4/6 AP United States History LEQ Essay: Central government authority
This is a real leq essay written by an AP student (personal details removed) and scored 4/6 by our AI grader — one of many AP United States History essay examples in our library.
The Prompt
Develop an argument that evaluates the extent to which political and economical challenges changes the attitudes towards central government authority in North American from 1764 to 1800
The Essay
Before 1754, colonists relied on the British, except for the navigation Acts, they then began to start relying on smuggling. Many colonist opinions began to shape the way they thought of the central government. Some may think political and economic challenges didn’t change the attitude towards the central government. However, the ratification of the constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Whiskey rebellion all contributed to the change. Therefore, challenges in economics and politics during this time period changed attitudes toward central government authority in North America. The first way that political and economic challenges changed attitudes toward central government was during the ratification of the constitution. The debate of ratification of the constitution was between Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Federalists supported ratification while Anti-federalists opposed it because they feared that the central government would be too strong. Before, many Americans were scared of the power of the central government however after Americans became more willing to accept the greater federal authority. Even though many changed their opinions, not everyone did. The next way attitudes towards the central government changed was because of the Bill of Rights. Anti-Federalists who opposed the ratification of the constitution demanded a bill of rights to ensure that the central government was too powerful and there were individual rights. Before this addition the government had few limits and now there are more individual rights and more government restrictions. This overall made Americans more accepting of the central government because they felt that they were more protected by the government. This change in opinion did not occur to everyone. Finally the Whiskey Rebellion changed attitudes towards central government authority. Alexander Hamilton supported excise taxes on whiskey in order to help raise revenue for the national government after the war. Farmers disliked this tax and became violent. Americans went from being suspicious of the powerful central government to accepting that it needed to enforce laws and collect taxes. This showed that Americans became more accepting of the federal government with power to enforce laws because the federal government proved that it had real authority. The rebellion of the farmers showed that this change didn’t occur in everyone Overall political and economical challenges did a lot to change attitudes towards the central government authority in North AMerica from 1754 to 1800. Without these challenges America would have a much different view on Government authority. Although Americans still opposed federal authority because they disliked federal government, favorerd state government, or disliked taxe, the majority of people had a change in opinion.
Score Breakdown
Thesis (1/1)
Contextualization (0/1)
Evidence (2/2)
Analysis & Reasoning (1/2)
Why This Essay Scored Well
The thesis lists three developments, "the ratification of the constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Whiskey rebellion," and each body paragraph takes one of them in order. That plan earns the thesis point even though the claim itself is broad.
Evidence earns both points because the body paragraphs use accurate, specific examples to support the argument. The ratification paragraph identifies the split between Federalists and Anti-Federalists and explains that Anti-Federalists "feared that the central government would be too strong." The Whiskey Rebellion paragraph names Hamilton's excise tax on whiskey and the farmers who "disliked this tax and became violent." The writer then states the change that event produced, from being "suspicious of the powerful central government to accepting that it needed to enforce laws and collect taxes." The Bill of Rights paragraph holds the essay's clearest causal reasoning. Americans grew more accepting of the government "because they felt that they were more protected by the government."
For the full point-by-point rubric behind this score, read our AP essay rubric breakdown.
What Could Be Improved
Contextualization was missed because the opening line is vague and points at the wrong period. "Before 1754, colonists relied on the British" names no specific development, and the prompt's period starts in 1764. The conclusion repeats the 1754 date. A sentence on the war debt Britain carried after the French and Indian War, and its decision to end salutary neglect and tax the colonies, would explain why colonists came to distrust distant authority.
The second analysis point slipped because the essay states changes without explaining them. The ratification paragraph says Americans "became more willing to accept the greater federal authority" and gives no cause, such as Shays's Rebellion exposing the weakness of the Articles of Confederation. Each paragraph also ends with a line like "This change in opinion did not occur to everyone," which gestures at complexity without saying who resisted or why. The essay skips the years from 1764 to 1787 entirely, so the Stamp Act protests and the Revolution, the biggest shifts in attitude in the period, never appear. The Bill of Rights paragraph also contains a factual reversal. It says Anti-Federalists wanted a bill of rights "to ensure that the central government was too powerful," when they wanted it to limit federal power.
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