AP® UNITED STATES HISTORY

UNITED STATES HISTORY

2015 SCORING GUIDELINES

Question 3

Evaluate the extent to which the Mexican-American War (1846–1848) marked a turning point in the debate

over slavery in the United States, analyzing what changed and what stayed the same from the period

before the war to the period after it.

A. Thesis: 0–1 point

Skills assessed: Argumentation + Periodization

States a thesis that directly addresses all parts of the question. The thesis must do more than

restate the question.

1 point

Does not state a thesis that directly addresses all parts of the question or has a thesis that merely

restates the question.

0 points

Response is completely blank.

—

B. Support f

or argument: 0–2 points

Skills a

ssessed: Argumentation + Use of Evidence

Supports the stated thesis (or makes a

relevant argument) using specific

evidence.

1 point

Supports the stated thesis (or makes a relevant

argument) using specific evidence, clearly and

consistently stating how the evidence supports

the thesis or argument, and establishing clear

linkages between the evidence and the thesis

or argument.

2 points

Response does not use specific evidence to support the stated thesis or a relevant argument.

0 points

Response is completely blank.

—

C. Application of targeted historical thinking skill: 0–2 point

Skill assessed: Periodization

PERIODIZATION

Describes the ways in which the historical

development specified in the prompt was

different from OR similar to developments

that preceded and/or followed.

1 point

Analyzes the extent to which the historical

development specified in the prompt was

different from AND similar to developments that

preceded and/or followed, providing specific

examples to illustrate the analysis.

2 points

Response does not describe the ways in which the historical development specified in the prompt

was different from OR similar to developments that preceded and/or followed.

0 points

Response is completely blank.

—

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UNITED STATES HISTORY

2015 SCORING GUIDELINES

Question 3 (continued)

D. Synthesis: 0–1 point

Skill assessed: Synthesis

Response synthesizes the argument, evidence, and context into a coherent and persuasive essay

by accomplishing one or more of the following as relevant to the question.

Appropriately extends or

modifies the stated thesis

or argument.

1 point

Explicitly employs an

additional appropriate

category of analysis (e.g.,

political, economic, social,

cultural, geographic, race,

gender) beyond that called for

in the prompt.

1 point

Appropriately connects

the topic of the

question to other

historical periods,

geographical areas,

contexts, or

circumstances.

1 point

Response does not synthesize the argument, evidence, and context into a coherent and persuasive

say.

0 points

espons

e is completely blank.

—

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UNITED STATES HISTORY

2015 SCORING GUIDELINES

Question 3 (continued)

SCORING NOTES

Responses define the chronological beginning and end points for the essay; the focus of the response helps

dete

rmine what information is considered appropriate.

Thesis

An acceptable thesis would evaluate the extent to which the Mexican-American War was a turning point,

indicat

ing the extent of change OR continuity. Note: Indicating explicitly the extent of change implies the

extent of continuity, and vice versa.

Possible thesis statements emphasizing change could include the following:

• The Mexican-American War marked a turning point in the debate over slavery in the U.S. by

unleashing a massive tension between the North and South on what land would be free and what

land would be slave.

• The Mexican-American War marked a huge turning point in the debate over slavery because it

brought to light the controversy of territorial self-determination and asked the question that would

define America on a fundamental level: is this country one of slavery or one of freedom?

Possible thesis statements emphasizing continuity could include the following:

• The questions of slavery and expansion were inevitable political issues.

• The culmination of Manifest Destiny only sped up the process.

Possible thesis statements modifying the position could include the following: The Compromise of 1850

wit

h its controversial points, not the Mexican-American War, was the major turning point of 19

century.

Support for Argument

Possible evidence that could be used includes the following:

BEFORE Mexican-American War

• Manifest Destiny

• Missouri Compromise (1820)

• Increasing fear of slave power

• William Lloyd Garrison, The Liberator (1830)

• Gag rule

• Frederick Douglass

• Annexation of Texas (1845)

Mexican-American War and AFTER

• Opposition to Mexican-American War among

nort

hern Whigs

• Abraham Lincoln Spot Resolutions (1846)

• Wilmot Proviso (1846)

• Popular sovereignty

• Stephen A. Douglas

• Compromise of 1850

o California enters as free state

o Stricter fugitive slave law

o Popular sovereignty in Utah and New

Mexico T

erritory

o Slave trade banned in Washington, D.C.

• Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

• Formation of Republican Party (1854)

• Bleeding Kansas (1855)

• Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

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UNITED STATES HISTORY

2015 SCORING GUIDELINES

Question 3 (continued)

Application of Historical Thinking Skills

• Essays earn 1 point by describing the ways in which the debates over slavery were different from

OR sim

ilar to debates over slavery that preceded and/or followed the Mexican-American War.

• Essays earn 2 points by analyzing the ways in which the debates over slavery were different from

AND

similar to debates over slavery that preceded and/or followed the Mexican-American War,

providing specific examples to illustrate the analysis.

• Examples of issues that influenced the debate over slavery could include the following:

o Discussion of political balance based on slavery before and after the war

o Discussion of extent of cotton cultivation before and after the war

o Discussion of the abolition movement before and after the war

o Discussion of the ideologies of free soil and free labor before and after the war

Synthesis

Responses can earn the synthesis point by crafting a persuasive and coherent essay. This could be

accompl

ished by but not limited to the following:

• Providing a conclusion that extends or modifies the analysis in the essay by explicitly assessing the

imp

act of the Mexican-American War on American Indian and/or Hispanic people living in the

territory transferred from Mexico to the United States.

• Introducing another category of historical analysis by explicitly calling out the cultural or gender, or

racial elements of a political story.

• Making a connection to another historical period or context. Examples could include the following:

o Concretely and explicitly linking the Mexican-American War to earlier imperial conflicts

such

as the Seven Years’ War and the American Revolution

o Explicitly linking the Mexican-American War to subsequent developments such as the Civil

War

and Reconstruction or the 20

century Civil Rights movement

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UNITED STATES HISTORY

2015 SCOR

ING COMMENTARY

Question 3 — Long Essay

Overview

Long Essay Question 3 allowed students to evaluate the extent to which the Mexican-Amer

ican War

marked a turning point in the debate over slavery in the U.S., analyzing what changed and what stayed the

same from the period before the war to the period after. The question assessed the historical thinking skill

of periodization and covered Period 5, which ranges from 1844 to 1877.

Sample: 3A

Score—Thesis

: 1

This essay has a thesis that is most clearly stated in the conclusion, namely that the war was a “huge turning

poi

nt” due to the increased tensions that arose out of the newly acquired land.

Score—Support for Argument: 2

This essay uses a significant amount of specific evidence effectively to support the thesis. It notes that the

lan

ds acquired from the war posed a particular problem because their slave status could not be determined

through the Missouri Compromise, thus giving rise to proposals such as the Wilmot Proviso and popular

sovereignty, which ultimately led to the Compromise of 1850. The essay also notes that other tensions (labor

systems, abolitionism, etc.) were inflamed by the war.

Score—Application of Targeted Historical Thinking Skill: 2

This essay analyzes both similarities and differences, although the discussion of popular sovereignty notes

a diffe

rence that is more subtle than the similarities such as racist oppression, labor systems, and the

sectional divide that the essay examines.

Score—Synthesis: 1

This essay’s synthesis lies in its examination of the long-term roots of the crisis, arising from the

Declaration of Independence and the Louisiana Purchase (and by noting that the new problems were not

resolvable using earlier solutions).

Sample: 3B

Score—Thesis

: 0

This essay’s thesis lacks the evaluative element required in the prompt and merely notes that the war

amou

nted to a turning point with the expansion of Texas and a rush of Republicans “to annex a new state on

their side.”

Score—Support for Argument: 1

This essay uses migrations into Texas and California as examples of expansion, though it mostly restates the

esis, rather than using the evidence to support the argument.

Score—Application of Targeted Historical Thinking Skill: 1

This essay points to westward migration as the basis for the application of periodization: expansion into

Texas

prior to the war and into California after the war, although it notes no differences.

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UNITED STATES HISTORY

2015 SCORING COMMENTARY

Question 3 — Long Essay (continued)

Score—Synthesis: 1

This essay earned a point for synthesis by linking the tensions driven by expansion into Texas and

Cal

ifornia with the earlier example of heated debates over the constitutionality of Jefferson’s acquisition of

the Louisiana Purchase.

Sample: 3C

Score—Thesis: 1

This essay has a basic evaluative element; it identifies the Mexican-American War as a turning point in the

debate over slavery.

Score—Support for Argument: 0

The limited evidence in the essay is not effectively deployed to support the thesis.

Score—Application of Targeted Historical Thinking Skill: 0

There is no mention of accurate similarities or differences before or after the war. The mention of adding

Tex

as and California to the union, the Gold Rush, Free Soilers, and the Compromise of 1850 is not sufficient

for the application of periodization.

Score—Synthesis: 0

The essay does not demonstrate synthesis by extending or modifying the thesis, employing an additional

categ

ory of analysis, or effectively connecting the topic to other historical periods, areas, or circumstances.

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