“Hot Dog” DBQ

DBQs are almost always one of the most intimidating aspects of taking APUSH. This activity is designed to help you understand all of the aspects of
a DBQ and remove the fear.

Step 1: When you get your first look at the DBQ prompt, you must (1) figure out which Historical Thinking Skill is being addressed and (2) begin to
formulate your answer - immediately. Additionally, almost all DBQ prompts begin with the phrase, “Evaluate the extent…”. A lot of students get
intimidated by this - don’t worry! Use the chart below to help you!

You try it. Look at the prompt, identify the Historical Thinking Skill, and formulate your answer using some of the words
below.
Evaluate the extent to which a hot dog is a sandwich.
Which Historical Thinking Skill is being addressed here? Circle one:

Causation Comparison - Are there more CCOT - At the end of the period were
similarities of differences? Are they there more continuities or changes?
major or minor? How much so?

Develop your answer...

 Evaluate the extent to which...

Strongly disagree Slightly disagree Slightly agree Strongly disagree

Words to use in your thesis: Words to use in your thesis: Words to use in your thesis: Words to use in your thesis:
Zero change Negligible More so Complete change
No change Slightly Partially Nothing like original
Did not change Minor Impactful Monumental
Same Partially Significant Drastically
Identical Insignificant Mostly changed Severe
No effect Somewhat Largely 180 degree
Minute
Miniscule
Evaluate the extent that a hot dog is a sandwich. Answer below, and you can always go into a prompt prior to reading the documents THINKING
you know the answer, and based on what you’ve been given, alter that argument.
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Step 2: Analyzing and grouping documents. In the next part of the activity, you will analyze seven documents that address the prompt. For each
document, you will describe the document (without using quotes), determine if the document supports your answer, and apply one of the HIPPO
elements.
Document Description Does this HIPPO - Choose ONE element
document of HIPPO to apply to the
support your documents.
argument
(answer)?
Include the
reason it
supports your
argument.

Document 1
Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Definition of Sandwich:
a : two or more slices of bread or a split roll
having a filling in between
b : one slice of bread covered with food
 Document 2
Source: Food Standards and Labeling
Policy Book, United States Department
of Agriculture, 2005

SANDWICH - CLOSED: Product must contain

at least 35 percent cooked meat and no more
than 50 percent bread. Sandwiches are not
amenable to inspection. If inspection is
requested for this product, it may be granted
under reimbursable Food Inspection Service.
Typical — “closed-faced” sandwiches consisting
of two slices of bread or the top and bottom
sections of a sliced bun that enclose meat or
poultry, are not amenable to the Federal Meat
and Poultry Inspection laws. Therefore, they
are not required to be inspected nor bear the
marks of inspection when distributed in
interstate commerce.

SANDWICH - OPEN: Must contain at least 50

percent cooked meat. Sandwiches are
amenable only if they are open faced
sandwiches. Product must show a true product
name, e.g., — “Sliced Roast Beef on Bread.”
This regulatory policy in no way alters the
Department's present policy with respect to
caterers who include meat sandwiches in their
dinners.

SANDWICHES (MEAT OR POULTRY AS

COMPONENTS OF “DINNER PRODUCTS”):
Dinners containing a sandwich-type product,
e.g., a frankfurter, hamburger, or sliced poultry
meat with a bun, are amenable and subject to
inspection.
 Document 3
Source: Press Release, National Hot Dog
and Sausage Council, November 6, 2015
As the official voice of hot dogs and sausages, the
National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC) is
primed to settle this debate once and for all, and
our verdict is…a hot dog is an exclamation of joy, a
food, a verb describing one ‘showing off’ and even
an emoji. It is truly a category unto its own.
“Limiting the hot dog’s significance by saying it’s
‘just a sandwich’ category is like calling the Dalai
Lama ‘just a guy.’ Perhaps at one time its
importance could be limited by forcing it into a
larger sandwich category… that time has passed,
said NHDSC President and ‘Queen of Wien’ Janet
Riley. “We therefore choose to take a cue from a
great performer and declare our namesake be a
“hot dog formerly known as a sandwich.”
The Council has often followed American History
and [United States Department of Agriculture]
guidance on the issue and fallen on the side of the
hot dog as a sandwich. When it first arrived on
American shores from Europe in the late 1800s, it
was often referred to as a “Coney Island Sandwich”
or “Frankfurter sandwich,” but much like an “ice
cream sundae” is simply referred to as a sundae,
terminology changes.

Document 4
Source: Chapter 4 Exemptions, Article 1
General Exemptions, Section 6359 of
California Sales and Use Tax Law
Sandwiches as "meals"; "paper napkins" as
facilities.—The sale of hot dog and hamburger
sandwiches, even when served with beverages, from
sandwich stands or booths where neither chairs nor
tables are provided for customers, does not
constitute a "meal" within this section. A "paper
napkin" is not "tableware" within this section, since
the rule of ejusdem generis is applicable. Treasure
Island Catering Co., Inc. v. State Board of
Equalization (1941) 19 Cal.2d
 Document 5
Source: Interview with U.S. Supreme Court
Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, The
Late Show with Stephen Colbert

As Colbert explains, the definition of a sandwich

should be:
Two pieces of bread with almost any type of filling
in between -- as long as it's not more bread.

Ginsburg: You said two pieces of bread. Does that

include a roll that's cut open but still not
completely?

Colbert: That gets immediately to the question:

Does the roll need to be separated into two parts?
And yet, in the case of a sub, the bread is not split
apart. So then, a hot dog is also a sandwich?

Ginsburg: On your definition, yes, it is.

Document 6
Source: “It’s Not a Sandwich,” The Atlantic,
5 November 2015
The Sandwich Index we created consisted of four
points:
1. To qualify as “a sandwich,” a given food
product must, structurally, consist of two (2)
exterior pieces that are either separate or
mostly separate;
2. Those pieces must be primarily carbohydrate-
based—so, made of bread or bread-like
products;
3. The whole assemblage must have a primarily
horizontal orientation (so, sitting flush with a
plate rather than perpendicular to it); and
4. The whole assemblage must be fundamentally
portable.
So. Under this definition, a burger is a sandwich. So
is an ice cream sandwich. So is an Oreo. So is a
grilled cheese.
 Document 7
Source: Harris Poll, May 2016

[N]ew polling shows Americans are far less divided

about the question, “Is a hot dog a sandwich?”
Newly released poll results show that 57 percent of
Americans say hot dog on a bun is NOT a sandwich
compared to 33 percent who believe it IS.
Meanwhile, 10 percent remain undecided.

The polling was conducted online among more than

2,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older in May 2016 by
Harris Poll on behalf of the National Hot Dog and
Sausage Council (NHDSC).

The epic debate has dominated social media at

times in 2016. The polling reveals that Americans
age 18-34 (64 percent) and 35-44 (61 percent) are
more likely than their older counterparts age 65+
(44 percent) to believe that a hot dog is not a
sandwich. In fact, Americans over the age of 65 (44
percent) are the only demographic group where
more say a hot dog is a sandwich (50 percent) than
is not. Southerners (62 percent), Northeasterners
(58 percent) & Westerners (58 percent) are all
more likely to agree that a hot dog is not a sandwich
than Midwesterners (49 percent).

Step 4: Group your documents below.

● You’re going to group documents into two categories:
○ 1 - Documents that that support your argument above.
○ 2 - Documents that negate your argument above.
Group 1 (Support your argument) Group 2 (negate your argument)
Step 5: Develop your Thesis
Your thesis is a preview for the reader. It provides an overview of your argument and supporting evidence.
Think of it like a roadmap. It tells the reader where you are going in the essay.

A strong thesis:
● Makes writing the rest of the essay easier

● Results in a higher score

Constructing your thesis: