Edexcel History C (SHP)

Paper 2 Exam

June 11th, 2008 - 1hr 40min

35% of your final mark

It’s worth more than both your courseworks put together!

Paper 2 is a case-study enquiry with a set of sources which assesses your

ability to use sources and develop your own arguments. Each year there
are set topics on Crime and Punishment which indicate the period and
context of the enquiry, however, the paper will not cover every aspect of
the topics nominated. You will be given about ten sources and need to
use these to answer eight questions. The tasks allow you to work through
the sources in carefully managed stages. Do the questions in numerical
order.

The nominated topics for 2008 are:

Law Enforcement and Protest 1900 to the present day

Conscientious objectors and their treatment: the First and

Second World Wars.

The Poll Tax protests 1990-92.

Responding to terrorism: the London bombing 2005.

Contents:

An interview with the chief examiner – You’d be a fool not to

read this!
Sources – A guide to the type of sources you can expect in the
paper
Questions – How the questions will look
Answers – What sort of answers the examiner will be looking for
 Online reading – Where you can build your background
knowledge

Produced by Dafydd Humphreys, May 2008

With thanks to the HT Discussion Forum
Students should register at www.learnhistory.org.uk/forum for more
resources.

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 Interview with the Chief Examiner

Q: What will be the focus of the exam?

A: The focus can be taken from the heading: It's about Protest and
Law enforcement (probably better in that order). So, key questions
might be:
What forms did the three protests take?
How have governments reacted to these challenges to the
authority of the state?
What impact did these protests have on law-making and law
enforcement?
The factual support expectation is not demanding. The first two
protests are reasonably covered in textbooks. For the 2005
bombings, the Home Office site:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/security/ will provide information in
the areas suggested above.

Q: Is there anything else students should consider?

A: They should consider these over-riding questions when revising
the topics and answering the questions:
Why do laws get made?
Why do attitudes change?
Why do some actions become crimes which weren’t before?
Why do other actions stop being crimes?
Think too, of the bigger picture – what type of government is in
charge? What social, economic, industrial and cultural changes are
taking place? Are there ground-breaking events at the time that
would affect events at home, e.g. the Russian Revolution, the
Great War, the ‘War on Terror’?

Q: What are the key features of conscientious objection

they need to know?
A: First World War: Conscription Act 1916 called up every male
between 18 and 41. But they were allowed right to object on
grounds of conscience. 14,000 did so – most on internationalist
socialist grounds, some religious pacifists. Each case heard by a
tribunal, but these were often hostile. Only 400 received
exemption. 6,000 sent on “work of national importance” 5,000
non-combatants, 2,600 rejected. But of these 13,600, 6000 refused
to fight or even to do “work of national importance”. They were
often harshly treated: imprisoned and put in solitary confinement.
Those sent to the army refused to wear uniform: this was a more
serious offence and punishments included fake firing squads.
Eventually the army realised they were wasting their time, but COs

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lost the right to vote for 5 years after the war. Later, in the Second
World War there were 59,000 COs, but they were better treated by
the authorities, if not by the general public.

Q: What is the big issue in this topic?

A: Has the state the right to make you fight/die/overrule your
principles?

Q: What about the Poll Tax protests?

A: The ‘Poll Tax’ (officially called “Community Charge”) was
introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government in
1988, who had been in power since 1979. Replaced rates with per
head (poll) charge. It was seen as regressive – taxing the poor
more than the rich. It was also difficult to collect as it was hard to
track down non-payers who moved around, like students.
It provoked the questions - How to protest? How should
democratically-elected govt react?
The Poll Tax was bitterly opposed – culminating in a big protest in
Trafalgar Square on the 31st of March 1990 – the numbers were far
bigger than planned. Police made mistakes – also protesters turned
violent. There were attacks on police, shops and cars. Selected
buildings were burnt. Also a campaign of non-violent protest:
people refused to pay & went to prison, including some councillors
and one MP, Terry Fields.
Thatcher resigned in November 1990 over refusal to withdraw the
Poll Tax. Tax was withdrawn in 1992. It’s estimated that over half
the population didn’t pay it.
Photos of the Poll Tax Riot on:
http://www.caliach.com/paulr/news/polltax/

Q: The July 7 bombings only happened in 2005 – what

should I learn for the exam?
A: 52 people + 4 bombers died, 700 injured in by bombs at three
tube stations and on a bus. It was a new kind of terrorism in
Britain: Suicide bombers – the first in Europe. Motives seem to
have been hostility to British closeness to US policy in the Middle
East, widely seen as anti-Muslim, especially the 2003 invasion of
Iraq, and continued support for Israel.
It prompted a crisis for the PM, Tony Blair - How should
government react?
Government reaction: New crimes: “Advocating terrorism. “
Heightened border security, armed police, right to deport, right to
hold suspects without trial extended. The reaction clashed with
1998 Human Rights Act.

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Home Office policy: Prevent, Pursue, Protect and Prepare. The
Home Office site has lots of material here:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/security/

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 Sources

There will be about ten sources which will be selected to highlight

the key focus of the exam. The sources will probably cover all three
of the nominated topics. There will be a broad selection of source
types, including written and pictorial.

There may be diary entries, letters, newpaper articles, cartoons,

photographs, song lyrics, poems, artifacts and extracts from
history books or even your school textbook!

Here are some examples of what to expect:

Source A: It was clear that millions just could not afford to pay
the poll tax. But pleading poverty would not defeat it. A mass
movement had to be organised and built and, above all,
effective support given to all those who refused to pay.
The Fed played the key role in this task and, at its height, had
over 2,000 anti-poll tax unions, trade union bodies and
community groups affiliated under its banner.
In the run-up to 31 March, tens of thousands lobbied local
councils, marched and attended meetings as councils, including
Labour councils, rolled over and began to implement the poll
tax. – Mark Wainwright, Militant Labour (Socialist Party)

Source B: 'Why should a duke pay more than a dustman? It is

only because we have been subjected to socialist ideas for the
last 50 years.’ – Secretary of the State for the Environment,
Nicholas Ridley, a leading member of Thatcher’s government.

Source C: Maggie said community charge

You better watch out the governments at large
You don’t fill it in £50 fine
So you better send it back in time
Don’t pay the poll tax
Stick it up her arse
“Don’t Pay the Poll Tax” by The Exploited, a punk rock band.

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 Source D: Bradford Telegraph and Argus, 1989
Source E: I showed the court I couldn’t afford the poll tax. I
could have paid £1 a week, but I wasn’t paying on principle.
They sent me down for three months. The council leader said I
was a stupid girl who needed a spanking.
When other prisoners being taken from the court heard what I
was in for, they started rocking the prison van, shouting, “Let
her out!” - Beccy Palmer, Poll tax prisoner

Source F: Often attack is the only effective form of defence

and, as a movement, we should not be ashamed or defensive
about these actions, we should be proud of those who did fight
back. - Danny Burns, “Poll Tax Rebellion”, 1992.

Source G: The very isolation gave me a strange sense of joy -

perhaps an expression of my combatant instinct! Now and
again, as I met men and women whose convictions were leading
them along the same unpopular course, came the feeling that
here was something worth doing, that we must somehow hang
on to this foundation of truth and sanity we had discovered. For
an individual to attempt to resist the power of the state would
be a tremendous venture. – Conscientious objector Harry
Stanton, talking of his experiences during WWI.

Source H: Just before the trials, a captain told Alfred that his
papers were marked 'Death': was he going to continue to resist?
Alfred said, 'Yes. Men are dying in agony in the trenches for the
things that they believe in and I wouldn't be less than them.' To
Alfred's astonishment, 'he stepped back and saluted me, then
shook my hand.' – From the Peace Pledge Union website,
describing the experience of Alfred Evans in WWI

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Source I: 'For refusing to be a soldier I am told I may have to
forfeit my life. I cannot understand it. I thought the days of
religious persecution were over, and that an Englishman could
hold and express his convictions.' – The statement of Croydon-
born Mark Hayler (26), a Quaker, at his court-martial in WWI

Source J: 'It was a useless and exasperating effort to attempt to

force such people to act in a manner contrary to their
principles.' If the principles were 'conscientiously held, we desire
that they should be respected, and that there should be no
persecution'. – Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain talking about
conscientious objection during the Second World War.
Chamberlain was PM when war broke out in 1939, but was
replaced by Winston Churchill in 1940.

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Source K: "The purpose of terrorism is not only to kill and maim
the innocent; it is to put despair and anger in people's hearts. It
is by its savagery designed to cover all conventional politics in
darkness, to overwhelm the dignity of democracy and proper
process with the impact of bloodshed and of terror. There is no
hope in terrorism, nor any future in it worth living. And it is hope
that is the alternative to this hatred." – Prime Minister Tony Blair,
speaking to the press on July 8th, 2005.

• Acts Preparatory to Terrorism

This aims to capture those planning serious acts of
terrorism.
• Encouragement to Terrorism
This makes it a criminal offence to directly or indirectly
incite or encourage others to commit acts of terrorism.
This will include the glorification of terrorism, where this
may be understood as encouraging the emulation of
terrorism.
• Dissemination of Terrorist Publications
This will cover the sale, loan, or other dissemination of
terrorist publications. This will include those publications
that encourage terrorism, and those that provide
assistance to terrorists.
• Terrorist training offences
This makes sure that anyone who gives or receives
training in terrorist techniques can be prosecuted. The Act
also criminalises attendance at a place of terrorist
training.

Source L: New criminal offences created under the Terrorism

Act, 2006

Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn - one of the leading rebels against the

terror laws - branded the glorification ban "absurd".

"The legislation is misguided and the whole concept of

glorification is frankly absurd and will end up entrapping the
innocent and preventing legitimate debate.

"What some would call a freedom fight going on in another

country others might term a terrorist offence.

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"Nelson Mandela was branded a terrorist by Margaret Thatcher;
he was later branded a freedom fighter," he said.

Source M: From The Guardian newspaper, April 13th, 2006.

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 Questions

These are the sort of questions you will get:

1) Study Sources G and I. (4

marks)
What can you learn from sources G and I about why people
objected to war in 1914?

2) Study Source A and use your own knowledge (7

marks)
Why did a huge protest take place in London on March 31st
1990? Explain your answer using your own knowledge and
Source A

3) Study Source B (6 marks)

How can you tell that Ridley was against the protest?
Explain your answer, using Source B.

4) Study Sources B, D and E. (7

marks)
How far do Sources D and E disagree with what Ridley says
in Source B about the community charge? Explain your
answer using Sources B, D and E.

5) Study Source M and use your own knowledge

(8 marks)
Why did the Blair government find public reaction to its
Terrorism Act unpopular in places? Explain your answer
using your own knowledge and Source M.

6) Study Sources C and F. (7 marks)

Compare the value of Sources C and F for someone
enquiring into what happened at Trafalgar Square in 1990.
Explain your answer, using Sources C and F.

7) Study Sources G, H and J. (9

marks)
How far can we rely on the evidence in source J about
Chamberlain’s reasons for not judging COs harshly in the
Second World War? Explain your answer, using Sources G,
H and J.

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8) Study Sources B, J, M and use your own knowledge.
(12 marks)
Do you think that governments ever listen to protestors?
Explain your answer, using your own knowledge, Sources B,
J and M and any other sources you may find helpful.

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 Answering the Questions

The role of recalled information in Paper 2

In preparing for Paper 2, you need to know the key issues of the
period or topic, but it is more important you can show the skills
and abilities to interpret, analyse and evaluate source material
rather than you have a great depth of detail about the nominated
topic.
No question will rely solely on recalled information, but two or
three of them will require need you to use your knowledge
together with the sources material.

Question types and targets in paper 2

• Comprehension and inference: For example: What can you

learn from these sources about…?
This is the first question and serves as an introduction to the topic.
You simply have to tell the examiner what it shows and infer as to
what it suggests about the topic you don’t need to say what
cannot be learned or look at the source’s reliability or bias.

• Analysis of sources: For example:

How can you tell that source … sympathises with / is against…?;
In what ways does source…try to persuade …that..?
Here you need to comment on specific words and phrases and look
at what the source tells you or doesn’t tell you and how it does this
so you can show the point of view or purpose of the author.

• Comprehension of sources and use of own knowledge: For

example:
Explain why...using the source and your own knowledge;
Use the source(s) and your own knowledge to explain how ...
changed;
What part did ... play in...? Use the source(s) and your own
knowledge to explain your answer.
To do well here you need to use both of the material in the source
and of your own knowledge. Many students lose marks because
they concentrating on one or the other. To achieve the highest
levels three your answer needs to use both the relevant materials
from the sources and your own knowledge, it also needs you to
focus on exactly what the question wants you to explain.
So for example a 'why' question needs you to show how their
material explains an outcome or event.

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 • Evaluation of reliability or utility: For example:
How useful are… to the historian studying…
Compare the value of sources … to;
Do you think the statement …in source …is reliable? Etc.
A good approach to these questions looks at the nature of the
evidence and what the question asks you to explain. You will
explain how useful the source/s are by considering what the source
says in the light of its origin (who made it) and purpose (why they
made it) and in relation to what it is we are trying to find out. Don’t
waste time explaining in detail what the source says, or be over–
influenced by whether it is primary or secondary. However, it is
essential that you use the details of the caption in preparing your
answer.

• Analysis, evaluation of interpretations and representations:

For example:
How are …portrayed in …;
How accurately does the author portray the…;
Do you agree with the view that…;
Why is it difficult to find out whether…?
These types of question need you be able to understand the nature
and process of historical enquiry and the nature of representations
(eg looking at cartoons, paintings, novels) and the nature and
status of interpretations of history. Understanding that historians
reach conclusions based on evidence and that evidence is open to
interpretation, is the key here;
You need to appreciate the difficulties involved in dealing with gaps
in evidence, in selecting from available evidence etc.
These allow you to explore the accuracy or nature of portrayals
and representations in carton or novels, for example, or to assess
the fairness of judgements about individuals

• Cross – referencing: This tests your ability to use more than

one source, comparing what they suggest or tell you about a
given topic. For example:
Does source Y support / challenge … in source Z?;
How does source Y help you understand … in source Z;
Does source Y suggest that … in source Z is accurate?
You need to carefully use both sources and show clearly that you
can explain what the question is testing. The common reason for
losing marks is that you don’t explain exactly how they support
each other or disagree. Explain exactly!
An answer that begins ‘it supports it because source Y says’ might
only answer half the task. To get higher levels, you need to

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consider the reliability, usefulness of the evidence as well as what
is said.

• Reaching conclusions: For example:

Do you think that …was the most important factor in
How important was…in…
Do you agree that…? Use sources…and your own
knowledge to explain you answer.
This is normally the last question and uses all of the evidence from
the sources. You need to use material from two or more sources
and your own knowledge to support your answer.
To score the higher levels you need to show developed cross–
referencing, reasoning and argument. The best answers will be in
essay form focussing on the question, rather than rehearsing the
content of the sources in detail. You must refer to the sources to
answer the question and use your subject knowledge to support
your answer.

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 Online Reading: Links

Conscientious Objectors
http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/infodocs/cos/st_co_wwtwo.html
– Conscientious objection in WWII
http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/infodocs/cos/st_co_wwone.html
– Conscientious Objection in WWI
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/conscientious_objectors.htm
- school history website
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWco.htm
- Spartacus entry on WWII Cos
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/categories/c1173/
- People’s first-hand recollections of WWII

Poll Tax Protests

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poll_Tax_Riots
- Wikipedia entry
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/31/newsid_25300
00/2530763.stm
- BBC ‘On this day’ looks back at the riot
http://www.militant.org.uk/PollTax.html
- The Socialist Party looks back at its role in the protests

Responses to July 7th Bombings

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/security/terrorism-and-the-
law/terrorism-act-2006/?view=Standard
- Terrorism Act 2006
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/uksecurity
- Articles in liberal newspaper ‘The Guardian’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2005/london_explosions/def
ault.stm
- BBC website about the bombings

All topics
http://learnhistory.org.uk/forum/
- register to access revision notes and video documentaries etc

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 Produced May 2008 with thanks to the History Teachers Discussion Forum and
Dave Wallbanks in particular for some of the question guides and Dan Moorhouse
for the interview with Chris Culpin, chief examiner.

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