Gcse history b modern world history revision booklet

GCSE History B Modern World History.

Revision Booklet

A972: How far did British society change between

1939 and the mid-1970’s?

This unit is worth 30% of your final mark.

Ms S Williams-Young ADL-AHSL Page 1

Remember this unit tests your ability to analyse and evaluate sources, using your own knowledge to put the sources into historical context.

GlossaryGlossary

Capitalism – an economic system in which the means of producing wealth are privately owned and controlled rather than publicly.

Coalition – two or more parties that share power in government.

Democracy – a political system in which the people exercise power through elected representatives.

Discrimination – giving prejudicial treatment to either a person or a group.

Grassroots – ordinary people who are the main body of an organisation’s membership.

Hyperinflation – a very extreme increase in prices.

Hypocrisy – being insincere by pretending to have qualities or beliefs not really held.

Ideology – a set of ideas that people agree with.

Imperialism – extending the rule of an empire over foreign countries, or belief in the importance of your empire.

Indigenous – belonging to an ethnic group which is native to a particular area.

Legitimate – legally allowed.

Nationalism – strong belief in the power of your own country.

National Front – a British political party mostly active during the 1970s and 1980s, which was widely considered to be racist.

Prejudice – a pre-determined feeling, either favourable or unfavourable.

Proletarian – relating to working-class people.

Propaganda – production of material to strongly promote one opinion.

Quota – a number or percentage, especially of people, constituting or designated as an upper limit.

Racism – the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability, and that a particular race is superior to others.

Radical – someone who holds an extreme viewpoint.

Referendum – direct vote in which the people are asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal.


Tripartite System – education system which divided secondary schools into grammar schools, technical schools, and modern schools.

Welfare State – system of measures designed to ensure a basic minimum standard of living for all.

Exam checklistExam checklist

These checklists will help you make your final preparations in the run up to your exams.

General exam checklist

Make sure you know in advance which paper you are sitting on which day.

Switch off your mobile phone and follow your centre’s procedures for handing it in.

Remember that you must not have your phone with you or switched on in the exam.

If you want to take a drink into the exam, take water. That way it will not stain anything if you spill it (try not to!) and it will rehydrate your brain so that it performs better.

Remember that you cannot take your normal pencil case into the exam. You must use a transparent pencil case.

Do not try to cram everything in minutes before the exam, and avoid people who will stress you out by talking about what they have or have not learnt.

Keep calm

Make sure that you have spare stationery. You will be writing in black pen so you should bring two or three of these.

You are not allowed to take notes or books into the exam, so store anything you have brought with you somewhere safe.

Subject-specific exam checklist


Unit A972 examines your ability to interpret, evaluate and use historical sources. This

paper will be about the British Depth Study.

When using a source, make sure you use specific evidence from it, but also use your own knowledge to put the source into context if the question tells you to.

Revision checklistRevision checklist

British depth study: How far did British society change between 1939 and the mid-1970s?

What impact did the Second World War have on the British people?The changing role and the contribution of women during the Second World War, e.g. civil defence, the land army, factory work, joining the armed forces and looking after families.The impact of these changes after the war. The experiences of children during the Second World War: the Blitz, evacuation, rationing, diet, children’s health and education, the absence of fathers. The increasing awareness on the part of the middle classes about the condition of working-class children. The Beveridge Report. The creation and impact of the National Health Service.

What immigrants were living in Britain in 1945? Britain as a multicultural society in 1939.The experiences and impact of groups such as Italian and German prisoners of war, GIs and Commonwealth soldiers.

Why did different groups migrate to Britain between 1948 and 1972? Immigration from the Caribbean, India, Pakistan and Uganda.

What were the experiences of immigrants in Britain? The riots in 1958 and the activities of the British National Party (the National Front). Legislation relating to immigration and race in the 1960s and early 1970s.


Enoch Powell’s speech in 1968.

What contribution had immigrants made to British society by the early 1970s? The emergence of a multicultural society by the mid-1970s.

What was the impact of the National Health Service on people’s lives?

What was life like for most women in the 1950s? Women in the 1950s.

How were women discriminated against in the 1960s and early 1970s?

What factors led to changes in the roles of women? The impact of the introduction of the Pill, the ‘women’s liberation’ movement. Abortion.The 1969 Divorce Law Reform Act.The 1975 Sex Discrimination Act.

How much change had taken place for women by 1975?

What was it like growing up in the 1950s?

Why were there changes in the lives of teenagers in the 1960s? The impact of increased affluenceThe impact of US culture on British teenagers.The introduction of comprehensive education and university expansion.

How did teenagers and students behave in the 1960s and early 1970s? Student protests in the 1960s.Youth culture, e.g. Mods and Rockers.The growing popularity and impact of rock music, clothes and fashion.Teenagers as consumers.The reactions of the authorities to these changes.

How far did the lives of all teenagers change in the 1960s and early 1970s?


Revision flashcardsRevision flashcards

British depth study: How far did British society change between 1939 and the mid-1970s?

1 Immigration during the Second World War

Prisoners of war – over 300,000.

Work-permit schemes.

Atlee government recruited around 345,000.

GIs and Commonwealth soldiers.

2 Immigration after 1948

Empire Windrush

492 passengers from the Caribbean.

Also ships from India/Pakistan after

independence.

3 Causes of immigration 1948–72

The British Nationality Act.

Likelihood of finding work.

Romantic vision of Britain.

Economic problems and violence at home.

4 The British Nationality Act

1948.

Confirmed right of Commonwealth citizens

to settle in Britain.

5 Likelihood of finding work

Labour shortages.

Recruiting campaigns in the West Indies.

Worked in expanding industries such as

London Transport and the NHS.

6 Romantic vision of Britain

Taught at school to regard Britain as the

‘mother country’ during the Empire.

British monarch was their monarch.

Taught British history at school.

7 Economic problems at home

Problems included poverty, unemployment

and a high birth rate.

E.g. Pakistan – construction of Mangla Dam

in early 1960s.

8 Violence at home

Disruption in India and Pakistan when they

gained independence.

2 million people died in this violence.

Hungarian Revolution 1956.

9 Stages of experiences of immigrants 10 The Notting Hill Race Riots


A gradual, uneasy welcome.

Increased tension – riots in 1958.

Conservative government got tougher on

immigration laws.

1958.

300–400 people attacked West Indians in

Notting Hill, London.

Police arrested 140, mainly white, people.


11 Commonwealth Immigrants Act

1962.

Restrictions on immigration from the

Commonwealth.

Harold Macmillan’s government.

12 Race Relations Act

1965.

Discrimination illegal in public places.

Race Relations Board and National

Committee for Commonwealth Immigrants

handled racial complaints.


Why summarise?Revision can seem daunting. How do you learn a year’s worth of topics?There is no way you will be able to memorise absolutely everything. The skill of summarising is therefore really important. You need to make sure you prioritise and learn the main events, individuals and ideas.

How summarising can helpSummarising enables you to learn the key ideas, without unnecessary detail. If you know how the mark schemes work for each type of question you will have an idea of the kind of detail you be required to recall.

Methods of summarisingA good place to start might be to go through your notes and highlight all the important points.

Alternatively, you could complete mind maps of each of the key questions. There is guidance on how to complete these in the student book.

Using bullet points is a good way to summarise ideas without adding too much detail. This helps you to remember the key ideas without over-complicating them.

Revision flashcards are an excellent way to summarise and memorise key ideas.

Storyboarding can be a useful summary technique to help you remember key events. Some people remember images better than writing so this method could really help your revision.

Timelines also help to summarise key events in order to demonstrate how they fit together. Adding images will to timelines may help you remember key ideas.

You could try annotating your notes, by adding brief explanations or images that represent key themes

You could also create summary tables (see the example below).


Summarising skillsSummarising skills

Summarising in actionHere is an example of how to summarise information:

GCSE history is assessed through two exams and a controlled assessment unit. In Unit A971 you will be assessed on your ability to select, recall and deploy information about the topics you have studied. In this paper you will be assessed on topics about International Relations as well as the Study in Depth that you have covered. You will also be assessed on your ability to understand concepts such as causation to write explanations and reach and support judgements, as well as using sources in context.

Unit A972 assesses your ability to interpret, evaluate and use historical sources. The sources will all be about the British Depth Study that you will have covered. When using sources, make sure you use specific evidence to support your ideas, but also put the sources into context using your own knowledge.

Highlighting:

GCSE history is assessed through two exams and a controlled assessment unit. In Unit A971 you will be assessed on your ability to select, recall and deploy information about the topics you have studied. In this paper you will be assessed on topics about International Relations as well as the Study in Depth that you have covered. You will also be assessed on your ability to understand concepts such as causation to write explanations and reach and support judgements, as well as using sources in context.

Unit A972 assesses your ability to interpret, evaluate and use historical sources. The sources will all be about the British Depth study that you will have covered. When using sources make sure you use specific evidence to support your ideas, but also put the sources into context using your own knowledge.

Summary tables:

Unit Topics: Skills:

Unit A972 British Depth Study Use and evaluate sources


Type of question Commentary on expected answers

What impression they give of a person or

event.

In this type of question you need to make inferences

from the source and support your ideas with specific

evidence.

Whether (and how far) a source is useful

for an enquiry.

In this type of question you need to:

1. Explain what information you can get from a

source.

2. Support your ideas with specific evidence

from the source.

3. Explain what the source does not tell you,

using detail from your own knowledge.

Whether a source is reliable for an

enquiry.

In this type of question you need to explain whether

or not you can trust a source. You should test

reliability by either:

1. Checking what the source says against your

own knowledge of the topic

2. Making an informed use of the provenance,

e.g. what is their interest/purpose?

3. Cross-reference to other sources in the paper

to check the one you are asked about

4. Use the tone/language of the source to reach

a judgement

Alternatively you can cross reference a source to

your own knowledge or the other sources on the

paper in order to decide whether or not it is ‘typical’.

Why different sources can say different

things about a person or event.

In this type of question you need to consider what

each source says and how they are different, and

then work out why they are different. Ask yourself:

1. Who made it?

2. When was it made?

3. Where was it made?

4. Why was it made?


What the purpose of a source is. In this type of question you need to explain why a

source was made. To do this you need to use your

own knowledge and/or cross reference to other

sources to explain what the creator was trying to

achieve.

The crucial thing here is not to stop at explaining the

message of the source. Make sure you go on and

explain its purpose. In other words, what impact was

it designed to have on people’s thoughts or actions.

How similar two (or more) sources are. In this type of question you need to use specific

evidence to prove that the sources are similar and

then explain how they also differ.

How far the sources support a particular

viewpoint or opinion.

This is a two-sided mini essay. You need to write at

least four paragraphs:

1. A brief introduction.

2. A paragraph agreeing with the statement,

using evidence from the sources to support

your ideas.

3. A paragraph disagreeing with the statement,

using evidence from the sources to support

your ideas.

4. A conclusion in which you decide whether or

not you agree with the statement. To do this,

it is often a good idea either to: evaluate the

sources’ reliability to decide which you can

trust, or use your own knowledge to explain

your ideas.


Read the exam paperRead the exam paper

A typical exam paper unit A972


This is the code for your exam you will need to write it on your answer book.

This is the topic you have studied for the exam.

This is how long you have to answer all the questions.

Plan your time carefully.

Read the instructions carefully

If you use extra paper you must remember to fill in all the correct details and remember to write in black pen.

Types of questions.

Explain why source A and source B are telling us different things about the reason why people came to Britain form the Caribbean in the 1960’s?

In this type of question look for NOP.

Nature

Origin

Purpose

When evaluating provenance, look for NOP:

Nature

Is it a letter, speech, diary, autobiography, textbook, cartoon, photo, painting, novel, reported conversation, obituary, newspaper article, propaganda poster etc.?

What differences does this explain, if any – for instance, is one more likely to be truer than another?

Origin

Who wrote it, when and where? What context and how might this affect it – e.g. bias/ ‘blind-spots’/ perspective (eyewitness v. hindsight).

Purpose

Why did the author produce the source (e.g. advertisements, propaganda, speeches to persuade/ cartoons to get a point across in a fun way/ diaries and autobiographies to justify/ books to attack or just to record)? And how might this affect it – e.g. bias/ ‘blind-spots’/ perspective (eyewitness v. hindsight).

Mr Davies – teacher of AHSL Page 14

Why was this source produced?

Why was a source produced?

This is one of the questions which need you refer to the PURPOSE of the source – remember that you will get this by looking at the provenance of the source (who wrote it, and when).

It is usually some kind of propaganda, so explain how it was supposed to ‘work’, what effect it was supposed to have on the people and to what effect.

It also needs you to provide as much factual CONTEXT as you can – what was happening at the time that made it necessary to produce this?

Provide as much factual detail about the context (situation) as you can, but remember to explain why this led to the source being produced – why it made it necessary.

Use these sentence starters for your answer:

1. You can see why it was produced when you look at who produced it …

2. They were trying to …

3. The idea of the source was that … and this would encourage people to …

4. This was very much needed at this time because …

5. At that time, …, and so …


Good Words: to include in your answer-

• “however”• “this meant that”• “because”• “as a result”• “so"”• “therefore”• “this led to”

b) Why was the poster in Source F distributed in Britain during

the Second World War?

Use Source F and your own knowledge to answer the question

(6 marks).

Source F Propaganda in the Second World War

A British government poster distributed during the Second World War


British Depth Study: How far did British Society change between 1939 and the mid-1970s?

Unit A972

Question 1

Why was this speech given in April 1968?

Use the source and your knowledge to explain your answer.

© Crown copyright, Click Use Licence No C2008002327

[6]

Student answer Specific examiner comments

This speech was given in 1968, because a growing number of people were worried that immigrants were ‘flourishing’ at the expense of British people. Some people felt that the government was helping immigrants to ‘overawe and dominate the rest’, by passing acts such as the Race Relations Bill.

This is a reasonable answer. The candidate has used supporting detail from the source in order to explain that the speech was given in response to growing concern relating to the number of immigrants coming into Britain and the support that they were seen to receive from the government. The candidate has also used their own knowledge.

To improve this answer, the candidate would also need to consider why Powell made the speech, his purpose.

General examiner comment

The aim of Unit A972 is to assess your ability to use and evaluate sources. However, to do this, you also need to place the sources that you are presented with into their historical context. Make sure that you revise and know the topics well, as this will help you answer the questions you are asked.


Sample exam answersSample exam answers

An extract from the ‘river of blood’ speech given by Enoch Powell in 1968:

For these dangerous and divisive elements the legislation proposed in the Race Relations Bill is the very pabulum they need to flourish. Here is the means of showing that the immigrant communities can organise to consolidate their members, to agitate and campaign against their fellow citizens, and to overawe and dominate the rest with the legal weapons which the ignorant and the ill-informed have provided. As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding; like

Normally on Unit A972 you can get at least half marks from using the source alone. However, to develop your answers further you should also use your own knowledge to explain your ideas.

Improved answer

This speech was given in 1968, because a growing number of people were worried that immigrants were ‘flourishing’ at the expense of British people. Some people felt that the government was helping immigrants to ‘overawe and dominate the rest’, by passing acts such as the Race Relations Bill. This act had made it illegal to discriminate on the grounds of race in public places and it had angered some people, who were worried that too many people were settling in Britain and now saw that the government was taking measures to protect these immigrants. Stereotypes were brandished around that immigrants were lazy and unwilling to integrate themselves with local communities. This was something that Powell also made reference to in his speech. Many immigrants coming to Britain were faced with prejudices such as these, and tensions often erupted into violence, such as the Notting Hill riots.

Question 2

How useful is this source to a historian studying why the National Health Service was introduced in 1948? Use the source and your own knowledge to explain your answer.

[6]


This source is useful as it shows that the NHS was introduced in response to the Beveridge Report, which told the government that they needed to introduce some form of social insurance which would tackle the five ‘giants’ of poverty, which according to the source were ‘want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness’.

This is a good answer. The candidate has used specific evidence from the source in order to explain what the source shows.

To develop this answer further, the candidate needs to use their own knowledge to help explain the source and to explain what the source does not show.


An extract from the Beveridge report, published in 1942:

The second principle is that organisation of social insurance should be treated as one part only of a comprehensive policy of social progress. Social insurance fully developed may provide income security; it is an attack upon Want. But Want is one only of five giants on the road of reconstruction and in some ways the easiest to attack. The others are Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness.


Read the questions on your final examinations very carefully. If they tell you to ‘use the source and your own knowledge to explain your answer’ then you must make sure that you give specific evidence from the source you are studying, as well as from what you have learned about the topic.

Improved answer

This source is useful as it shows that the NHS was introduced in response to the Beveridge Report which told the government that they needed to introduce some form of social insurance which would tackle the five ‘giants’ of poverty, which according to the source were ‘want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness’. The Beveridge Report quickly became the guidelines the government used in developing their welfare state. Their aim was to illuminate the five ‘giants’, which the Beveridge Report identified. One of the means they used to achieve this was the introduction of the National Health Service, which was started in 1948.

However, this source does not tell us all the reasons why the NHS was set up. One of the factors it does not tell us about is the effect of the Second World War. During the Blitz children were evacuated from their homes in urban areas to safety in rural areas. When these working-class children were re-homed, they were often put in the care of middle-class people, who were able to observe the effects that living in poverty had on the children. Many people saw that working-class children were in need of basics, such as food, and started to petition the government to do something about the situation. Also, when soldiers returned home after the end of the war people believed that the government should be doing everything they could to make the lives of these war heroes as comfortable as possible. It was these changes in attitude and such demands from the public, which meant that the government had to introduce the National Health Service in 1948.


Question 3

How similar are these two sources?Use the sources and your own knowledge to explain your answer. [6]

.


The sources are very different: Source C shows a Teddy boy wiping the blood off his hands after being involved in fighting. Looking at the date on the cartoon, I infer that this cartoon is about the Notting Hill riots in 1958, in which Teddy Boys were involved in attacking immigrants from the West Indies. The figure wiping his hands on the Union Jack shows that this teenager does not care about his nation and is only intent on fighting and harming people.

However, source D shows teenagers staging a peaceful protest. On the banner, which some of the protesters are holding, there is the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament symbol and so this source is very different as it shows that some teenagers were pacifists, who wished to end the use of nuclear weapons and used peaceful methods to protest. This is a very different image to that shown of the thuggish

The candidate has used specific evidence from both sources in order to show how the two sources are different.

To develop the answer further, the candidate would also need to explain what the similarities between the two sources are.

They also need to compare and contrast the source more directly, rather than simply dealing with the sources as two separate entitles.


Source C:

A cartoon from 1958, showing a Teddy boy wiping blood off his hands onto the Union Jack.

Source D:

A photograph showing a sit-in protest in London, 1961.

Teddy Boy in source C.


When asked how similar two (or more) sources are many students are able to demonstrate similarities or differences. To get the highest marks you must explain both.

Improved answer

The sources are very different: Source C shows a Teddy Boy wiping the blood off his hands after being involved in fighting. Looking at the date on the cartoon, I infer that this cartoon is about the Notting Hill riots in 1958, in which Teddy Boys were involved in attacking immigrants from the West Indies. The figure wiping his hands on the Union Jack shows that this teenager does not care about his nation and is only intent on fighting and harming people.

However, source D shows teenagers staging a peaceful protest. On the banner, which some of the protesters are holding, there is the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament symbol and so this source is very different, as it shows that some teenagers were pacifists, who wished to end the use of nuclear weapons and used peaceful methods to protest. This is a very different image to that shown of the thuggish Teddy Boy in source C.

However, there are similarities between the two sources as both show that there was an increase in youth culture and a huge change in the behaviour of teenagers during this era. Many young people aligned themselves with youth-based subcultures, such as the Teddy Boys (as shown in source C), Mods and Rockers or with organisations, such as the CND (source D). Both of these trends show that teenagers were beginning to break away from traditional values, questioning people in authority and expressing their own views, either through acts of violence or involvement in political protests.


Education

Gcse history b modern world history revision booklet