AP World History — 1750–Present flashcards
10 of 79 cards free to study here · 5 topics · the whole deck is built into Willys
Units 5–9 of AP World History: Modern — revolutions, industrialization, imperialism and migration, the world wars, the Cold War and decolonization, and globalization — asked as cause, comparison and continuity questions.
Learn deck · part of AP World History: Modern · written against: College Board AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description (nine units, c. 1200–present). Updated 2026-10-10.
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How did Enlightenment political thought undermine the claims of absolute monarchs?Thinkers such as Locke, Montesquieu and Rousseau argued that government rests on a social contract and the consent of the governed, that people hold natural rights, and that power should be divided, all of which contradicted divine right rule.Revolutions › Enlightenment and Revolutions
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What made the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804) unique among the Atlantic revolutions?It was the only revolution in which enslaved people overthrew their masters and founded an independent state, led by Toussaint Louverture and then Jean-Jacques Dessalines, which abolished slavery for good.Revolutions › Enlightenment and Revolutions
Why it matters: it terrified slaveholders across the Americas. -
Which ideas did Europeans use to justify imperialism in the late 1800s?Social Darwinism (claims that some races were 'fitter' to rule), a civilizing mission to spread Christianity and Western ways, and nationalist competition for prestige.Consequences of Industrialization › Imperialism
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How did industrialization give Europeans both the motive and the means for new imperialism?Motive: factories needed raw materials such as rubber, cotton and palm oil, and new markets.Consequences of Industrialization › Imperialism
Means: steamships, telegraphs, quinine against malaria and the Maxim machine gun made conquest of Africa and Asia cheap. -
What were the long-term causes of World War I?Militarism, a rigid system of alliances, imperial rivalry and nationalism, especially in the Balkans; the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914 was the spark.Global Conflict › World War I and Interwar
Mnemonic: MAIN. -
What made World War I a total war?Governments mobilized entire societies: conscription, state control of industry, rationing, propaganda, women in factories and soldiers and laborers from the colonies.Global Conflict › World War I and Interwar
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How did the Cold War differ from a conventional war between great powers?The United States and the USSR never openly fought each other; they competed through proxy wars, an arms race and space race, alliances, aid and propaganda, held back by nuclear deterrence.Cold War and Decolonization › Cold War
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What was the Non-Aligned Movement?A group of mainly newly independent states, led by figures such as Nehru, Nasser, Sukarno and Tito, that refused to join either Cold War bloc; it grew out of the Bandung Conference of 1955.Cold War and Decolonization › Cold War
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What was liberation theology?A movement among Latin American Catholic clergy, beginning in the late 1960s, that read Christian teaching as a call to fight poverty and political oppression.Globalization › Economy Culture and Institutions
Example: Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador. -
Why did the 1918 influenza pandemic spread so far so fast?Troop movements and crowded camps at the end of World War I carried it around the world, and it killed tens of millions of people.Globalization › Technology Disease and Environment
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Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.
Checked against:
- Topic outline follows the College Board AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description (effective Fall 2026), Units 5–9; no text copied.
- OpenStax World History, Volume 2, consulted as a reference; no text copied.
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