Unit 1F - In search of the American Dream: the USA, c1917-96
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Essay plans Unit 1F - In search of the American Dream: the USA, c1917-96
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Unit 1F - In search of the American Dream: the USA, c1917-96
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Unit 1F - In search of the American Dream: the USA, c1917-96
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HISTORY A LEVEL PAST PAPER QUESTIONS
2024
Influence of Roosevelt, women? Immigration, significance of policies e.g. interventionalist/isolationism,
leisure and travel, living standards, red scares/anticommunism, minority civil rights???
2023
Section A – how accurate is it to say that the main consequence of television from c1950-80 was an improvement in the cultural
experience of Americans? OR how far do you agree that in the years 1960-80 the decline in confidence in the presidency was
largely as a result of the impact of war?
Intro: TV had improvements on cultural experience it also contributed to less political disillusionment as well as the growth of a
consumer culture arguably therefore factors contribute to the average American’s cultural experience so agree.
Para1: cultural improvement provided cheap entertainment, created a national culture, decreased social divisions, different
perspectives, more female, black and gay representation
Para2: consumerism and adverts, conformity/homogeneity
Para3: political awareness, decline in confidence in presidency, broadcast news, Vietnam, Watergate, communism McCarthyism
hearings
Intro: disagree, war had its influences however a decline in confidence was a result of lack of trust stemming from dishonesty
and perception of the presidency other factors such as lack of competency played a part
Para1: impact of war, Vietnam, massive increase in budget deficit, great society neglected and affected American’s perception of
their own cultural identity due to unethical nature of war
Para2: media, reporting on Vietnam decreased popularity ratings, dishonesty/lies uncovered by Walter Cronkite, Tet offensive,
My Lai massacre, Watergate hearings, Nixon, media mocking ford and Carter etc…
Para3: counterculture and the conservative reaction
Section B- how accurate is it to say that in the years 1917-55 northern migration was the most significant factor bringing
improvements to the position of black Americans? OR How far do you agree with the view that in the years 1917-69 the most
significant economic influence in the USA was the great depression?
Intro: disagree despite northern migration being less oppressive e.g. no Jim Crow, more voting rights etc… There were still many
injustices e.ge poverty not separate but equal. Actual improvement and change was sparked through black activism and
governmental intervention Northern Migration was more of an escape than an improvement, black activism had the biggest
impact as it was what inspired the federal government to place African American rights on the federal agenda
Para1: northern migration, escaping Jim crow Laws implemented after reconstruction era, greater voter autonomy, electing black
representatives, lynchings Emmett till, kissing case etc... KKK revival
Para2: black activism, NAACP litigation, smith vs awllright 1944 exclusion of black voters from state primaries, sweatt vs painter,
brown vs board 1954, but still de facto. De jure not able to be affected
Para3: new deal Roosevelt exec order 8802, inspired by A Phillip Randolph march on Washington employment increased through
new deal agencies, traditional voting alliance shifted to republican to democrat.
Intro: the great depression resulted in high levels of unemployment, inflation and poverty within the USA however its relative
economic impact can be debated when compared to other events which boosted the economy which had a more long-lasting
impact such as post war prosperity caused by stimulation of industry in world war two as well as government intervention which
arguably underpins the economic policies exercised by the government making it the most significant impact on the economy.
Para1: great depression
Para2: world war 2, post war boom and prosperity
Para3: govt intervention e.g. new deal, great society, Vietnam defence spending etc…
, Section C- how convincing do you find the view that Reagans government carried out a programme of policies that had a
negative impact on US society?
2022
US
Section A – how accurate is it to say that in the years 1960-1980 the campaign for minority rights had limited success
OR How accurate is it to say that in the years 1917-80 anti-communism was the main significant influence on the
political landscape
Intro: despite growing awareness of native American, Hispanic American and homosexual rights and increasing representation by
the 1980s, native Americans and Hispanic Americans still remained disproportionately the poorest group in society and whilst
certain de jure victories had been made the rise of the religious right and social conservatism in the 1980s meant a stagnation in
much of the progress made in the previous years. Therefore it is accurate to say that the campaign for minority rights had limited
success as although some gains were made, on an institutional level minority groups still remained inferior and suffered
discrimination and inequality.
Para1: native Americans – NCAI, NYIC, AIM use techniques such as litigation, sit ins, aimed to gain reparations for injustices and
regain native lands. High levels of alcoholism, suicide rate, life expectancy, job discrimination, housing discrimination. Alcatraz
island protest for native rights and native reservations. By the 1980s there was more native American representation in politics
and the 1968 CRA had implications for the improvement of both NA and HAs but they still remained amongst the poorest
Americans and suffered the same issues that they had during the 1960s. the institutionalised inferiority of minority groups meant
it was difficult to climb out of the poverty trap especially due to factors contributing to growing ghettos such as white flight etc…
Para 2: Hispanic Americans – LULAC was a Mexican American group that had been involved in successful litigation and lobbying
in the past, MAYO, used blowout technique/walkout, they walked out of an EEOC meeting protesting over lack of representation
and Johnson appointed a HA member. Chicanos campaigned for better working conditions and rights, often exploited for cheap
labour as many Mexican immigrants were illegal and had come in search for jobs to provide for their families. Cesar Chavez
became and inspiration and symbol of Hispanic American protest he organised the UFW grape boycott which had 17 million
Americans supporting it, MALDEF arose as a less extreme organisation as people feared the extremist policies of the youth
groups. brown berets were modelled of off the black panthers.
Para 3: homosexuals – stonewall riot, seen as the birth of gay rights, polls in the 1970s showed increasing acceptance around
homosexuality, matachin societies increased acceptance and awareness, gay liberation front encouraged people to come out,
1977 Harvey milk Californian openly gay minister, spread awareness and led to people becoming less stigmatised, it was removed
from the DSM as a mental illness in 1974, other groups such as NOW became increasingly open in including lesbianism in the
feminism issue HOWEVER, there was still discrimination in attaining jobs, violence and debate over whether they were fit to
teach in schools and the rise of the religious right under Reagan meant that they were once again forced into hiding as these
social conservatives were highly anti-gay and it would have been dangerous to openly declare oneself as gay. This suggests that
there was limited success as although in a de jure sense they had been decriminalised by 1974 as they were no longer deemed
mentally ill this stigma had not been eradicated and differences in religious perspective lead to continued discrimination and
debate over being gay as an identity and therefore limited progress in gay equality.
Intro: the 1917 Bolshevik revolution paved the way for the USSR to become one of the worlds leading powers, threatening the
position and ideologies of the united states through their expansionist powers, anti-communist sentiment was an ever-present
influence upon the political landscape with certain points at which it was heightened such as the red scares and the cold war and
others where it diminished such as when the USSR and the US were wartime allies against their common enemy Germany. Whilst
other factors affecting the political landscape such as policies of isolationism and containment shifted depending upon events
such as war and foreign policy, anti-communism remained a prominent and significant influence until the end of the cold war
under Reagan.
Para 1: the first red scare 1919-20, unrest, strikes, palmer raids, painted as communist doings, McCarthyism, HUAC, CIA,FBI,
freedom of speech, 2nd red scare
Para 2: however it could be argued that it was war that was the most significant influence as WW1 prompted the first red scare
as it created intense nationalism, desire for isolationism and economic crises which contributed to strikes which was interpreted
as communist unrest, WW2 also led to policy of containment, protecting states from the expansion of the USSR, the second red
scare as post war expansionism of the USSR and competition led to the cold war in which tensions between the communist and
capitalist leaders of the world were higher than ever. The cold war led to increased anti-communism through arms race, space
race etc… this could suggest that it was war that was the most significant influence on political landscape
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