organized religion instead. They also confuse enlightened absolutists, who reformed from above, with rulers who shared power.
These are taken from the Regular set, with the answer and explanation shown.
Dedication to King Charles I: "The heart of animals is the foundation of their life, the sovereign of everything within them, the sun of their microcosm, that upon which all growth depends, from which all power proceeds. The King, in like manner, is the foundation of his kingdom, the sun of the world around him, the heart of the republic, the fountain whence all power, all grace doth flow."
Letter to Doctor Argent, president of the Royal College of Physicians, and other physicians: "I profess both to learn and to teach anatomy, not from books but from dissections; not from the positions of philosophers but from the fabric of nature."
William Harvey, An Anatomical Disquisition on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals (1628), trans. Robert Willis (1847), Everyman's Library ed. (London: J. M. Dent, 1906), via Project Gutenberg. Source
1. Harvey's approach to anatomy most closely resembled the earlier work of which of the following?
Answer: B. Vesalius published On the Fabric of the Human Body in 1543. He dissected human bodies himself and found errors in Galen, who had mostly dissected animals. Harvey, who studied at Padua where Vesalius had taught, used the same hands-on method.
Common trap: Copernicus is tempting because he also challenged ancient authority. But the question asks about approach to anatomy. Match the method and the field, not just the fact that both were "revolutionary."
Source 1, Letters on the English (1733): "Take a view of the Royal Exchange in London, a place more venerable than many courts of justice ... There the Jew, the Mahometan, and the Christian transact together, as though they all professed the same religion, and give the name of infidel to none but bankrupts. ... If one religion only were allowed in England, the Government would very possibly become arbitrary; if there were but two, the people would cut one another’s throats; but as there are such a multitude, they all live happy and in peace."
Source 2, Philosophical Dictionary: "What is tolerance? it is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly—that is the first law of nature."
Voltaire, Letters on England, ed. Henry Morley (London: Cassell, 1894), Letter VI, via Project Gutenberg. Source
Voltaire, The Philosophical Dictionary, selected and trans. H. I. Woolf (New York: Knopf, 1924), "Tolerance," via the Hanover College History Department. Source
2. Voltaire's description of the London Royal Exchange in Source 1 was most likely intended to
Answer: B. Voltaire wrote for French readers after living in England. In England, people of different faiths traded peacefully, while France had banned Protestant worship in 1685. Praising England was an indirect way to criticize France.
Common trap: The Church of England choice misreads the passage. Voltaire praises having "a multitude" of religions, not one official church.
Rulers should always remind themselves that they are men like the least of their subjects. The sovereign is the foremost judge, general, financier, and minister of his country, not merely for the sake of his prestige. Therefore, he should perform with care the duties connected with these offices. He is merely the principal servant of the State. Hence, he must act with honesty, wisdom, and complete disinterestedness in such a way that he can render an account of his stewardship to the citizens at any moment.
Frederick II, "Forms of Government and the Duties of Rulers" (1777), trans. J. Ellis Barker, The Foundations of Germany (London: John Murray, 1918), via German History in Documents and Images. Source
3. Frederick's statement that he could "render an account of his stewardship to the citizens" should be read in light of the fact that
Answer: D. Frederick talks about accountability, but no Prussian institution could check him. He inherited the throne, ruled without a parliament, and made the final decisions himself. His accountability was a moral duty, not a legal limit.
Common trap: Do not take the source at face value. "Render an account" sounds like elections, but Prussia had none. Use outside knowledge to test the claim.