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HISTORY Subject: History Qualification: a Level Chiswick School Transition Work Sixth Form Year group: Year 12 HISTORY Subject: History Qualification: A Level Examining Board: Edexcel America: Paper 1, Option 1F: In search of the American Dream: the USA, c1917–96 This option comprises a study in breadth, in which students will learn about the dramatic political, economic and social transformation of the USA in the twentieth century, an era that saw the USA challenged by the consequences of political, economic and social inequalities at home and of its involvement in international conflict. The focus of study is on developments and changes over a broad timescale and so the content is presented as themes spanning a significant duration: 1917-80. This option also contains a study in depth of historical interpretations on a broad question, which is contextualised by, and runs on from, the themes: what impact the Reagan presidency had on the USA in the years 1981–96. • These tasks are designed to prepare you for the Year 12 course, which will commence in September. • You will be expected to hand in this work during your first lesson with your new teacher. • The quality of your work will play a part in the transition process at the beginning of Year 12. • A failure to pass transition will mean you will be removed from that course. Try to get hold of one of these books to read before September, or at least to dip into! 1. Doug and Susan Willoughby, The USA 1917–45, (Heinemann, 2000) 2. Derrick Murphy, Kathryn Cooper and Mark Waldron, The United States 1776–1992 (Collins, 2001) 3. Joanne De Pennington, Modern America: 1865 to the Present: The USA, 1865 to the Present 4. Peter Clements, Access to History: Prosperity, Depression and the New Deal: The USA 1890-1954 (4th Edition) 5. Terry Deary and Martin Brown, USA (Horrible Histories Special) 6. Simon Schama, The American Future: A History From The Founding Fathers To Barack Obama Task 1: Complete a timeline of all US presidents from 1917-1990. For each president, name the Party they came from and find two key things that they changed as president. Task 2: watch the video at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dssfiPirT2U This takes in US History from 1900-1914. Make a table like the one below and fill it in with as much detail as you can from the clip. What was America like What was America like Was this an example of PROGRESS in 1900? in 1914? (positive change) or REGRESS (negative change)? Task 3: You need to read these two historical sources and write a 1 page answer to the following question. - I expect you to QUOTE both sources - I expect you to CROSS-REFERENCE & LINK the two sources - I expect you to discuss which is the more reliable source using the NOP Question 1: In the light of differing interpretations, how convincing do you find the view that the Reagan presidency was a time of ‘deterioration and decline’ (Extract 1, lines 7–8) in the advancement of black Americans in the USA? Extract 1: From Stephen Tuck, African American Protest during the Reagan Years: published 2008. For the traditional civil rights leadership, the rise of Reagan spelled trouble. A director of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) complained, ‘The age of the volunteer has come to an end.’ By the end of the 1980s, NAACP membership had plummeted from half a million to barely a hundred thousand; support for nonviolent, progressive students had been replaced by majority condemnation of violent, idle young black men. Histories of the civil rights movement describe the Reagan years as years of deterioration and decline. The downturn in fortune experienced by many African Americans during these years seems to confirm the gloomy picture. The inequality gap in wages and employment held steady through to the mid-1990s, and in some aspects the gap widened. Inner city poverty, family breakdown, and gang violence were seemingly entrenched. The arrival of crack cocaine in the mid-1980s compounded the problem. New get-tough crime measures led to an astonishing rise in the numbers of young black men in prison. During the 1980s, sociologists popularized the term ‘underclass’ – a group with no prospect of breaking out of poverty. Little wonder then, that many polls showed increasing pessimism among African Americans that racial equality would be achieved within a lifetime. Extract 2: From Gil Troy, The Reagan Revolution: A study in progress, published in 1987. The civil rights revolution continued [under Reagan]. Racism was no longer acceptable in public or in polite company. Polls showed that 98 per cent of whites did not object to blacks moving in next door, 95 per cent accepted bosses who were black, 89 per cent would go to a black doctor, and 85 per cent approved of their children hosting black playmates. Even if whites exaggerated their openness, these dramatic attitude shifts created a new, more open- minded, more civil culture. African Americans streamed into America’s middle class, joining important institutions essential to their eventual success. The number of black undergraduates grew to more than 2 million in 1988. Four hundred thousand blacks served in perhaps America’s most color- blind institution, the military, constituting 20 per cent of the overall force. Blacks were moving into previously segregated neighborhoods, and enrolling in formerly lily-white elite schools. They also made their mark not only as doctors, lawyers and corporate executives in previously closed professions, but also as police officers, fire fighters, and electricians. African Americans became healthier too. Their life expectancy increased to 69.7 years in 1987 and the infant mortality rate dropped. STRETCH: If you would like to challenge yourself you could have a go at either of these online courses about the US civil rights movement. They began at the start of April, but you should be able to join late: https://www.coursera.org/learn/nonviolence and https:// www.edx.org/course/american-prophet-the-inner-life-and-global-vision-of-martin- luther-king-jr South Africa, 1948–94: from apartheid state to ‘rainbow nation’ The twentieth century saw the expectations and aspirations of ordinary people increase tremendously. In particular, the experience of two world wars led people to question the political, social and economic environment around them. Alongside this, technological advancements and the development of mass communication provided the means to experience a better quality of life and to the rapid spread of political, social and cultural ideas. In South Africa (which had become subject to the rule of nineteenth-century European empires) people sought to overthrow political domination and discrimination, bringing an end to apartheid. This course focuses on the experiences of people fighting for rights and freedoms in South Africa and the radical outcomes this quest invoked. You will study 2 different countries (South Africa and America) in order to develop a greater understanding of both similarities and differences in the search for greater rights, freedoms and equality in the twentieth-century world. YOU WILL NOT be required to answer comparative questions that link the breadth programmes. Task 1: Read and highlight the overview of your course: ๏ This option comprises a study of South Africa during its transition from white minority rule in 1948 to the free elections of 1994; a long, and at times, dramatic process in which South Africa was transformed from an apartheid state into a multi-racial democracy: a ‘rainbow nation’. ๏ The years 1948–94 saw the emergence of one of the great figures of the twentieth century: Nelson Mandela. His story of discrimination, resistance and imprisonment, followed by release and election as the President of South Africa in many ways mirrors the story of South Africa itself. However, the history of South Africa is a complicated one. ๏ South Africa covers an enormous territory: from the Cape of Good Hope in the south to the Limpopo River in the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Indian Ocean to the east. Consequently, the indigenous African population is made up of a wide variety of ethnic and tribal groups, including the San, the Xhosa and the Zulus, with many different languages. Added to this there are three other recognised major racial groups: whites, coloureds (mixed ethnic origin) and Asians/Indians. ๏ In 1652 when the first Dutch settlers arrived at the Cape, their attempts to force the local African communities to work for them failed. This led both to an aggressive campaign against indigenous Africans as the Dutch moved inland and to the importation of slaves from the Far East (in the nineteenth century, labourers would also be brought over from India). This in turn led to discrimination and the beginnings of a society based on racial divisions. ๏ British involvement in India led to a desire to take over the Cape from the Dutch. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, they were formally given control. This led to another layer of tension, between the British and the descendants of the original Dutch settlers: known as Boers or Afrikaners. In 1834, after the British had abolished slavery, groups of Boers began to move north — trek — into territory as yet unclaimed by Europeans. ๏ This would begin 70 years of conflict in which the British, the Boers and various African tribes would all fight each other for control of the territory. When diamonds, and then gold, were found inland as well, a further dimension was added to the conflict. By 1902, the British were the predominant power but the events of the Second Boer War (1899– 1902) led to compromise with the Afrikaners and the continuation of discrimination against ‘non-whites’.
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