AP US history short answer example 2 | US History | Khan Academy

All right, in this video we're talking about the short answer section of the AP US History exam. In the first part of this video, we talked about the first two sections of this question, which asked for examples of how contact with Europeans changed Native American society.

The three most important things we talked about were, first, that you really have to pay attention to the timeline given to you in the question because you don't want to give an answer that's outside of that time frame. So only talk about the period from 1492 to 1700, nothing after that.

The second thing we mentioned is that there could be all sorts of right answers to this question, so choose the things that you know best and feel most qualified to talk about. And third, if you're stuck, consider how a certain issue might affect people differently of different races, different classes, and different genders. You might find a new example when considering those that will help you answer a more difficult question.

All right, let's move on to the last part of this question. For part C, we're now looking for kind of a counter example: a way that Native Americans resisted changes brought on by Europeans in this time period. Now, you might be tempted to talk about the Ghost Dance, but remember that the Ghost Dance wasn't until the end of the 19th century—that's the 1880s and 1890s—so it's way outside the scope of our time period here, ending at 1700.

So, we're thinking back to the early period of contact, the early colonial period. So what are some examples of resistance to change in this time period? Well, I think an obvious example would be war. Many Native Americans went to war against European invaders. Some good examples of this might be King Philip's War in New England, or maybe Pope's Rebellion in the west.

Let me give us a little bit more space to write here. These are two really specific examples, and I would recommend that you give specific examples whenever possible, even though it's not necessary at times, but it will show that you really know what you're talking about.

Another example of resistance might be going against some of the things we've talked about earlier—so labor, for example. Well, not all Native Americans were part of an encomienda system; some of them chose to flee. It's one of the reasons why Europeans resorted to African slavery in this time period because Native Americans knew the landscape very well and could get away when someone tried to enslave them.

You could also talk about some cultural resistance to European ways. For example, a refusal to convert to Christianity. Many Native Americans were targeted by missionaries who were coming to the New World specifically to convert Native Americans to Christianity, along with getting very wealthy, of course.

But in many cases, Native Americans outright refuse to convert to Christianity, or they may have incorporated Christianity into their own previous beliefs. So many of these are good options, and I should think two out of the three of these are fairly simple. I think disease and also warfare are things that are going to come to mind right away when we think about this early period of contact.

It's the second example that's really going to make you reach, and for that, I recommend this strategy of considering race, class, and gender because among one of them, there's definitely going to be something that is relevant.

So remember, any of these answers is correct. You only need to choose the ones that you know, and all you need to do is write one sentence about each of these options. Keep yourself short, simple, and to the point; answer the question and move on.