Unit+4+-+Timed+Writing+Review

=**Prompt:** Examine the process of decline and attempted reform between two of the following empires: Russia, Ottoman Empire, Qing China.=

1. Has acceptable thesis.
Possibility:

Political stagnation, an inability to stimulate their economy, and increased social tensions led to the decline of the (Empire 1) and (Empire 2), prompting them to attempt to modernize their labor force and economy along a more Western model.

//What I want to see is something related to the decline (which would be the **continuity**) and reform (which would be the **change**). Think about how much the three empires have in common when it comes to decline. And, as far as reform, thing about how similar changes-- there are a lot!//

2. Addresses all parts of the question, though not necessarily evenly or thoroughly.
//Show me evidence of a __progression__// //of events, beginning in 1750, ending in 1914. You can group in many different ways: one paragraph mentioning decline for both empires, another looking at reforms. If you can give me __context__ for the decline and reform, you're also hitting requirement for Rubric Item #4.//

Sample evidence of decline:
Russia:
 * Autocratic czar not always making best decisions for rest of Empire to live by
 * Nobility allowed to oppress and exploit serfs - no innovations
 * Inability to industrialize * serfs tied to land, ag. production not high enough
 * Difficulty in fully exploiting resources in vast empire
 * Isolated from much of trade in Europe and world
 * Nobility and Monarchy does not have much interest in economic reforms
 * Serfs fully exploited
 * Nobility does not want to, need to change
 * Enlightenment ideas trickle in from W. Europe, are repressed

Ottoman:
 * Janissaries sabotage meaningful reforms
 * Sultans detached from daily workings of the empire
 * Increased corruption and graft makes day-to-day living more difficult
 * Regional governors fail to send tax money to capital, raise own armies
 * Gov't increasingly dominated by Europeans - capitulations
 * Empire does not industrialize - corruption stunts development
 * Reliance on exporting raw materials for manufactured goods
 * Lack of investment in businesses or infrastructure
 * Increased nationalistic tendencies, independence movements
 * Wider gaps between social classes

China:
 * Qing Dynasty not as active or innovative as it had been
 * Bureaucracy begins to drift away from core values
 * Gov't increasingly dominated by Europeans - unequal treaties
 * Country sees no reason to industrialize in new ways
 * Belief that country adequately self-sufficient
 * Increased population puts strain on ag., industry
 * Unequal treaties - post-Opium War
 * Simmering disillusionment with gov't
 * Existing dislike of Manchus

Sample evidence of Reform:
Russia:
 * Zemstvos
 * Western-style rights, laws, courts
 * Witte System
 * Trans-Siberian Railway
 * Emancipation of Serfs
 * Development of infrastructure

Ottoman:
 * Eradication of Janissaries
 * Tanzimat
 * Legal codes modeled after French
 * Secularization

China:
 * Self-Strengthening Movement
 * Attempts at industrializing

3. Substantiates thesis with appropriate historical evidence.
//Give me SPECIFICS here - names, dates, events, people, countries. Don't simply generalize or talk around it. Prove to me that you know the material!//

4. Uses relevant world historical context effectively to explain change over time and/or continuity.
//Items that you might want to cover here: Imperialism, Industrialization, Nationalism, Enlightenment, Westernization//

5. Analyzes the process of change over time and/or continuity.
//This is going beyond simply defining decline and reform. You're doing more work to tell me WHY - What are the options available to the country? Why are they making the decisions that they are? You might be taking an active position here - what do you think?!//