Help me understand the directions..?

Question

I have this summer assignment for AP US History, so basically I'm all on my own, no help from the teacher. Among many other things is a list of 40 words, "Identifications" the directions are as follows:

Describe each of the following items by placing them into proper historical context using specific information and detail.

I don't understand what exactly I'm supposed to do here. For example, the first word on the list is renaissance. I am supposed to get my information from the first 5 chapters of the text book. The only paragraph that mentions the renaissance is as follows:

The stage was now set for a cataclysmic shift in the course of history--the history not only of Europe but of all the world. Europeans clamored for more and cheaper products from the lands beyond the Mediterranean. Africa had been established as a source of cheap slave labor for plantation agriculture. The Portuguese voyages had demonstrated the feasibility of long-range ocean navigation. In Spain a modern national state was taking shape, with the unity, wealth, and power to shoulder the formidable tasks of discovery, conquest, and colonization. The dawn of the Renaissance in the fourteenth century nurtured an ambitious spirit of optimism and adventure. Printing presses, introduced about 1450, facilitated the spread of scientific knowledge. The mariner's compass, possibly borrowed from the Arabs, eliminated some of the uncertainties of sea travel. Meanwhile, across the ocean, the unsuspecting New World innocently awaited its European "discoverers."

If you actually read all that, thanks :)

Anyway, as you can see, it doesn't have much information about the Renaissance. What am I supposed to write? Like, do I include things that were happening at the same time but don't necessarily have much to do with the Renaissance? Please help if you can, you don't have to use my example, just tell me what it means! lol

Thanks(:

Answer 1

i would say write the whole paragraph n write som info out of ur own knowledge n some off the internet

Answer 2

You have to put the IDs into historical context so with this paragraph you provided, these are the events that led to the Renaissance. Proper historical context means you have to write about the background behind the Renaissance, like the significances of how it happened and why did it happen. This is an AP course so they shouldn't be asking you to simply list what the Renaissance is, that's too easy. I've taken the AP US History exam and they will be looking for "cause and effect" answers not definition answers.

Btw, why is Renaissance an ID on your homework when the class is US history? The Renaissance was a European phenomenon.

Answer 3

When I think of putting thing into historical context, I think of a sandwich.

What were the periods before and after. Maybe briefly name the era before it. Then describe it-when it started, what was it in a sentence - something like period when Europe began importing products from around the world.

What made this happen:

-the ability to travel across the Atlantic thanks to the Portuguese

-Spain progress as a nation state, it's wealth, and ability to go on conquests.

-Printing press invented (verify this) allowed communication of inventions and discoveries like the Mariner's compass

At the end, briefly describe what brought it to and end or what brought on the next era and the next era's name. This is very rough but may get you going.

Make sure you do not copy the paragraph. Put it into your own words. I left things out for you to work out. Maybe answer the where, why, how, when,who..

By the way, what does AP stand for?

Best wishes.