Practice Exam Questions
This unit is a Paper 1 'depth study'. Paper 1 lasts 1 hour 30 minutes in duration which leaves about 45 minutes per topic. Students have to answer questions on two topics. it will be assessed in the exam through four knowledge based questions which test students chronological understanding, explanation of consequence, analysis of causation and ability to form a historical argument using sources and their own knowledge.
Question A requires you to place five events in their correct chronological order. It’s only worth 3 marks so complete it as quick as you can! 3 minutes should be enough. Obviously you need good chronological knowledge. Revision exercises using timelines to test yourself on dates is a good idea.
'Study the events which occurred in the USA in the years 19xx-19xx. Write these events in the correct chronological sequence':
1. The Formation of the National Organisation for Women (NOW), The Assassination of Martin Luther King, The Hollywood Ten, Brown v Topeka, The Selma Voting Rights marches.
2. The Watergate Break-in, King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech, The Kent State University deaths, The Voting Rights Act, The Freedom Riders.
3. Little Rock High School, The Rosenberg Case, Nixon Resigns as President, Assassination of Malcom X, The Freedom Riders.
4. Nixon Resigns, Montgomery Bus Boycott, Senate censures McCarthy, SDS Setup, Assassination of MLK.
5. The Montgomery Bus Boycott, Nixon re-elected as President, The Hiss Case, The Brown v Topeka Case, The assassination of Martin Luther King.
6. The Privacy Act, The Freedom Riders, The Watergate Break-in, The Hollywood Ten, The Equal Pay Act.
7. Nixon Resigns as President, The Assassination of Malcom X, Brown v Topeka Board of Education Decision, The setting up of the Black Panthers, The Washington Peace March.
8. The publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, The setting up of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), The beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, The Kent State University deaths, Alger Hiss found guilty.
1. The Formation of the National Organisation for Women (NOW), The Assassination of Martin Luther King, The Hollywood Ten, Brown v Topeka, The Selma Voting Rights marches.
2. The Watergate Break-in, King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech, The Kent State University deaths, The Voting Rights Act, The Freedom Riders.
3. Little Rock High School, The Rosenberg Case, Nixon Resigns as President, Assassination of Malcom X, The Freedom Riders.
4. Nixon Resigns, Montgomery Bus Boycott, Senate censures McCarthy, SDS Setup, Assassination of MLK.
5. The Montgomery Bus Boycott, Nixon re-elected as President, The Hiss Case, The Brown v Topeka Case, The assassination of Martin Luther King.
6. The Privacy Act, The Freedom Riders, The Watergate Break-in, The Hollywood Ten, The Equal Pay Act.
7. Nixon Resigns as President, The Assassination of Malcom X, Brown v Topeka Board of Education Decision, The setting up of the Black Panthers, The Washington Peace March.
8. The publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, The setting up of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), The beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, The Kent State University deaths, Alger Hiss found guilty.
Question B will always pick two events from Question A. You will need to use your knowledge to explain one effect of that event. An effect means the results or consequences of an event – what did the event lead to? Try to avoid describing the event itself, focus on explaining its impact.
1. Choose either The Formation of the National Organization for Women (NOW) or The Assassination of Martin Luther King. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
2. Choose either The Watergate Break-in or The Voting Rights Act. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
3. Choose either Little Rock High School or The Rosenberg Case. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
4. Choose either the Watergate Scandal or The Integration of Little Rock. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
5. Choose either The Montgomery Bus Boycott or The Brown v Topeka Case. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
6. Choose either The Hiss Case or The Rosenberg Case. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
7. Choose either Dean’s revelations of Nixon’s involvement or Nixon’s refusal to testify or hand over documents. Explain one effect on the Watergate scandal of the event you have chosen.
8. Choose either The Freedom Riders or The Hollywood Ten. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
9. Choose either Brown v Topeka Board of Education Decision or The Black Panthers. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
10. Choose either The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) or The Montgomery Bus Boycott. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
2. Choose either The Watergate Break-in or The Voting Rights Act. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
3. Choose either Little Rock High School or The Rosenberg Case. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
4. Choose either the Watergate Scandal or The Integration of Little Rock. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
5. Choose either The Montgomery Bus Boycott or The Brown v Topeka Case. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
6. Choose either The Hiss Case or The Rosenberg Case. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
7. Choose either Dean’s revelations of Nixon’s involvement or Nixon’s refusal to testify or hand over documents. Explain one effect on the Watergate scandal of the event you have chosen.
8. Choose either The Freedom Riders or The Hollywood Ten. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
9. Choose either Brown v Topeka Board of Education Decision or The Black Panthers. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
10. Choose either The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) or The Montgomery Bus Boycott. Explain one effect on the USA of the event you have chosen.
Question C will always test your knowledge of Causation – why did something happen? You will need to explain the reasons why an event happened in detail. You will have to explain at least two reasons and link them for full marks. Spend about 10 minutes on this question.
1. Why did McCarthyism lose support in the mid-1950s? Explain your answer.
2. Why did opposition to McCarthy grow to a point where he was censured by the Senate? Explain your answer.
3. Why did the black people of Montgomery boycott the buses for 381 days in 1955-56? Explain your answer.
4. Why did the women’s movement develop in the USA in the 1960s and early 1970s? Explain your answer.
5. Why did a student movement develop in the USA in the 1960s? Explain your answer.
6. Why was there a growing fear of communism in the USA in the late 1940s and early 1950s? Explain your answer.
7. Why was the assassination of Martin Luther King such a blow to the civil rights movement? Explain your answer.
8. Why were events at Little Rock High School in 1957 important in the campaigns for civil rights? Explain your answer.
9. Why did a student movement begin in the USA in the 1960s? Explain your answer.
10. Why were there changes in the methods used to campaign for black civil rights in the years 1963-70? Explain your answer.
11. Why was there progress in the Civil Rights Movement in the years 1960-65? Explain your answer.
12. Why did a 'Red Scare' develop in the USA in the years 1945-50? Explain your answer.
2. Why did opposition to McCarthy grow to a point where he was censured by the Senate? Explain your answer.
3. Why did the black people of Montgomery boycott the buses for 381 days in 1955-56? Explain your answer.
4. Why did the women’s movement develop in the USA in the 1960s and early 1970s? Explain your answer.
5. Why did a student movement develop in the USA in the 1960s? Explain your answer.
6. Why was there a growing fear of communism in the USA in the late 1940s and early 1950s? Explain your answer.
7. Why was the assassination of Martin Luther King such a blow to the civil rights movement? Explain your answer.
8. Why were events at Little Rock High School in 1957 important in the campaigns for civil rights? Explain your answer.
9. Why did a student movement begin in the USA in the 1960s? Explain your answer.
10. Why were there changes in the methods used to campaign for black civil rights in the years 1963-70? Explain your answer.
11. Why was there progress in the Civil Rights Movement in the years 1960-65? Explain your answer.
12. Why did a 'Red Scare' develop in the USA in the years 1945-50? Explain your answer.
Question D will ask you to write an extended response. You must use the source AND your own knowledge to describe or explain the causes, effects or a period of change. If the question is about change then obviously try to write about change by comparing the situation before and after the period. Allow 15-20 minutes at least.
1. Use the source and your own knowledge to explain why there was a scandal over Watergate:
"On 17th June 1972, five members of CREEP were arrested for breaking into the offices of the Democratic Party in the Watergate Building in Washington D.C. President Nixon regularly denied all knowledge of the break-in. However, taped conversations in the White House revealed otherwise."
2. Use the source and your own knowledge to explain why there was progress in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s:
"The success of the Brown v Topeka Case of 1954 encouraged the Civil Rights Movement. This was followed by the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott. In 1957, events at Little Rock High School brought further progress for the Civil Rights Movement."
3. Use the source and your own knowledge to explain the part played by Martin Luther King in the Civil Rights campaign of the 1950s and 1960s:
"Martin Luther King was a Baptist minister who believed in using non-violent protest. He was a leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and organised the Montgomery Bus Boycott. By 1961 he was the most important figure in the Civil Rights Movement and was able to influence President Kennedy."
4. Use the source and your own knowledge to explain how the Red Scare developed in the late 1940s and early 1950s:
"Spy cases and the progress of communism in Europe and Asia created anti-communist hysteria in the USA. People claimed that there were communists everywhere. President Truman had not helped by using this as an excuse to send aid to Europe. Senator Joe McCarthy made a name for himself by exploiting these fears to a ridiculous extent."
5. Use the source and your own knowledge to explain why the campaign for black civil rights in the USA changed in the 1960s:
"A number of mainly young black Americans lost patience with the peaceful methods used by Martin Luther King. Malcom X, for example, wanted to see black Americans create their own state, by force if necessary. Stokely Carmichael was the leader of the Black Power Movement, which also encouraged greater violence."
6. Use the source and your own knowledge to explain the main effects of the non-violent direct action tactics used in the civil rights campaigns of the 1960s:
"The Freedom Riders’ victory set the tone for the great civil rights campaigns that followed. Not for the first time during these climactic years, a free press forced Americans to take a cold, hard look at the reality of racial oppression."
7. Use the source and your own knowledge to explain why there were race riots in the late 1960s:
"President Lyndon Johnson appointed a Commission of Enquiry headed by Governor Kerner of Illinois to find out what was causing the riots. The resulting report found that the riots were brought on by a sense of frustration among black people at the way they were being treated and concluded: ‘The nation is rapidly moving towards two increasingly separate Americas."
8. Use the source and your own knowledge to explain why protest movements were so active in the 1960s:
"The war that dominated the USA in the 1960s was the anti-communist war in Vietnam. The US government could call up men as young as 17 years to fight in Vietnam for two years. Those same young men were not seen as responsible enough to vote until they were 21."
9. Use the source and your own knowledge to explain why President Nixon was forced to resign as a result of the Watergate Scandal:
"It was revealed that all conversations in the White House since 1971 had been recorded on tape. The Senate demanded the tapes, but at first Nixon refused to hand them over. Some tapes were eventually handed over in November 1973 and the US public was shocked by the attitudes and the language of Nixon. But it was then discovered that the tapes had been edited."
10. Use the source and your own knowledge to explain the effects of the civil rights legislation of the 1960s on the USA:
"An important Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 by Kennedy’s successor, President Johnson. Johnson had been a schoolteacher who had seen the effects of segregation. The Civil Rights Act made segregation in education and housing illegal and stated that all US citizens were entitled to equal employment opportunities. This was followed by other acts such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965."
11. Use the source and your own knowledge to explain how the Women’s Movement developed in the 1960s:
"Protests reached a peak in 1968, when ‘Flower Power’, with its slogan ‘make love not war’, became extremely popular. Large numbers of young people began to ‘drop out’ of mainstream society and head for California. Others staged protests against the war in Vietnam. In 1970, four students at Kent State University were shot dead by National Guardsmen during an anti-war demonstration."
12. Use the source and your own knowledge to explain how the methods used by Senator Joseph McCarthy changed during the ‘Red Scare’:
"McCarthy first began to make use of anti-communist hysteria because he wanted to be re-elected to the Senate, but in 1950 he claimed to have a list of many known communists in the US government. Many of the people he attacked were blacklisted and could not find work for years."
13. Use the source and your own knowledge to explain why the Women’s Movement developed in the USA:
"World War II gave women the opportunity to broaden their employment horizons and many went to work in the heavy industries. After the war, there were improved educational opportunities and some women became involved in the civil rights movement. Women began to demand improved rights and formed their own protest organisation."
14. Use the source and your own knowledge, to explain how the women's movement in the USA changed in the 1960s and the early 1970s:
"In 1963, Betty Friedan's book, The Feminine Mystique, was published. Three years later, the National Organisation for Women (NOW) was set up to campaign for equal rights for women. A more extreme group, known as the Women's Liberation Movement, challenged all signs of male supremacy."
15. Use the source, and your own knowledge, to explain why there were changes in the student movement in the USA in the 1960s:
"The student movement began with students wanting a greater say in how their universities and courses were run. The Civil Rights Movement and protest singers such as Bob Dylan encouraged further growth of the student movement. However, one issue above all others united student protest - the Vietnam War."
16. Use the source, and your own knowledge, to explain why there was support for Black Power in the USA in the years 1965-70:
"From 1965 to 1967, American cities suffered a wave of race riots. There was discontent over poor living conditions and police brutality. Stokely Carmichael talked about 'Black Power'. He won support from a number of young black Americans who were impatient with the slow pace of Martin Luther King's peaceful methods."
