I did a practice DBQ for the upcoming World History AP test, and I just want to know if I’m on the right path to writing a successful DBQ. Here is the link to the documents:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap10_frq_world_history.pdf
Here is my DBQ: From the 1880s to the 1930s, there were many similarities and differences in the mechanization of the cotton industry in Japan and India. Some similarities include the growth of the cotton industry in Japan and India, whereas the use of women in the industry was more in Japan than in India. Both countries had peasants migrate from rural areas to bigger cities to work in the factories
One difference between India and Japan in the cotton industry is the use of women in factories. As seen in document 10, women are not mainly used in Indian factories, but mainly men. In this document it shows that men were the main sources of labor in India during this time period, although women may have been used. (doc 10). In Document 3, it talks about the harsh realities of women in factories in Japan. The girl talks about how rough conditions are, because they are not paid there first year and many people are sick in the factories, or feared becoming sick. However this document may be biased because although there is some truth to this document, the girl may be over exaggerating to make us feel sympathy towards women in factories. (Doc 3). In Document 7, we are shown the difference in the number of women used in factories in Japan and India. As seen by the chart the number of women used in India is much higher than that of Japan. As the years go on, it is seen that more women are used in Japan than in India. (doc 7). As seen in Document 4, many Japanese girls were sent to work in factories because it was their family’s only source of income. In India, they did not have a feudal system, so there was no paying the landlord your crops, unlike China where the peasants were poor because of this. (doc 4). Overall, there was definitely a difference in the number of women workers in Japan than in India.
One similarity between India and China is the growth in cotton production by machines. As seen in Document 1, as the years go on in India the number of hand spun yarn and handwoven cloth goes down, whereas the number of machine made cloth and machine spun yarn goes up. This document shows that from 1884 to 1914 the number of machine-spun cloth went up and therefore mechanization was becoming the more popular thing to do. (doc 1). Document 2 shows that in 1884 production of cotton was very low, because many machines weren’t around and were not invented, but as the years progressed more and more was produced because of the introduction of machines for cotton production in Japan, similar to what was happening in India. (doc 2). In Document 6, we are told that in India there has been a decrease in the number of handwoven factories and an increase in the number of machine used factories. Many have been abandoned the working of the hand loom. He also states that the textile industry owes its existence to investors and bankers, because of the money they have invested into this. This statement can be bias though because he is an Indian economist and therefore would be bias towards bankers and investors. (doc 6).
Another similarity that Japan and India shared is the using of common people such as peasants in their factories, and bringing them in from rural areas. In document 5, we are told that many of the workers are coming from farming communities in Japan. A lot of these workers are just surplus workers on the farm and are sent to work in the factories. He says the reason that the wage is low is because the person working in the factory only has to support himself or herself. He also says that this shows agriculture is still important in Japanese industry, but this can be bias because he is an industrialist and would therefore want people to continue agriculture for the good of the country (doc 5). In document 8, we can see that many of the workers are the same age, and therefore implies that families are no longer working together on the farm for agriculture, but sending their sons and daughters to work in the factories. (doc 8). In Document 9 we are told that many of the peasants are coming from agricultural parts of the village, which reinforces the point that in both Japan and India, peasants are being migrated from their farms to the cities. (doc 9).
From the 1880s to the 1930s there was a great increase in the mechanization of factories in both Japan and India. They also saw an increase in the moving of peoples from rural areas to cities. One difference however was in the increase of women usage in Japan in factories, which differs from India. Two documents that would have helped analyze this question and data better would be a report from an Indian worker, and a document separating the Japanese production of hand woven and machine woven.