Edexcel History Past Exam Questions

Front 1

How far were economic problems responsible for Stalin’s decision to replace the New Economic Policy in 1928 with the first Five-Year Plan?

Back 1

1) ECONOMIC - Needed a change of direction after NEP's failure, increasing production
2) IDEOLOGICAL - Socialism only possible in a highly industrialised country, revolution should serve the working class, economy was 100 years behind
3) POLITICAL - Emerging as Lenin's pupil, wanted to defend Russia in the case of a war (raw materials)

Front 2

How far was the dramatic development of a war economy responsible for the USSR’s victory in the Second World War?

Back 2

1) RUSSIAN WAR ECONOMY - Gosplan, factories relocated, defence spending, how it compared with Nazi war economy and German tactics (split into two paragraphs)
2) LEND-LEASE - SPAM meat and transport as opposed to artillery and industry
3) THE HOME FRONT - Turning to the Motherland, churches allowed to reopen

Front 3

How important was the contribution of Martin Luther King to the civil rights movement in the years 1955–68?

Back 3

1) MASS DIRECT ACTION - Event organisation e.g. Birmingham (also note failures post 1965)
2) MEDIA - Providing a Christian leadership e.g. Montgomery bus boycott, March on Washington
3) OTHER LIMITATIONS - Often was led rather than leading, peaceful protest often did not work

Front 4

How significant were the personalities of the contenders to succeed Lenin in accounting for Stalin’s defeat of his opponents in the years 1924–29?

Back 4

1) PERSONALITIES - Trotsky's arrogance, relationships with Lenin, Stalin's middle ground approach
2) POWER BASES - Stalin's position as General secretary/his power to eradicate corruption v.s. other power bases
3) APPEAL WITHIN THE PARTY - Different talents/achievements of each contender

Front 5

How far did Stalin’s social policies change the lives of children and women in the years to 1945?

Back 5

1) WOMEN - Working through the war, marriage/divorce, propaganda
2) CHILDREN - Education, youth organisations, labour reserve schools
3) WOMEN (limitations) - Having children, domestic duties

Front 6

To what extent was the Federal Government responsible for improving the status of black people in the United States in the years 1945–64?

Back 6

1) FEDERAL GOV. - Civil rights act, voting rights acts, intervention e.g. To Secure these Rights but also how this was limited
2) MASS DIRECT ACTION - Black economic power, speeding up Supreme Court rulings
3) MEDIA ATTENTION - Pressure on federal gov., raising national attention e.g. Birmingham

Front 7

How far was the effectiveness of the civil rights movement in the 1960s limited by internal divisions?

Back 7

1) BLACK POWER - Meredith March, Black Panthers etc.
2) SUCCESSES - Freedom rides, sit-ins (although explain their limitations)
3) LACK OF CO-OPERATION - Albany movement, SNCC critical of SCLC (Selma)

Front 8

How far do you agree that the most important result of the repression of 1934–38 was the strengthening of Stalin’s political dominance?

Back 8

1) POLITICAL - Populist terror, removing rivals
2) HUMAN - Terrorised families, forging new identities, eliminating the old elite
3) ECONOMIC - Chaos in Gosplan and the five year plans, removal of trained workers, slave labour

Front 9

To what extent was the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) responsible for the successes of the civil rights campaign in the years 1945–57?

Back 9

1) ROLE OF NAACP - Inspired activism, Supreme Court rulings + how this was limited
2) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT - Support, passing acts, could argue that this was a response to media attention
3) MASS DIRECT ACTION - Media attention as a result of this, black economic power (name some events)

Front 10

How far were the forces opposed to civil rights responsible for the failures of the civil rights movement in the 1960s?

Back 10

1) WHITE OPPOSITION - Split into two paragraphs, being KKK and general white opinion as opposed to Dixiecrats/role of the federal government
2) CHANGES FROM SOUTH TO NORTH - King losing his audience, problems harder to solve
3) MEDIA ATTENTION DIVERTED - Vietnam war, women's rights, space race etc.

Front 11

To what extent did Soviet culture perform a political role in the USSR in the years 1924–53?

Back 11

1) GLORIFYING POLICIES - Collectivisation, Magnitogorsk, industrialisation
2) PROPAGANDA - Showing Stalin as a father figure, production targets for artists
3) LENIN - Changing history through art/literature, myth of two leaders

Front 12

How accurate is it to say that the status of black people in the United States changed very little in the years 1945–55?

Back 12

1) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT - Lack of support, white influence and how this slowed progress
2) SUPREME COURT RULINGS - Win for civil rights but legal cases were not implemented/change not felt
3) NORTH vs. SOUTH - How life had changed (if at all) in each

Front 13

How far was peaceful protest responsible for the successes of the civil rights movement in the years 1955–64?

Back 13

1) PEACEFUL PROTEST - Mass direct action, leader of the civil rights movement etc.
2) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT - Laws passed, support from Presidents and the limitations of this
3) MEDIA - Pressure on the government, raising priorities

Front 14

Why did the civil rights campaign grow increasingly militant after 1965?

Back 14

1) KING'S TACTICS - King had lost his audience, peaceful protest wasn't working
2) LIFE IN THE NORTH - Problems here were economic, aimed to solve issues
3) INSPIRATION OF MALCOLM X - Black power/Black panthers, radicalisation of SNCC

Front 15

To what extent did collectivisation improve Soviet agriculture in the years 1928–41?

Back 15

1) LIMITATIONS OF AGRICULTURE - Few farms could acquire new machinery, production declined (lack of trained workers), harvest fell
2) SOCIAL - Famine, exile, traditions reverted, resentment towards government
3) LIMITED SUCCESS IF ANY - Amount of grain exported by the state increased, urban population in some cities trebled

Front 16

How accurate is it to say that the growth of Black Power was the most important factor in the weakening of the civil rights movement in the 1960s?

Back 16

1) BLACK POWER - Turned white opinion however it attempted to solve problems in the North (ghetto clinics, breakfast clubs, credit unions, inspired others (Carlos and Smith)
2) MEDIA DIVERTION - Federal government responding to priorities of America, Vietnam war, women's rights
3) KING'S TACTICS - Failed attempts to tackle problems in the North (e.g. Chicago 1966), lost his audience (Poor People's Campaign)

Front 17

How successful was Martin Luther King’s campaign for civil rights in the years 1955–68?

Back 17

1) MEDIA ATTENTION - Providing a face to the leadership, mass direct action, SCLC
2) EARLY CRITICISMS - Ran from danger, was led rather than leading
3) LATER CRITICISMS - Lost his audience, tried to tackle problems in the North and failed

Front 18

How far had life changed for blacks by 1968?

Back 18

1) ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE SOUTH - Legally had civil rights/the vote, black culture, greater opportunities (positions in court e.g. Thurgood Marshall)
2) ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE NORTH - Ghetto clinics, credit unions, breakfast clubs, inspiration of black power
3) LIMITATIONS IN THE SOUTH - De facto racism remained, King assassinated by a racist
4) LIMITATIONS IN THE NORTH - Still remained in poverty (could not be changed by Court rulings), had lost support after violence

Front 19

Do you agree with the view that Socialist Realism was the most effective method of control?

Back 19

1) SOCIALIST REALISM - Arts/literature (glorifying Stalin and his policies), rewriting history (photos, myth of two leaders)
2) COLLECTIVISATION - Limited success as it created resentment, showed Stalin's leadership, removed rivals
3) GREAT TERROR - Populist terror, eliminating the old elite/rivals