| Overview |
 The ProCon.org resources listed below can be used to supplement the instruction of AP European History. They are geared to match College Board learning outcomes and test preparation, while also advancing critical thinking with real-world information about important policy issues. European History teachers who are not preparing for the AP test may also find the resources useful.
“The AP European History course focuses on developing students’ understanding of European history from approximately 1450 to the present. The course has students investigate the content of European history for significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in four historical periods, and develop and use the same thinking skills and methods (analyzing primary and secondary sources, making historical comparisons, chronological reasoning, and argumentation) employed by historians when they study the past. The course also provides five thems (interaction of Europe and the world; poverty and prosperity; objective knowledge and subjective visions; states and other institutions of power; and individual and society) that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places.” College Board, “AP European History,” collegeboard.org (accessed July 21, 2016) |
| Resources |
Alternative Energy
- Timeline: History of Alternative Energy and Fossil Fuels
- 200 BC – Europeans Harness Water Energy to Power Mills
- 1590s – Dutch Build Windmills for Multiple Uses
- 1600s – Development of Coal Coke in England Aids Iron Production and Helps to Pave the Way for the Industrial Revolution
- 1712 – First Steam Engine Developed in England to Pump Water Out of Coal Mines
- 1800 – Process of Electrolysis Discovered
- 1860 – First Solar Power System Developed in France to Produce Steam to Drive Machinery
- 1900 – First Diesel Engine to Run on Vegetable Oil Demonstrated at World’s Fair in Paris
- 1905 – Albert Einstein Publishes First Theoretical Paper Describing the Photoelectric Effect
Born Gay
Death Penalty
Drinking Age
Euthanasia & Physician-Assisted Suicide
- Euthanasia & Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS) around the World
- Historical Timeline: History of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide
- 1935 – Voluntary Euthanasia Legislation Society Founded
- 1936 – Bill to Legalize Euthanasia Defeated in British House of Lords
- 1940s – Nazi Use of Involuntary Euthanasia Changes Public Perception of Euthanasia in the US
- 1952 – Groups Petition the United Nations to Amend the Declaration of Human Rights to Include Euthanasia
- May 5, 1980 – Pope John Paul II Issues Declaration Opposing Mercy Killing
- 2001 – Netherlands Legalizes Euthanasia
- Feb. 19, 2008 – Luxembourg Legalizes Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia
Felon Voting
- Timeline: US History of Felon Voting/Disenfranchisement
- 1100 BC – 16th Century – ‘Civil Death’ Used as Punishment for Crime in Ancient Athens, Ancient Rome, and Medieval Europe
- 1607-1776 – Practice of ‘Civil Death’ Is Carried over to the British Colonies in America
- 1764-1776 – Public Debate Ensues in the British Colonies over Whether Voting Is a Right or a Privilege
Gay Marriage
- Timeline: History of the Same Sex Marriage Debate
- Apr. 1, 2001 – Netherlands Becomes World’s First Country to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage
- July 31, 2003 – Vatican Begins Campaign Against Same-Sex Marriage
- Mar. 31, 2004 – UK Grants ‘Joint Rights’ to Same-Sex Couples
- Feb. 23, 2005 – Pope Calls Same-Sex Marriage ‘Evil’
- June 30, 2005 – Spain Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
- Jan. 2009 – Norway Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
- Apr. 2009 – Sweden Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
- June 2010 – Iceland Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
- June 2010 – Portugal Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
- June 7, 2012 – Denmark Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
- May 18, 2013 – France Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
- July 17, 2013 – England and Wales Legalize Same-Sex Marriage
- May 23, 2015 – Ireland Becomes First Country to Legalize Gay Marriage by Popular Vote
Gun Control
Illegal Immigration
- Illegal Immigration around the World: 13 Countries Compared to the United States
- Timeline: History of Legal and Illegal Immigration to the United States
- 1607 – Beginning of Colonial Immigration; English Settlers Arrive in America
- 1656 – Anti-Quaker Immigration Popular but Quakers still Immigrate
- 1670 – 10,000 Indentured Servants Kidnapped from England and Sent to the Colonies
- 1717-1769 – 36,000 British Convicts Transported to America after Passage of Transportation Act of 1717
- Sep. 17, 1717 – Pennsylvania Enacts Oath of Allegiance for German Immigrants
- 1740 – British Parliament Enacts the Plantation Act, Which Serves as Model for Future US Naturalization Acts
- 1773 – England Stops Emigration to the Colonies; Fines Imposed upon Emigrants and Ship Masters Violating the Law
- 1816 – Irish Immigration to US Begins along with Anti-Irish Sentiments in US
- 1840s – Naturalizations of Germans and Irish Are Expedited and Offered Free of Charge During Election Time
- 1880’s – First “Great Wave” of European Immigrants to the United States
- 1886 – Statue of Liberty Unveiled; “The Huddled Masses Yearning To Be Free” Invited to Immigrate
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
- What Was the British Position on Jewish Immigration to Palestine during the Mandate Period (1922-1948), and How Did It Develop?
- What Was British Policy with Respect to the Differing Interests of the Arabs and Jews of Palestine during the Mandate Period (1922-1948)?
- British Mandate For Palestine, July 24, 1922 League of Nations
- League of Nations
- Did the British Have the Right to Promise “the Establishment of a National Home for the Jewish People” in Palestine?
- Who Was Lord Balfour and What Was the Balfour Declaration?
- Was Palestine Included in the Territory Designated for Arab Control in the Hussein-McMahon Correspondence?
- Timeline: 1900-Present; History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
- 1915-1916 – Hussein-McMahon Letters: British Encourage Arab Uprising against Ottoman Empire
- May 16, 1916 – Sykes-Picot Agreement Sets Borders
- Nov. 2, 1917 – Balfour Declaration: British Government States Intent to Create a Jewish Homeland in Palestine
- 1914-1918 – World War I and the Collapse of the Ottoman Empire
- 1919 – King-Crane Commission
- 1920-1922 – League of Nations Divides Former Ottoman Territories into Mandates
- 1933-1936 – Mass Jewish Immigration to Palestine after Nazis Gain Power in Germany
- 1936-1939 – Arab Revolt in Palestine against British Mandate
- 1939-1945 – World War II and Jewish Resistance to British Mandate
- Feb. 14, 1947 – British Government Refers the Question of the Future of Palestine to the United Nations
- Apr. 1994 – Paris Protocol Is Signed by Israel and the Palestinian Authority
- Nov. 18, 2003 – European Union Formally Condemns Israeli West Bank Wall/Fence
- Nov. 11, 2004 – Yasser Arafat Dies in Paris
- May 13, 2015 – The Vatican Recognizes State of Palestine in New Treaty
Medical Marijuana
- Timeline: History of Marijuana as Medicine – 2900 BC to Present
- 1600s – William Shakespeare May Have Smoked Cannabis
- 1621 – Popular English Mental Health Book Recommends Cannabis to Treat Depression
- 1652 – Herbalist Nicholas Culpeper Writes about Medical Uses for Hemp
- 1652 – Herbalist Nicholas Culpeper Writes about Medical Uses for Hemp
- 1799 – Napoleon’s Forces Bring Marijuana from Egypt to France
- 1840 – Medical Marijuana Comes to United Kingdom via William O’Shaughnessy and Reportedly Used by Queen Victoria for Menstrual Cramps
- 1889 – Article in The Lancet Outlines Use of Cannabis for Opium Withdrawal
- Nov. 1, 1968 – UK Wootton Report Finds Cannabis Is Less Dangerous Than Alcohol, Other Drugs
- 1971 – UK Introduces Drug Classification System
- 1976 – Marijuana Decriminalized in the Netherlands
- Nov. 11, 1998 – UK House of Lords Committee Recommends Legalizing Medical Marijuana
- Sep. 1, 2003 – Dutch Pharmacies to Supply Medical Marijuana
- 2004 – UK Moves Cannabis to Class C, with Lower Penalties
- May 2008 – Cannabis Returned to Class B in the UK
Prostitution
- Timeline: History of Prostitution from 2400 BC to Present
- 1161 – England Regulates Prostitution
- 1200s – Castile Regulates Prostitution
- Dec. 1254 – France Abolishes Prostitution
- 1350 – Municipal Brothels
- 1469 – Castile Increases Pimping Punishment
- 1490s – Syphilis
- 1500s – Elite Renaissance Courtesans in Italy
- Apr. 13, 1546 – England Ends Regulation
- 1560 – France Abolishes Brothels
- 1586 – Punishment Increases in Severity
- 1751 – Chastity Commission in Vienna
- Nov. 6, 1778 – France’s Lenoir Ordinance
- 1802 – Bureau des Moeurs of Paris
- 1810 – Netherlands Begins Regulation
- July 29, 1864 – Britain’s Contagious Diseases Act
- Aug. 14, 1885 – Britain Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885
- 1911 – Netherlands Bans Brothels
- 1919 – Russia Re-educates Prostitutes
- 1927 – Germany Decriminalizes Prostitution
- May 1933 – Nazis Recriminalize Prostitution
- 1939 – Nazis Regulate Prostitution
- Apr. 13, 1946 – France Bans Brothels
- 1959 – Britain Legalizes Prostitution
- 1985 – World Whore Congress
- Jan. 1, 1999 – The Swedish Approach
- Oct. 1, 2000 – Netherlands Legalizes Brothels
- July 2004 – Britain Considers Policy Change
- Jan. 1, 2009 – Norway Bans the Purchase of Sex
- Aug. 26, 2013 – Zurich Launches Drive-in “Sex Boxes”
School Uniforms
US-Iraq War
- Timeline, Pre-History – 1989
- 1831-1908: European Influence
- 1912: British Control
- 1916-1920: Sykes-Picot Agreement
- 1916-1920: Sykes-Picot Agreement
- 1920: Revolution
- 1921: King Faisal
- 1924-1932: Independence and Iraqi Statehood
- 1936: Military Coups d’État
- 1941: Farhud
- 1943-1945: League of Arab States and United Nations
- 1948-1952: Uprisings, Protests, and the Iraqi Ba’ath Party
- 1955: Baghdad Pact
- Timeline, 1990 – 2011
- 1991: UNSCOM and No-Fly Zones
- Feb. 11, 2000: UN Weapons Inspections
- Feb. 2001: Iraq Bombed
- Mar. 7, 2003: US, UK, Spain Draft Resolution
- Mar. 18, 2003: Coalition of the Willing
- Apr. 18, 2004: Spain Pulls Troops
- Oct. 2004: Inconsistant Iraqi Death Count
- Dec. 17, 2007: British Transfer Control of Basra to Iraq
- May 1, 2009: UK Ends Six Years of Combat Operations in Iraq
- July 2009: Remaining Non-US Coalition Forces Leave Iraq
- Coalition Forces in Iraq
- Coalition Troop Fatalities by Country
- 26 Countries’ WMD Programs; A Global History of WMD Use
- “Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction” (Butler Report)
- Attorney General Peter Goldsmith’s memo summary
- Goldsmith Memo
- “Saddam Hussein: Crimes and Human Rights Abuses”
- “Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Assessment of the British Government”
- Downing Street Memo
- “Iraq: Conditions for Military Action”
Vaccines
- Vaccine Histories and Impact on 10 Diseases
- History of Diphtheria & the DTaP Vaccine
- History of Tetanus & the DTaP Vaccine
- History of Pertussis (Whooping Cough) & the DTaP Vaccine
- History of the Hib Vaccine
- History of Measles & the MMR Vaccine
- History of Mumps & the MMR Vaccine
- History of Rubella & the MMR Vaccine
- History of the Polio Vaccine
- History of the Varicella (Chickenpox) Vaccine
- Vaccines: Background of the Issue
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