Constructed-Response Practice Set 2

Document A: "The bourgeoisie has, through its exploitation of the world market, given a cosmopolitan character to production and consumption in every country. All old-established national industries have been destroyed or are daily being destroyed. They are dislodged by new industries whose introduction becomes a life and death question for all civilized nations." Marx and Engels, Communist Manifesto, 1848

Document B: "In 1868 the Emperor Meiji and his advisors resolved that Japan should adopt Western technology, military organization, education, and law in order to preserve Japanese independence. Within thirty years Japan had built a modern army, defeated China in war, and joined the ranks of the imperial powers." Description of the Meiji Restoration

Question 1: Based on Document A, identify one effect of industrialization on global economic relationships.

Strong sample answer: "Industrialization gave production and consumption a global character, creating new industries that displaced traditional national industries everywhere in the world."

Question 2: Based on Document B, explain Japan's response to the pressure of industrial Western nations.

Strong sample answer: "Japan responded to Western pressure by deliberately adopting Western technology, military organization, education, and law during the Meiji Restoration. This deliberate modernization allowed Japan to preserve its independence and emerge as a regional military power capable of joining the ranks of imperial nations."

Question 3: Using both documents and your knowledge of social studies, explain why some nations responded to industrialization by attempting to modernize while others did not.

Strong sample answer: "Nations responded differently to industrial pressure depending on their political leadership, internal stability, and resources. Japan under the Meiji emperor recognized that resisting Western technology and military power would lead to subjugation, as had happened to China in the

Opium Wars, and chose to modernize rapidly by adopting Western methods. China under the Qing dynasty resisted modernization, in part because the Confucian elite was committed to traditional structures, and suffered semi-colonization as a result. The same global industrial pressures that Marx described thus produced very different national outcomes depending on each society's response."