GCSE History
Distance Learning Course

Specification
AQA GCSE History B (4047) Full Course

Course Overview
WHY STUDY HISTORY?
Change characterises the past and the study of history enables us as humans to understand how and why it took place.  Conflict and peace play a significant role in the sequence of events in any given period.   Important questions such as,

How does a war come about?

How is a war concluded?

What are the consequences for the victors and vanquished?

What are the results for the countries involved?

need to be addressed.  The study of history provides valuable answers to these questions.  It also gives detailed information about the events that took place and focuses on some of the major characters involved in historical change. 

WHICH HISTORY:  BRITAIN, EUROPE AND THE WORLD

To study this history course no prior knowledge is required.  It focuses on the 20th century history of Britain, Europe and the world on a subject by subject or thematic basis. You will gain the following:

Knowledge and understanding

The ability to analyse historical evidence

The ability to evaluate historical evidence

The course is conducted on a Distance Learning basis.  This means the student works from home but is supported throughout by a tutor.   At the end of the course the student may register the take the History GCSE examination.    Below is a list of the subjects which form part of the GCSE History course syllabus and information on the examination board. 

Course Content
THE COURSE: GCSE HISTORY B

GCSE History B is offered by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA).  AQA is an examination board that awards academic qualifications.   The GCSE below is known as: GCSE History with Specification B.   It is made up of 9 units. Unit 1 focuses on introductory skills and includes the following,Skills in history
Skills in using documents
Different types of historical source
Source-specific questions
Extended writing skills
Extended writing style questions

The remaining 8 units are,
Unit 2: The causes of the First World War
Unit 3: The First World War 1914-1918

Unit 4: International relations 1919-1949
Unit 5: International relations 1950-63
Unit 6: Russia 1900-41
Unit 7: Germany 1918-45
Unit 8: The changing role and status of women in Britain since 1900
Unit 9: Vietnam since 1939.

Unit Information:
Learning outcomes: The learner will be able to gain an understanding of the discussed topics and provide answers to the key issues stated.

3.1: Unit 1: International Relations: 40451 (Full Course)

Conflict and Peace in the 20th Century

3 Subject Content

Part 1: The Origins of the First World War
Key issue: Why were there two armed camps in Europe in 1914?

Development of the Triple Alliance, Entente Cordiale and Anglo-Russian Agreement: Britain’s emergence from splendid isolation

Kaiser Wilhelm II’s aims in foreign policy: Weltpolitik; ‘a place in the sun’; attitudes towards Great Britain; development of the Navy

The Moroccan Crises of 1905 and 1911 and their effects on the alliances

The Bosnian Crisis 1908–1909 and its effect on the alliances

The arms race – military and naval: why did countries increase the size of their armies? The Anglo-German Naval Race.

Key issue: Why did war break out in 1914?

Aims of Austria-Hungary and Serbia in the Balkans: the role of the Black Hand

The assassination at Sarajevo: Gavrilo Principal; the response of Austria-Hungary; the ultimatum and Serbia’s response

The events leading to war; the role of the alliances in 1914

The Schlieffen Plan and its effects on the outbreak of war; its part in bringing about Great Britain’s declaration of war on Germany

Responsibility for the outbreak of war and the escalation of the conflict.

Part 2: Peacemaking 1918–1919 and the League of Nations
Key issue: How did the Treaty of Versailles establish peace?

The Paris Peace Conference: the aims of Clemenceau, Lloyd George and Woodrow Wilson: the Fourteen Points

The main terms of the Treaty of Versailles: Diktat; territorial changes; military restrictions, war guilt and reparations

The strengths and weaknesses of the Treaty of Versailles: why Germany objected to it.

Key issue: Why did the League of Nations fail in its aim to keep peace?

Membership 1919–1939: why and how it changed; implications for the League of Nations Organisation, powers and peace keeping role: the Assembly; the Council; the Permanent Court of Justice; military and economic sanctions

The Manchurian Crisis 1931–1933: events; action taken by the League; effect on the League as a peace keeping force

The Abyssinian Crisis 1935–1936: events; action taken by the League; effect on the League as a peacekeeping force

The reasons for the collapse of the League.

Part 3: Hitler’s foreign policy and the origins of the Second World War
Key issue: How did Hitler challenge and exploit the Treaty of Versailles 1933–March 1938?

Hitler’s aims in foreign policy

The return of the Saar, 1935

The beginning of rearmament in Germany: withdrawal from the Disarmament Conference 1933; non-aggression

Pact with Poland 1934; reintroduction of conscription from 1935; Anglo-German Naval Agreement 1935

The remilitarisation of the Rhineland 1936

The Anschluss with Austria 1938.

Key issue: Why did Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement fail to prevent the outbreak of war in 1939?

Reasons for and against appeasement

The Sudeten Crisis and Munich Agreement, 1938

The collapse of Czechoslovakia March, 1939

The role of the USSR 1938–1939: the Nazi-Soviet Pact

Poland and the outbreak of war

Responsibility for the outbreak of war.

Part 4: The Origins of the Cold War 1945–1955
Key issue: Why did the USA and USSR become rivals in the years 1945–1949?

Ideological differences and their effects

The Yalta and Potsdam Conferences

The dropping of the atom bomb and its effects: Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The Iron Curtain: Soviet expansion in the East; Czechoslovakia, 1948

The Truman Doctrine: the situation in Greece and Turkey; the purpose of Truman Doctrine

The Marshall Plan: effect of Marshall Aid and the Soviet response; Cominform and Comecon; Yugoslavia

The Berlin Blockade and Airlift.

Key issue: How did the Cold War develop in the years 1949–1955?

The formation of NATO: its membership and purpose

The nuclear arms race: atom bomb; hydrogen bomb

The Korean War, 1950–1953: reasons for involvement of UN and USA; the role of MacArthur; the part played by USSR and China

The ‘Thaw’: death of Stalin; Austria; Khrushchev’s policy of peaceful co-existence

The formation of the Warsaw Pact: membership and purpose.

Part 5: Crises of the Cold War 1955–1970
Key issue: How peaceful was Peaceful Co-existence?

Hungary, 1956: causes of the rising, why it was a threat to the USSR and how the soviets dealt with it; the effects on Europe and the Cold War

The continuation of the nuclear arms/space race: Sputnik 1; ICBMs; Polaris; Gagarin; Apollo

The U2 Crisis 1960: the purpose of U2; the responses of the USA and the USSR to the crisis; the effect on the Paris Summit and the peace process

The situation in Berlin: the Berlin Wall; Kennedy’s response.

Key issue: How close to war was the world in the 1960s?

The nuclear deterrent: progress with nuclear disarmament; the space race in the 1960s

The Cuban Missile Crisis,1962: the effect of Castro’s seizure of power in Cuba; Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs; Khrushchev and the missile crisis of 1962; Kennedy’s response; the danger to the world; the results of the crisis; the effect on Kennedy and Khrushchev

Czechoslovakia, 1968: Dubcek and the Prague Spring; why it concerned the USSR and the Warsaw Pact and their response to it; the effects on East-West relations; the comparison with Hungary, 1956; the Brezhnev Doctrine.

Part 6: Failure of Détente and the collapse of communism 1970–1991
Key issue: Why did Détente collapse in the 1970s and 1980s?

The Soviet involvement in Afghanistan: reasons for Soviet involvement; reaction of President Carter and the USA to the war; progress of the war; the failure of SALT 2; the Olympic boycotts Reagan and the renewal of the Cold War: attitudes to communism; development of new weapons; SDI Solidarity in Poland: conditions in Poland; Lech Walesa; aims and suppression.

Key issue: Why did communism collapse in Central and Eastern Europe?

Soviet failure in Afghanistan and its political and economic effects on the USSR

Gorbachev and Reagan: changing attitudes: Glasnost and Perestroika; changes in domestic and foreign policy and their effects; the collapse of the USSR

The end of Soviet control in Eastern Europe: the success of Solidarity; the end of the Berlin Wall;

Czechoslovakia and Hungary; the fate of Gorbachev; the end of the Cold War.

3.2 Unit 2: Twentieth Century Depth Studies 40452 (Full Course)

Section A
From Tsardom to Communism: Russia, 1914–1924

Weimar Germany, 1919–1929

The Roaring 20s: USA, 1919–1929

Section B
Stalin’s Dictatorship: USSR, 1924–1941

Hitler’s Germany, 1929–1939

Depression and the New Deal : The USA, 1929–1941

Race Relations in the USA, 1955–1968

The USA and Vietnam : Failure Abroad and at Home, 1964–1975

Britain: The Challenge in Northern Ireland, 1960–1986

The Middle East, 1956–1979

From Tsardom to Communism: Russia, 1914–1924

Key issue: Why did the rule of the Tsar collapse in February/March 1917?

The government of Nicholas II in 1914; the nature of Russian society in 1914; the importance of traditional loyalties; the emergence of opposition groups

The impact of the First World War on Russia: initial patriotism; military defeats; effects on the cities such as food and fuel shortages; transport dislocation

The growing unpopularity of the Romanovs; the role of Rasputin; the Tsar’s abdication.

Key issue: Why were the Bolsheviks able to seize power in October/November 1917?

The problems facing the Provisional Government: sharing power with the soviets; the inherited economic situation; peasants and the land; political opposition; the war

Failures of the Provisional Government: continued defeats in the war and their effects on the Provisional Government at home

The growth of the Bolshevik organisation in summer/autumn 1917; the Bolshevik seizure of power.

Key issue: How successful was Lenin in creating a new society in Russia?

The initial establishment of totalitarian rule; the end of the First World War for Russia and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

The causes and nature of the Civil War, 1918–1921; reasons for and consequences of Bolshevik success; the creation of the USSR

Economic policies: War Communism and the New Economic Policy

The roles and achievements of Lenin and Trotsky.

2. Weimar Germany, 1919–1929
Key issue: How far do the early problems of the Weimar Republic suggest that it was doomed from the start?

The origins of the Weimar Republic; the armistice; the effects of the Treaty of Versailles

Political problems: the constitution and its consequences for government; political instability

Challenges to Weimar, 1919–1923: the Spartacists; attempted takeovers by the right-wing: the Freikorps;

Kapp Putsch; Munich Putsch

Economic problems leading to hyperinflation; the invasion of the Ruhr.

Key issue: How far did the Weimar Republic recover under Stresemann?

The role of Stresemann, as Chancellor and then Foreign Minister

The recovery of the economy: new currency; the Dawes and Young Plans

Developments in international relations: Locarno Pact, League of Nations, Kellogg-Briand Pact

The extent of recovery – politically, economically and culturally.

Key issue: How far did the Nazi Party develop its ideas and organisation up to 1929?

Early career of Hitler; German Workers’ Party under Drexler; early development of the Nazi Party

The Munich Putsch and its consequences; Mein Kampf

Decline in support in the Stresemann years; consolidation of Nazi organisation in the later 1920s.

3. The Roaring 20s: USA, 1918–1929
Key issue: How and why did the USA achieve prosperity in the 1920s?

Isolationism and its effects: American rejection of the Treaty of Versailles and refusal to join the League of

Nations; the consequences for the USA

Tariff policy: Fordney-McCumber Tariff of 1922

Mass production (e.g. Ford and the Motor industry); consumer industries and advertising

Hire Purchase; purchase of shares; the stock market boom; Republican Government policies

Developments in the entertainment industries, e.g. the cinema, Jazz.

Key issue: How far was the USA a divided society in the 1920s?

Rich versus poor: continuation of poverty for some – e.g. farmers

Race: immigration controls; the quota system of 1921; National Origins Act of 1924; the Ku Klux Klan and its activities

Prohibition: groups for and against it; organised crime; the impact on society

Young people: fashions, flappers.

Key issue: Why did the US Stock Exchange collapse in 1929?

The problems of the 1920s: over-production, lack of credit control; the effects of tariff policy; unequal distribution of wealth

The Wall Street Crash: events and immediate consequences.

Section B

4. Stalin’s Dictatorship: USSR, 1924–1941
Key issue: To what extent had Stalin become a personal dictator in Communist Russia by the end of the 1920s?

The death and funeral of Lenin; the background of Stalin and Trotsky; Lenin’s Testament

Stalin and Trotsky’s claims to power; how their policies differed

Communist rule in the later 1920s: government, censorship and propaganda

The power struggle between Stalin and Trotsky and other rivals in the 1920s; emergence of Stalin as sole ruler of the USSR.

Key issue: How did Stalin reinforce his dictatorship in the 1930s?

The control of the Communist Party over the government; the Constitution of 1936

The purges: the reasons for; the extent of; show trials; the Great Terror; the army; consequences

The cult of personality; censorship; propaganda; secret police; informers; labour camps.

Key issue: To what extent did Stalin make the USSR a great economic power?

The economic situation in the USSR in the late 1920s; the achievements of NEP; the need for economic growth

Collectivisation: the theory, the process and the results

Industrialisation: the Five-Year Plans; the growth of industry; economic, political and social consequences.

5. Hitler’s Germany, 1929–1939
Key issue: How and why was Hitler able to become Chancellor in January 1933?

The impact of the Wall Street Crash and Depression in Germany; growth in support for the Nazis and other extremist parties

The Weimar system of government and the failure of democracy; the elections of 1930 and 1932; invitation

to lead a coalition government, 1933; reactions among German people.

Key issue: How did Hitler change Germany from a democracy to a Nazi dictatorship, 1933–1934, and then reinforce this?

The Reichstag Fire; the election of March 1933; the Enabling Act

The elimination of political opposition: political parties, trade unions; the Night of the Long Knives; the death of Hindenburg; Hitler becomes Führer

One party law and order: SS and Gestapo; concentration camps; propaganda; censorship; the media; control of education; youth movements; control of the churches.

Key issue: To what extent did Germans benefit from Nazi rule in the 1930s?

Economic policy: increased employment through public works programmes, rearmament and conscription; self-sufficiency

Social policy: standards of living; promises to the German people; effects of Nazi policy on the lives of women; effects on culture

Racial persecution: the Jews and other alien groups, e.g. gypsies.

6. Depression and the New Deal: The USA, 1929–1941Key issue: How serious were the effects of the Depression on the American people?

The effects of the Wall Street Crash: the collapse of business and industry; unemployment and its effects

The attempts of Hoover’s government to deal with the depression; economic failure

The unpopularity of Hoover and the election of Roosevelt.

Key issue: How did Roosevelt deal with the Depression?

Roosevelt’s fireside chats; banking crisis; New Deal helping farmers, unemployed, home owners, workers, depressed areas

The main Alphabet Agencies: AAA, FERA, CWA, PWA, WPA, CCC and TVA

Helping industry: the NRA

The HOLC and the Social Security Act.

Key issue: How far was the New Deal successful in ending the Depression in the USA?

The effectiveness of the New Deal in achieving its aims; its limitations; the Second New Deal

Criticisms and opposition to the New Deal from the Supreme Court and some politicians

The impact of the Second World War on American economic recovery, 1939–1941: increase in US exports; policy of Lend-Lease; effects within USA.

7. Race Relations in the USA 1955–1968
Key issue: To what extent did racial inequality exist in the USA in the 1950s?

Segregation laws; attitudes in the Southern States; the Ku Klux Klan

Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955–1956

Brown versus Topeka Board of Education

Little Rock High School,1957

Living standards for African Americans.

Key issue: How effective were the methods used by members of the Civil Rights Movement between 1961–1968?

The Freedom Rides, 1961; Freedom Marches 1963

The Washington March, 1963

Black Power protests at the Mexico Olympics, 1968

The Black Power movement in the 1960s.

Key issue: How important was Martin Luther King in the fight for Civil Rights in the USA?

His role as a protest organiser, 1955–1963

The Civil Rights Act, 1964

Winning the Nobel Peace Prize, 1964

Race Riots, 1965–1967

The assassination of Martin Luther King.

8. The USA and Vietnam: Failure Abroad and at Home, 1964–1975
Key issue: How effective were guerrilla tactics during the Vietnam War?

The theory of Guerrilla warfare

Guerrilla tactics, 1964–1968

The US response to guerrilla tactics: Operation Rolling Thunder; ‘Hearts and Minds’; Agent Orange and Napalm; Search and Destroy

The My Lai Massacre, 1968.

Key issue: How did the coverage of the Vietnam War in the USA lead to demands for peace?

TV and media coverage of the war, from the Gulf of Tonkin to the evacuation of Saigon

Protest movements in the USA, 1968–1973

The public reaction to the My Lai Massacre, the trial of Lieutenant Calley

The Kent State University protest, 1970

The Fulbright Hearings, 1971.

Key issue: Why were the US actions to end the Vietnam War unsuccessful?

The Tet Offensive and its impact on the war, 1968

Attacks on Laos and Cambodia, 1970

US bombing of the North and attacks on Laos and Cambodie, 1970 –1972

The Paris Peace Conference and US withdrawal

The fall of Saigon, 1975.

9. Britain: The Challenge in Northern Ireland, 1960–1986
Key issue: How far did political and economic inequalities lead to the Troubles in the 1960s and 1970s?

Religious divisions

Political and economic equality in Northern Ireland; inequality in local and national government

Economic inequality in Northern Ireland

Prime Minister Terence O’Neill; North-South cooperation, 1965

The University of Ulster, Craigavon New Town, 1967

Civil rights marches, 1968–1969.

Key issue: Why was it difficult to find a solution to the Troubles in the 1960s and 1970s?

Civil rights marches, 1968 –1969

The British army in Northern Ireland, 1969; Internment 1970 –1971; Direct Rule, 1972

Bloody Sunday, 1972

Power-sharing, 1973

Terrorism; the Provisional IRA and UVF.

Key Issue: How far from peace was Ireland by the mid 1980s?

Sinn Fein and the SDLP

Hunger Strikes, 1980 –1981; the death of Bobby Sands

Mainland bombings: Harrods, 1983; the Grand Hotel Brighton, 1984

The Anglo-Irish Agreement, 1985

The abolition of the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1986.

10. The Middle East: 1956 –1979

Key issue: How far did the events of the years 1956 to 1967 show how difficult it was to find a solution to the problems in the Middle East?

The background to the problems in the Middle East

The Suez Crisis, 1956; the end of British influence

The founding of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), 1964

The Arab Summits, 1964 –1965

The Six Day War, 1967.

Key issue: How close to victory were the Arabs in the 1970s?

Hijackings, 1970–1972

The Munich Olympics, 1972

The Yom Kippur War, 1973

Oil wars and economic pressures, 1973

The PLO, 1974–1975; Yasser Arafat speaking at the UN Assembly, 1975.

Key issue: How close was the Middle East to peace by the end of the 1970s

The Israeli occupation and settlement of the West Bank and Gaza, 1977

President Sadat speaking to the Israeli Parliament, 1977

The Israeli invasion of the Lebanon, March 1978

The meeting at Camp David, September 1978

Signing of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, March 1979.

 3.3 Unit 3: Historical Enquiry 40453 (Full Course)

1. The British People in War
Britain at War

Britain and the Aftermath of War

The Changing Role and Status of Women since 1900

2. Britain at War
Key questions:

What differences were there in the methods of fighting in the different modes of warfare in the First World War and the Second World War?

Why were Britain and her allies victorious in the First World War and the Second World War?

War on Land in the First World War and the Second World War: trench warfare and the Western Front in the

First World War; Dunkirk, D-Day and their effects in the Second World War

War at Sea in the First World War and the Second World War

War in the Air in the First World War and the Second World War

New technology in warfare in the First World War: gas, tanks, machine gun, air power and their impact on the fighting

New technology in warfare in the Second World War: air power, naval power, tanks, blitzkrieg and their impact on the fighting.

3. Britain and the Aftermath of War
Key questions:

To what extent was the 1920s and 1930s a period of industrial unrest and economic depression?

How far did the reconstruction of Britain in the late 1940s and 1950s change Britain?

Britain in the 1920s and 1930s:

Economic problems resulting from the aftermath of war

The General Strike

Reasons for the Depression in Britain

‘Depressed Britain’ in the 1930s

‘Prosperous Britain’ in the 1930s

Government actions to deal with industrial unrest and economic depression.

Britain in the late 1940s and 1950s:

The Welfare State

Education

Nationalisation

Decline of Empire: India, the ‘Wind of Change’.

4. The Changing Role and Status of Women in Britain since 1900
Key questions:

How did women achieve a greater equality of status throughout the 20th Century?

What impact did the two world wars have on the status of women in Britain?

Position and status of women in Britain in 1900

Right to vote: suffragists and suffragettes, 1900–1914

The role of Women in the First World War and its impact

The role of Women in the Second World War and its impact

Post War legislation to promote equality for women

Position and status of women in Britain in 2000.

3.4 Unit 4: International Relations: Conflict and Peace in the 20th Century 40454

The GCSE History B examination takes place in June from 2010 onwards.  Students have to register with a local school or college to take the exam and pay the fees from their private funds. 

ASSIGNMENTS
There are 15 assignments, to be completed over a period of the course. 

THE EXAMINATION
The examination is made up of 3 parts:

Paper 1   37.5%, 1 hour 45 minutes

Paper 2  37.5%, 1 hour 45 minutes

Paper 3  25%, 1 hour 30 minutes

Paper 1- Conflict in the Modern World - Section A: International History - Section B: British History

Paper 2 -Depth Studies - Russia/USSR, 1914-1941 and Germany, 1918-1939.

Paper 3 - British History - The changing role and status of women in Britain since 1900 and World History, Vietnam since 1939.

The information on the examination is only an outline.  All the detailed information is contained in the Study Guide and Student Handbook.  All students are also provided with the 9 units which include the 53 study areas, each specifically designed to facilitate student learning.  In addition there is an assignment guide and an examination book to help with the GCSE if the student intends to take it in June after completing the course of study. 

Study Time
To complete this course it will take in the region of 100 study hours which can be spread over a 12 month period to suit the student.

Pre-requisites
No previous study is required to access any of our GCSE courses, but they do require basic literacy and numeracy skills.

Support and Benefits
Full tutor support is available via email by fully qualified professionals.

Exam Dates and Information
Exams are in June of each year and the latest dates for enrolment is December.

If you start your course after December then it is unlikely you can take your exam in June unless your tutor agrees and you can find a centre, they will require late registration fees.

Further Reading and Book List
AQA B GCSE Modern World History Spec by Step Guide

By Jim McCabe

Publisher: Philip Allan (31 Jul 2006) 

ISBN-10: 1844896579

ISBN-13: 978-1844896578

Qualifications
Learning at Home offers a range of GCSEs and all the course materials map to the very latest criteria laid down by the awarding bodies.
When you have taken your exams you will be awarded a grade which ranges from A – G with G being the lowest.

You will need to take GCSEs to progress onto A Levels and employers look for Maths and English as a minimum requirement for most jobs.

Taking Exams
Learning at Home in conjunction with the awarding body will give whatever help we can with examination information and finding an exam centre, but entering examinations is entirely the responsibility of the student, and the contract for sitting examinations is between the student and the exam centre. We are not an exam centre so you must read all the information in your course pack carefully and be prepared to travel to a centre which is willing to accept external candidates.

Funding
Learning at Home does not have access to any funding so if you require a subsidised course please contact your Learn Direct Centre.

Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Do your courses meet the latest syllabus changes?
A. yes, all our course materials meet any changes and will be updated free of charge if further changes are made.

Q. Why do I have to find a centre myself?
A. We have students all over the UK and Europe and it is impossible for us to arrange dates and times for individual students.

Q. What if I cannot find an examination centre?
A. If you wish to gain the qualification then be prepared to travel it is worth it!

Q. How much are exam fees?
A. These vary from centre to centre so you should check with them directly as we do not have access to the information.

Q. Are the courses paper based or on-line?
A. All our courses are paper based and come in attractive sturdy folders.

Q. How do I contact my tutor?
A. Tutors are all working Teachers or Lecturers so contact is by email only.

Q. Why can I not take my exams at when I have completed the course and have to wait?
A. Exams are taken at the same times as schools and colleges and are not flexible.

Q. I want to take my exams but there are only a few months to study, is this possible?
A. Depending on the time of year, it is sometimes impossible to complete your studies in a short space of time as your work has to be marked and checked. More importantly the examination boards have cut off times which are not flexible.