AP World History : War and Civil Conflict 1900 to Present

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP World History

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Example Questions

Example Question #1517 : Ap World History

What group of poets emerged during World War I and became the chroniclers of that conflict?

Possible Answers:

The Modernists

The Postmodernists

The Revolutionaries

The War Poets

The Existentialists

Correct answer:

The War Poets

Explanation:

With major voices such as Siegfried Sassoon, Rupert Brooke, and Wilfred Owen, the group of poets largely referred to as The War Poets became the voice of the "Lost Generation." Their works chronicled the general feelings of soldiers over the course of the four-year conflict. From jingoistic to apathetic and 'shell-shocked,' they capture the brutality and hopelessness symptomatic of the battlefields stretching from France to the subcontinent.

Example Question #71 : War And Civil Conflict 1900 To Present

What commonality was shared by major leaders from Britain, France, Russia, and Germany during World War I?

Possible Answers:

They declared war simultaneously

They were allies

None of these

They were all totalitarian leaders

They were all descended directly from Queen Victoria

Correct answer:

They were all descended directly from Queen Victoria

Explanation:

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, Czar Nicholas II of Russia, and King George V of Britain were all cousins and grandsons of Queen Victoria. Their relationships were strained to say the very least. \

Example Question #1522 : Ap World History

Which of the following African countries emerged from a secessionist war?

Possible Answers:

Ghana

Ethiopia

Uganda

Liberia

Eritrea

Correct answer:

Eritrea

Explanation:

After the initial wave of independence for African countries from Europe, Eritrea remained a part of Ethiopia. Armed groups in the Eritrean region fought a protracted secessionist war until gaining independent sovereignty after a UN supported referendum in 1993. 

Example Question #1523 : Ap World History

What was the name of the dynasty overthrown by Reza Khan in 1925 in Iran?

Possible Answers:

Qajar

Safavid

Afsharid

Zand

Pahlavi

Correct answer:

Qajar

Explanation:

The Qajar Dynasty ruled Persia (which would become Iran) from 1785 to 1925.

Example Question #1523 : Ap World History

The only full scale clash of battleships during World War I occurred at which battle?

Possible Answers:

Battle of Jutland

Battle of Midway

Battle of Ypres

Battle of Tannenberg

First Battle of Marne

Correct answer:

Battle of Jutland

Explanation:

The German and British navies met in the only full-scale clash of steel battleships in the war off the coast of Denmark in the summer of 1916. Over 250 combat ships fought over 2 days in this inconclusive battle. England lost 3 battleships and Germany lost 1. This was only the third time two steel battleships had fought, the first two during the Russo-Japanese War.

Example Question #1524 : Ap World History

The British Empire suffered 60,000 casualties on the first day of what battle in World War I?

Possible Answers:

Battle of the Somme

First Battle of the Marne

Gallipoli campaign

Battle of Verdun

Battle of Jutland

Correct answer:

Battle of the Somme

Explanation:

On July 1st 1916 57,470 soldiers of the British were wounded or killed in the first day of the Battle of the Somme in France. This four month long British and French fronted offensive against the German armies on the Western Front caused over 1 million causalities and did little to further the stalemate of trench warfare. Only 6 miles of ground had been taken before the armies set up for winter.

Example Question #71 : War And Civil Conflict 1900 To Present

When did Russia withdraw from World War I?

Possible Answers:

Following the rise to power of Lenin and the Bolsheviks

Russia did not withdraw until the armistice and subsequent Paris Peace Accords

Following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II

Following the rise to power of the Provisional Government

Following the capitulation of Russian forces to the German invaders

Correct answer:

Following the rise to power of Lenin and the Bolsheviks

Explanation:

When the Provisional Government came to power in Russia, following the February/March Revolution, it kept Russia involved in the First World War. Lenin and the Bolsheviks used this to their advantage, promising to withdraw Russia from the war when they came to power. Lenin took control following the October/November Revolution and subsequently kept his promise by ending Russian involvement in World War I.

Example Question #1525 : Ap World History

Which of these countries are known to have developed nuclear weapons since the signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?

I. India

II. Saudi Arabia

III. Pakistan

IV. North Korea

V. Iraq

Possible Answers:

II, III, and V

I, II, and III

II, IV, and V

I, III, and IV

II, III, IV, and V

Correct answer:

I, III, and IV

Explanation:

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was signed in 1968 with the stated goal of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons to new countries. Since its inception a few states have confirmed their construction of nuclear weapons - India, Pakistan, and North Korea. Israel almost certainly has also created nuclear weapons, but has never officially confirmed this.

Example Question #1526 : Ap World History

The Iran-Iraq War began when __________.

Possible Answers:

the forces of Muhammad Ali Jinnah invaded Iraq

the forces of Saddam Hussein invaded Iran

the forces of Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait

the forces of Muhammad Reza Pahlavi invaded Iraq

the forces of Ayatollah Khomeini invaded Iraq

Correct answer:

the forces of Saddam Hussein invaded Iran

Explanation:

The Iran-Iraq War began in 1980, in the wake of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which ushered Ayatollah Khomeini into power. It began when the forces of Saddam Hussein invaded Iran for fear that the Iranian Revolution would inspire resistance among the Shia majority population living in Sunni-controlled Iraq.

Example Question #72 : War And Civil Conflict 1900 To Present

In the buildup to World War II Italy invaded __________.

Possible Answers:

Ethiopia

Austria

Poland

Egypt

Morocco

Correct answer:

Ethiopia

Explanation:

Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935 and the military occupation of Ethiopia began in 1936. It may be understood in relation to two important topics. Firstly, it represented the culmination of Mussolini’s promise upon coming to power in Italy - that he would achieve conquest of foreign territory and the establishment of Italian colonies. Secondly, it represented the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations at preventing conflict between its member nations.

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