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  1. Home
  2. Subjects
  3. History
  4. AS History

AS History7041

SpecificationPlanning resourcesTeaching resourcesAssessment resourcesKey dates
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Specification at a glance
3.0 Subject content
Introduction
1A The Age of the Crusades, c1071–1149
1C The Tudors: England, 1485–1547
1D Stuart Britain and the Crisis of Monarchy, 1603–1649
1F Industrialisation and the People: Britain, c1783–1832
1G Challenge and Transformation: Britain, c1851–1914
1H Tsarist and Communist Russia, 1855–1917
1J The British Empire, c1857–1914
1K The Making of a Superpower: USA, 1865–1920
1L The Quest for Political Stability: Germany, 1871–1929
2A Royal Authority and the Angevin Kings, 1154–1189
2B The Wars of the Roses, 1450–1471
2D Religious Conflict and the Church in England, c1529–c1547
2E The English Revolution, 1625–1642
2G The Birth of the USA, 1760–1776
2J America: A Nation Divided, c1845–1861
2L Italy and Fascism, c1900–1926
2M Wars and Welfare: Britain in Transition, 1906–1929
2N Revolution and Dictatorship: Russia and the Soviet Union, 1917–1929
2O Democracy and Nazism: Germany, 1918–1933
2P The Transformation of China, 1936–1962
2Q The American Dream: Reality and Illusion, 1945–1963
2R The Cold War, c1945–1963
2S The Making of Modern Britain, 1951–1979
4.0 Scheme of assessment
5.0 General administration
History AS Specification

History AS Specification

14 Oct 2021

PDF | 504.85 KB

2Q The American Dream: Reality and Illusion, 1945–1963

This option provides for a study in depth of the challenges faced by the USA at home and abroad as it emerged from the Second World War as a Superpower. For many Americans, post-war prosperity realised the ‘American dream’ but the prosperity was not shared by all and significant problems at home and abroad challenged the extent to which the ‘American dream’ was a reality. It explores concepts and ideas such as American identity at home and abroad, anti-communism, social equality, ethnic identities and federal versus states’ rights. It also encourages students to reflect on the nature of democracy in a pluralist society, political protest and the power of the media.

Prosperity, Inequality and Superpower status, 1945–1963

Truman and Post-war America, 1945–1952

  • The United States in 1945 and the legacies of the world war: the powers of the presidency; the main political parties; post-war prosperity; regional, ethnic and social divisions
  • The USA as a Superpower: Truman’s character and policies; post-war peace making; the Cold War and ‘containment’ in Europe and Asia; the response to the rise of Communism in Asia
  • Truman and post-war reconstruction: the economy; political divisions and domestic problems; the rise of McCarthyism
  • African-Americans in North and South: the impact of the Second World War; campaigns for Civil Rights; the responses of the federal and state authorities

Eisenhower: tranquility and crisis, 1952–1960

  • The presidency: Eisenhower’s personality and the policies of ‘dynamic conservatism’; Nixon as Vice-President; the Republican Party; the end of McCarthyism
  • The growth of the American economy in the 1950s and the impact of the ‘consumer society’
  • The USA and the Cold War: Superpower rivalry and conflict with the USSR; responses to developments in Western and Eastern Europe; reactions to the rise of Communism in Asia; responses to crises in the Middle East
  • African-Americans in North and South: the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement; the policies and attitudes of the main political parties; the responses of the state and federal authorities

John F Kennedy and the 'New Frontier', 1960–1963

  • The presidential election of 1960 and reasons for Kennedy’s victory; the policies and personalities of the Kennedy administration; the ideas behind the ‘New Frontier’
  • Challenges to American power: the legacy of crises over Berlin and relations with Khrushchev; the challenge of Castro’s Cuba; deepening involvement in Vietnam
  • African-Americans in North and South: the rise of the Civil Rights Movement; the opponents of Civil Rights, including within the Democratic Party; Kennedy’s policies in response to the pressures for change
  • The United States by 1963: its position as a world power; economic prosperity; the growing pressures for social change from women and youth
2P The Transformation of China, 1936–1962
2R The Cold War, c1945–1963
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