WORLD HISTORY PROJECT AP / LESSON 6.

2 ACTIVITY STUDENT MATERIALS

Purpose
Understanding the causes and consequences of a historical event can be complicated. Often, the history of an event can be told from multiple
perspectives. In this activity, you’ll analyze the causes of the 1857 Indian Uprising to investigate how and why this rebellion took place when and where it
did. By doing so, you’ll see how historical events and processes can be interpreted in different ways, not only by those involved in the actual events, but by
the historians who analyze the events long after they’ve taken place. Historians not only bring their own perspectives to the analysis, they apply historical
thinking practices differently as well.

Practices
Claim testing, contextualization
You’ll further develop your causation skills and begin to understand how context is essential to causal reasoning. To fully understand causal relationships,
you must be able to place these processes or events in the appropriate historical context. As always, you should claim test the assertions you make in
order to provide sound logic and solid reasoning when determining the causes and effects of a historical process or event.

Process
In this activity, you’ll read an article about the 1857 Indian Uprising against the British East India Company. Indian soldiers (called sepoys) rose up in
protest against the regulations imposed by the British company, regulations that violated their religious beliefs. Using the information in the article, you’ll
then complete the Causation Tool, which is included in the Causation—Indian Uprising worksheet. Next, you’ll answer follow-up questions that ask you to
evaluate this event from multiple perspectives. Finally, you’ll write a one-paragraph response for a causal prompt.

Causation can be messy! There are almost always multiple causes for a historical event. To further complicate matters, the causes may be seen in a
different light depending on your perspective of the event. Imagine that you and your classmates lead an uprising against the school administration
to push back the time that you start school each morning. You all decide to take over the school and chain yourselves to the front doors at 6 a.m. in
protest. In the process of doing so, school property is damaged. The police are called, and you’re all arrested for trespassing and vandalism. The school
administrators and you and your fellow classmates each tell your version of events to the police. Do you think the accounts of what happened would be
the same, or would they all reflect different perspectives of the event in question? It’s likely there would be many versions of the event, its causes, and its
consequences. Historical analysis of the uprising that occurred in India in 1857 is no different.

Then, your teacher will either hand out or have you download the Causation—Indian Uprising worksheet and the “1857 Indian Uprising” article. As you read
the article, take notes or highlight the causes and consequences of this event. After everyone has finished reading, share the causes and consequences
you found with another student. Then, use your causes and consequences to complete the Causation Tool. Remember that you’ve already categorized by
time and type. For this activity, you’ll also be categorizing by role. Role can help you determine which causes were required for the event to happen, and
which causes were simply relevant or contributed to the event happening. Here are the definitions:
Unless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “Causation—Indian Uprising”, OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/ S-1
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT AP / LESSON 6.2 ACTIVITY STUDENT MATERIALS
CAUSATION—INDIAN UPRISING Name: Date:

• Necessary—These causes were required. The historical event or process would not have occurred without these causes.
• Relevant—These causes are important but not required. The historical event or process would still happen without these causes.
• Triggering event—You should be familiar with the triggering event, which is the most immediate cause of the historical event or process.

This categorization process can be difficult, and you may not agree on the time, type, or role. However, you should be able to back up your claims with
evidence. In fact, historians don’t always agree on these topics either, which is why there are often different perspectives or histories written about the
same historical event or process.

Then, your teacher will lead a discussion based on the following questions:

1. What were the reasons for the uprising from an Indian perspective?
2. What were the reasons for the uprising from a British perspective?
3. How did nineteenth-century views about imperialism and “civilization” play a role in these different perspectives?

Finally, working on your own, write a one-paragraph response to this prompt: What was the most significant cause AND what was the most significant
consequence of the 1857 Indian Uprising? Remember to use the acronym ADE to help determine historical significance.

Your teacher will collect your worksheet and paragraph and use them to assess how your causation skills are progressing.

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WORLD HISTORY PROJECT AP / LESSON 6.2 ACTIVITY STUDENT MATERIALS
CAUSATION—INDIAN UPRISING Name: Date:

Causation Tool
Directions: First, add the event you are analyzing (in the middle of the page). Be sure to include dates, location, and a brief description of the event. Then, list your
causes (at the top of the page) and use the legend to help you label type and role. Finally, list the effects of the event (bottom of page), and again use the legend to
help you label type and role. If your teacher asks you to create a causal map, use your answers here to help construct that causal representation.

Causes: Long-Term Intermediate-Term Short-Term

Event (include the name, dates, location, and a brief description)

Effects

Legend
Type: Role:
(P) Political (I) Innovation ($) Economic (C) Cultural (E) Environmental (S) Social (*) Triggering Event Necessary Relevant

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