AP US Essay

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
1

<p>"To what extent did the natural environment shape the development of the West beyond the Mississippi and the lives of those who lived there? How important were other factors?</p>

<p>Use both evidence from the documents and your knowledge of the period 1840-1890 to compose your answer."</p>

<p>Okay, I was able to come up with a few evidence that relates to the question, but my biggest problem is answering “to what extent”</p>

<p>Gold, silver - attracted miners into CA and Northern Mid-west - volatile towns and unstable lives
Railroads - opened new towns, connected them to east; helped institute grazing, but also destroyed it
Religion - Mormons fled to Utah from persecution
Environment - mostly dry, arid; contributed to dry farming and a lot of hardships; govt. tried to start irrigation incentives; grasslands attracted grazing
Indians - a lot of conflicts, both cultural and military</p>

<p>Now, which one was more important? I guess these factors all played a role in shaping the West, so can I just say for my thesis that environment played an important role, but other issues did as well?</p>

2

<p>For AP essays, I almost always take a “middle of the road” approach, leaving my body paragraphs (I like to do 2— but that is my preferance) open to all inforamtion instead of eliminating some factors that were “less” important than others. </p>

<p>IMO, the most crucial impact of the environment was the isolation it caused. It forced people to be strong and self-sufficent-- leading to the rise of camp meetings and other social activities.</p>