How do you use the reasoning skill of causation to analyze the conservative resurgence, the end of the Cold War, and the changes of the contemporary era?
Topic 9.7 Causation in Period 9: using the historical reasoning skill of causation to analyze the developments of the contemporary era.
A focused answer to AP US History Topic 9.7, teaching the historical reasoning skill of causation through Period 9: explaining the causes of the conservative resurgence, the end of the Cold War, and the transformations of globalization and technology, and how to frame a causation essay for the DBQ or LEQ.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this topic is asking
Topic 9.7 asks you to use the historical reasoning skill of causation to analyze Period 9. The exam wants you to explain the causes and effects of the era's major developments, the conservative resurgence, the end of the Cold War, and the transformations of globalization and technology, and to weigh their relative importance in an argument.
What causation means as a reasoning skill
Causation and the conservative resurgence
The clearest causation problem in Period 9 is the conservative resurgence. Its causes were several and reinforcing: a backlash against 1960s liberalism, urban unrest, and the social movements; the economic crisis of the 1970s, stagflation and the oil shocks, which discredited liberal economic management; and the rise of a religious right mobilized against abortion, feminism, and secularism. Its effects were equally significant: tax cuts, deregulation, a rightward shift in the political center, and a reshaped judiciary. Weighing these causes, and showing how they combined, turns the topic into a strong causation argument.
Causation and the end of the Cold War
Causation and the economic transformation
A third causation problem is the era's economic transformation. Its causes include globalization, the deepening of world trade and investment, and the digital revolution of computers and the internet. Its effects are double-edged: cheaper goods, new industries, and innovation on one side; lost manufacturing jobs and rising inequality on the other. A good causation answer connects these causes to their effects and weighs which effects mattered most for which groups, capturing the complexity of a change that brought both prosperity and disruption.
Worked example: framing a causation essay
Try this
Q1. Name the reasoning skill that asks why something happened and weighs which causes mattered most. [Recall]
- Cue. Causation, one of the three APUSH historical reasoning skills.
Q2. Explain how you would weigh the causes of the conservative resurgence in a causation essay. [Short explanation]
- Cue. You would identify the main causes, the backlash against 1960s liberalism, the economic crisis of the 1970s, and the rise of the religious right, then argue which were most important and how they reinforced one another, for example showing how economic anxiety amplified cultural backlash; ranking and connecting the causes, rather than just listing them, is what makes a strong causation argument.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of College Board exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AP USH (style)3 marksBriefly describe ONE cause of the conservative resurgence after 1980. Briefly explain ONE effect of that resurgence. Briefly explain ONE other cause of the same development.Show worked answer →
A Short Answer Question (SAQ), 3 points, one per bullet.
A. Describe: the backlash against the liberalism and social upheavals of the 1960s was a major cause of the conservative resurgence.
B. Effect: the resurgence cut taxes and regulation and moved the nation's politics to the right for a generation.
C. Other cause: the economic troubles of the 1970s, including stagflation, undermined faith in liberal government and fueled the conservative turn.
Markers want a real cause, a concrete effect, and a second genuine cause.
AP USH (style)6 marksEvaluate the relative importance of the causes of the conservative resurgence in the period 1968 to 1988.Show worked answer →
A Long Essay Question (LEQ), scored on the 6-point rubric, framed by causation.
Thesis (1): "The conservative resurgence arose primarily from the backlash against 1960s liberalism and the economic crisis of the 1970s, with the rise of the religious right adding crucial energy, though no single cause acted alone."
Contextualization (1): the breakdown of the New Deal liberal consensus.
Evidence (2): the backlash against the Great Society and the social movements; stagflation and the rise of the religious right.
Analysis (2): weigh the relative importance of the causes, then add complexity by showing how they reinforced one another.
Related dot points
- Topic 9.2 Reagan and Conservatism: the rise of the New Right, the policies of the Reagan administration, and the conservative reshaping of American politics.
A focused answer to AP US History Topic 9.2, covering Reagan and conservatism: the roots of the conservative resurgence and the New Right, Reaganomics and supply-side economics, deregulation and the military buildup, the role of the religious right, and the limits and legacy of the conservative movement.
- Topic 9.1 Contextualizing Period 9: the conservative resurgence, the end of the Cold War, globalization, and the technological and demographic changes that have shaped the United States since 1980.
Sets the scene for AP US History Period 9, covering the rise of conservatism under Reagan, the end of the Cold War, globalization and a changing economy, the digital revolution, demographic change, and how to write contextualization for a DBQ or LEQ on the contemporary era.
- Topic 9.3 The End of the Cold War: the renewed Cold War of the 1980s, the role of Gorbachev's reforms, the fall of communism in Europe, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
A focused answer to AP US History Topic 9.3, covering the end of the Cold War: the renewed superpower tensions of the early 1980s, the reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the debate over why the Cold War ended.
- Topics 9.4 and 9.5 A Changing Economy, Migration, and Settlement: the forces of globalization, the digital revolution, and the new immigration that reshaped the United States since 1980.
A focused answer to AP US History Topics 9.4 and 9.5, covering a changing economy and globalization: the shift from manufacturing to services and technology, the digital revolution, free trade and globalization, growing inequality, and the new immigration from Latin America and Asia and its political debates.
- Topic 9.6 Challenges of the 21st Century: the post-Cold War world, the September 11 attacks and the War on Terror, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the financial crisis, and growing political polarization.
A focused answer to AP US History Topic 9.6, covering the challenges of the new century: the post-Cold War world and the Persian Gulf War, the September 11 attacks and the War on Terror, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the 2008 financial crisis, the election of Barack Obama, and rising political polarization.
Sources & how we know this
- AP United States History Course and Exam Description — College Board (2020)