Cambridge International AS & A Level

HISTORY 9489/43
Paper 4 Depth Study October/November 2023
MARK SCHEME
Maximum Mark: 60

Published

This mark scheme is published as an aid to teachers and candidates, to indicate the requirements of the
examination. It shows the basis on which Examiners were instructed to award marks. It does not indicate the
details of the discussions that took place at an Examiners’ meeting before marking began, which would have
considered the acceptability of alternative answers.

Mark schemes should be read in conjunction with the question paper and the Principal Examiner Report for
Teachers.

Cambridge International will not enter into discussions about these mark schemes.

Cambridge International is publishing the mark schemes for the October/November 2023 series for most
Cambridge IGCSE, Cambridge International A and AS Level components, and some Cambridge O Level
components.

This document consists of 18 printed pages.

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Generic Marking Principles

These general marking principles must be applied by all examiners when marking candidate answers.
They should be applied alongside the specific content of the mark scheme or generic level descriptors
for a question. Each question paper and mark scheme will also comply with these marking principles.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 1:

Marks must be awarded in line with:

• the specific content of the mark scheme or the generic level descriptors for the question
• the specific skills defined in the mark scheme or in the generic level descriptors for the question
• the standard of response required by a candidate as exemplified by the standardisation scripts.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 2:

Marks awarded are always whole marks (not half marks, or other fractions).

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 3:

Marks must be awarded positively:

• marks are awarded for correct/valid answers, as defined in the mark scheme. However, credit
is given for valid answers which go beyond the scope of the syllabus and mark scheme,
referring to your Team Leader as appropriate
• marks are awarded when candidates clearly demonstrate what they know and can do
• marks are not deducted for errors
• marks are not deducted for omissions
• answers should only be judged on the quality of spelling, punctuation and grammar when these
features are specifically assessed by the question as indicated by the mark scheme. The
meaning, however, should be unambiguous.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 4:

Rules must be applied consistently, e.g. in situations where candidates have not followed
instructions or in the application of generic level descriptors.

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 5:

Marks should be awarded using the full range of marks defined in the mark scheme for the question
(however; the use of the full mark range may be limited according to the quality of the candidate
responses seen).

GENERIC MARKING PRINCIPLE 6:

Marks awarded are based solely on the requirements as defined in the mark scheme. Marks should
not be awarded with grade thresholds or grade descriptors in mind.

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AO2 – Demonstrate an understanding of the past through explanation, analysis and a

substantiated judgement of key concepts: causation, consequence, continuity, change and
significance within an historical context, the relationships between key features and
characteristics of the periods studied.

This mark scheme assesses the quality of analysis demonstrated in addressing the
question.

Level 5 Answers demonstrate a full understanding of the question, are balanced and 13–15
analytical.
Answers:
• establish valid and wide-ranging criteria for assessing the question
• are consistently analytical of the key features and characteristics of the period
• provide a focused, balanced argument with a sustained line of reasoning
throughout
• reach a clear and sustained judgement.

Level 4 Answers demonstrate a good understanding of the question, and are mostly 10–12
analytical.
Answers:
• establish valid criteria for assessing the question
• are analytical of the key features and characteristics of the period, but
treatment of points may be uneven
• attempt to provide a balanced argument, but may lack coherence and precision
in some places
• reach a supported judgement, although some of the evaluations may be only
partly substantiated.

Level 3 Answers demonstrate an understanding of the question and contain some 7–9
analysis. Argument lacks balance.
Answers:
• show attempts at establishing criteria for assessing the question
• show some analysis of the key features and characteristics of the period, but
may also contain descriptive passages
• provide an argument but lacks balance, coherence and precision
• begin to form a judgement although with weak substantiation.

Level 2 Answers demonstrate some understanding of the question and are 4–6
descriptive.
Answers:
• attempt to establish criteria for assessing the question but these may be
implicit
• show limited analysis of the key features and characteristics of the period, and
contain descriptive passages that are not always clearly related to the focus of
the question
• make an attempt at proving an argument, but this is done inconsistently and/or
may be unrelated to the focus of the question
• make an assertion rather than a judgement.

Level 1 Answers address the topic, but not the question. 1–3
Answers:
• focus on the topic rather than the question
• lack analysis or an argument
• lack a relevant judgement.

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Level 0 No creditable content. 0

AO1 – Recall, select and deploy historical knowledge appropriately and effectively.

This mark scheme assesses the quality and depth of knowledge deployed to support the
argument made.

Level 5 Answers demonstrate a high level of relevant detail. 13–15

Supporting material:
• is carefully selected
• is fully focused on supporting the argument
• is wide-ranging
• is consistently precise and accurate.

Level 4 Answers demonstrate a good level of relevant supporting detail. 10–12

Supporting material:
• is selected appropriately
• is mostly focused on supporting the argument
• covers a range of points but the depth may be uneven
• is mostly precise and accurate.

Level 3 Answers demonstrate an adequate level of supporting detail. 7–9

Supporting material:
• is mostly appropriately selected
• may not fully support the points being made, may be descriptive in places
• covers a narrow range of points
• occasionally lacks precision and accuracy in places.

Level 2 Answers demonstrate some relevant supporting detail. 4–6

Supporting material:
• is presented as a narrative
• is not directly linked to the argument
• is limited in range and depth
• frequently lacks precision and accuracy.

Level 1 Answers demonstrate limited knowledge of the topic. 1–3

Supporting material:
• has limited relevance to the argument
• is inaccurate or vague.

Level 0 No creditable content. 0

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Annotation symbols

ID ID Valid point identified

EXP Explanation (an explained valid point)

Tick Detail/evidence is used to support the point

Plus Balanced – Considers the other view

? Unclear

AN Analysis

^ Unsupported assertion

K Knowledge

EVAL Evaluation

NAR Lengthy narrative that is not answering the question

Extendable Use with other annotations to show extended issues

Wavy Line or narrative

N/A Highlighter Highlight a section of text

N/A On-page Allows comments to be entered in speech bubbles

comment on the candidate response.

Using the annotations

• Annotate using the symbols above as you read through the script.

• At the end of each question write a short on-page comment:

– be positive – say what the candidate has done, rather than what they have not
– reference the attributes of the level descriptor you are awarding (i.e. make sure your
comment matches the mark you have given)

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Question Answer Marks

1 ‘The Acerbo Law was the most important tactic used by Mussolini to 30
establish a dictatorship by 1925.’ Discuss.

Discussion of the Acerbo Law may consider how, in November 1922,

Mussolini won a vote of confidence in Parliament by 306 to 116 and was
given the right to rule by decree for a twelve-month period. Only Socialists
and Communists opposed this motion. He had justified this demand by
arguing that exceptional measures were required to restore law and order. In
1923, the Acerbo Law was passed. This was put into practice in 1924. The
party winning the most votes in an election (if at least 25% of all votes) would
now gain 66% of the seats. In the 1924 elections, the Fascists increased their
representation from 35 to 374.

Alternative lines of argument may consider the importance of the ras,

particularly in rural areas. Corruption was also widespread, with Fascists
sometimes being allowed to vote more than once. The murder of Matteotti led
to the Aventine Secession, when Anti-Fascist MPs walked out of parliament in
protest against Fascist violence, hoping that the king would encourage the
king to sack Mussolini, but he refused. The role of the king’s acquiescence in
the creation of a dictatorship is also a valid factor – as is the repression
employed in the form of arrests of opponents which followed. Mussolini further
strengthened his position by introducing press censorship. Candidates may
also consider how, by1926, the last opposition newspapers had been
suppressed. Also, from 1924, the radio network was state run and in 1924 the
government created LUCE to produced documentaries glorifying Mussolini.
Candidates may also discuss the Law on Powers of Head of Government
which gave Mussolini great executive powers.

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Question Answer Marks

2 Evaluate the impact of industrialisation on the Russian people. 30

Discussion of a positive impact may include how the urban working classes
were often enthusiastic about the changes and were prepared to make
sacrifices to build a better society. Workers believed that their lives would be
improved as a result. The development of a proletarian intelligentsia of
technical specialists allowed for those with the necessary skills to improve
their position, particularly when wage differentials were introduced. Similarly,
those who followed labour discipline could do well in the 1930s. There was
training and education and those who could access it were able to improve
their prospects of promotion, with higher pay and between working conditions.

Discussion of a negative impact may consider how there was a great demand
for labour, which led to 10 million women joining the workforce and millions of
peasants, forced from the land by collectivisation, moved to cities. This led to
the so-called ‘quicksand society’, which saw a high turnover of labour as
workers moved constantly in search of better pay and conditions. The First
Five Year Plan in particular paid little attention to living standards and the
production of consumer goods. Rationing and long queues at shops with very
limited products on offer were common features of life. The ‘three good years’
under the Second Five Year Plan did see more food and consumer goods
made available, but these improvements were not sustained. The rapid
growth of urban areas meant that living conditions were often appalling,
lacking sufficient sanitation, and housing stock. There was often over-
crowding, disease, and squalor. Workers often lived in barracks. Living
conditions often varied according to status. To control the movement of
workers and to instil the necessary discipline in former peasants unused to
regular hours, workers were subjected to severe discipline. Absenteeism and
leaving a job without permission led to strict punishments. Internal passports
and labour books were issued to monitor and control workers further.

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Question Answer Marks

3 Assess the extent to which Nazi economic policies had achieved their 30
objectives by 1941.

The broad aims of Hitler’s economic policies can be divided into recovery from
the Great Depression, and particularly to tackle unemployment, and to rearm
and prepare for an inevitable future war. In 1932, there were almost 6 million
Germans who were unemployed. By 1939, only 35 000 of 25 million male
workers were officially classed as unemployed. Investment in the economy
through deficit financing had allowed for the building of massive public works
programmes, most notably building an autobahn network. Rearmament also
led to decreased unemployment, by conscripting men into the army and
through creating demand for heavy industry and stimulating increased factory
production.

However, some methods undermined the extent of this economic ‘miracle’

somewhat. Part-time workers were now counted as fully employed, women
were often forced out of their jobs, as were members of minority groups such
as Jews. Mandatory work service in the RAD (400 000 in 1934) at low rates of
pay was also used to create employment. This success also came at a cost,
as average working hours increased from 43 in 1933 to 47 in 1939, while real
wages had fallen by 1936. The increasing focus on rearmament meant that
living standards were squeezed and many Germans failed to benefit. The
turning point was in 1936 when the Four-Year Plan was introduced, aiming at
autarky and readiness for war by 1940. Autarky was not achieved by 1939
when war broke out. Germany was still heavily dependent on foreign imports
for materials such as iron ore, oil and rubber. Output in various areas failed to
meet the ambitious targets set out in the Four-Year Plan. From 1939 to 1941,
Blitzkrieg tactics allowed the rapid advance of German armed forces, meaning
that foreign countries could be plundered for their resources.

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Question Answer Marks

4 Analyse the reasons why the policy of appeasement received support in 30

Britain during the 1930s.

Discussion about support for appeasement may include the memories of the
carnage of World War I which were vivid among decision makers and the
general public alike and there was a determination to avoid future conflict at
all costs. This was enhanced by the fact that the capacity for aerial
bombardment had increased and the use of poison gas on the civilian
population was considered likely. Responses may use examples such as the
Oxford Union debate and Peace Ballot to indicate a high level of pacifism and
support for disarmament. Britain was also in no position to fight and required
more time to complete rearmament. This was necessary because there was
growing doubt about whether the British Empire and Commonwealth states
would support a war against Germany. There was some sympathy for
Germany’s position in relation to the Treaty of Versailles, which many felt had
been unfair on Germany and was not worthy of further conflict. Nazi Germany
was also seen as a bulwark against Communism spreading from the East and
so an increasingly strong Germany in the centre of Europe was welcomed by
many.

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Question Answer Marks

5 Analyse why women experienced social and economic inequality in the 30

late 1940s and 1950s.

Reasons for inequality may include economic factors. As post war prosperity
involved far more jobs than had been the case in the Depression years and
there was a widespread feeling that men should have priority and that
competitiveness in the economy depended on low-cost labour costs which
meant lower wages for women. The growth of suburbs and consumerism also
tended to encourage attitudes that reinforced social and economic inequality
with more emphasis on the home and women’s role in bringing up children
while husbands had further to commute to work and an extended working
day. Political factors were also likely to encourage inequality because there
was little appetite in either party for legislation for social and economic
equality and feminists found it difficult at national and local level to find
political representation. Cold War conservatism also equated demands for
social and economic equality with subversion. Social attitudes with the return
to normalcy after the war was also often associated with an end to the
opportunities that the war had given women. The growth of suburbs and the
portrayal of women in advertising and in media and films also tended to
reinforce social stereotypes. Racial attitudes also meant that women of colour
and ethnic minority women suffered from assumptions about the place of
women in society. Male domination culture was often strong within Black,
Asian and Latin-American communities as well as in many white groups.

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Question Answer Marks

6 Assess the impact of the Vietnam War on party politics in the 1960s and 30
1970s.

Kennedy and Johnson were under pressure not to appear to be giving in to

aggression. But there was increasing concern by Democrats about the war
and the way it was being waged. The war in Vietnam deeply split the
Democratic Party. The war alienated many blue-collar Democrats, many of
whom became political independents or Republicans. Many former party
supporters viewed the party as dominated by its anti-war faction, weak in the
area of foreign policy, and uncertain about America's proper role in the world.
It could be argued that the war was not the only divisive issue – concern
about economic issues and affirmative action and social unrest also put
pressure on the party. The war drew the Democrats away from a key element
in their policies, as resources for the Great Society were diverted. It also
prevented the reforms attracting many previous and potential supporters who
were alienated by the war. There is a view that political conflict over the
Vietnam War helped to bring together different elements on the American
right into a cohesive movement and was important in bringing Nixon and then
Ronald Reagan to power. The protest movements and the activities of
demonstrators and the New Left brought together many conservatives. The
disapproval of unpatriotic criticism was combined with concerns about the
Great Society extension of federal power and the concessions to Civil Rights.
Given Nixon’s efforts to end the war, it might be argued that other factors
were more significant, though Nixon was portrayed as having to deal with
mismanagement of the war by Johnson. The war put Johnson under strain as
he feared a revival of attacks on the Democrats in the 1950s for losing China
and he also feared that conservative attacks on foreign policy might underline
his all-important domestic agenda. Therefore, the war brought more complex
problems for the Democrats. Though this should have been true of the
Republicans, Nixon managed to avoid doing harm to party unity by pulling out
and instead Watergate and personal feelings became the key issue.
Assessment might weigh the impact of the war against other factors which
affected party politics, but the main thrust of the question is Vietnam and other
issues should be compared with that.

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Question Answer Marks

7 Assess the political importance of the Iran-Contra Affair. 30

The Iran-Contra affair had the potential to be politically devastating for

Reagan. It involved an exchange of weapons for hostages. In return for being
able to buy anti-tank missiles, Iran worked for release of American hostages
being released from captivity by groups in Lebanon. The money from the
sales was then used to fund the Contra anti-communist guerrillas fighting
against the Marxist government in Nicaragua. All the elements involved
seemed to show a foreign policy that was out of control by Congress,
delivered by figures like Colonel Oliver North rather than usual diplomatic
personnel and having little concern for normal ethics. Reagan had committed
to not negotiating with terrorists and hostage-takers. Congress had explicitly
placed an embargo on weapons sales to Iran. In addition, the Boland
amendment had limited assistance to the Contras. The evidence of their
torture and murder of civilians raised ethical and human rights issues as well
as issues of US undermining governments and pushing influence in Latin
America that seemed more redolent of earlier policies. The key political point
as that the administration was seeming to act illegally. The way that
information about these activities emerged through investigative reporters
seemed to show a lack of openness. A major political issue was the
presidential style of Reagan. While he concerned himself with broad brush
strategies, he seemed to be content to allow subordinates a high degree of
attitude, which his opponents claimed showed that he was out of control –
something that resonated with criticisms of Nixon earlier. An important point
was that all this put Reagan in a position where he might have been
impeached. However, there was a gap between the theoretical importance of
the issues raised by the affair and the actual political consequences. Reagan
claimed that though he had condoned the measures to free hostages – which
seemed a valid humanitarian concern and a better way forward than
attempted military action, he did not know about the more contentious
diverting of money to Nicaragua. The public was not faced with a foreign
policy which involved dangerous military commitment or loss of US military
and were relatively indifferent to the issues. Reagan rode the storm and there
was more interest in domestic policy. Answers should analyse the political
issues rather than merely describing events and could consider why the affair
did not have the major consequences for Reagan that might have been
expected.

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Question Answer Marks

8 ‘The US was responsible for the onset of the Second Cold War.’ 30
Discuss.

During the 1970s here were special circumstances which led to an easing of
tensions. The US faced a reaction to the failure in Vietnam and a
preoccupation with domestic issues. The USSR faced economic problems
and it suited both sides to pursue détente – Helsinki in 1975 and the SALT
talks to affirm the territorial status quo and to limited weapons to ease
economic pressures. However, there remained issues beneath the surface.
Both sides supported covert operations, spying and supported paramilitary
groups in Africa and South America. So, a proxy Cold War continued. So did
Cold War fears. Concerns about Soviet military strength led to Carter
increasing military expenditure and within both the US and USSRs
government there were hardliners. A key event which prompted these
tensions to become more open and to undermine détente and bring about a
so called Second Cold War was the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in
December 1979. This seemed redolent of interventions in eastern Europe
which had stoked the first Cold War and gave rise to strategic anxieties about
Soviet ambitions in Asia. It led to a US blockade and a boycott of the 1980
Olympics.

The rise of the right and the election of Reagan who took a more distinct
ideological stance than his predecessors, bolstered by Thatcher and
determined to overcome the isolationism of the post-Vietnam period. Anti-
Soviet rhetoric, support for Afghan resistance and increases in military
spending fuelled the breakdown in relations. The Soviet leaders were
veterans of the Cold War era with an inherited distrust of the US. Reagan’s
rhetoric was redolent of the Truman era with predictions that Marxism would
collapse and accusations that the ‘evil empire’ was stifling freedom. Soviet
leaders accused him of ‘lunatic anti-Communism’ As with the First Cold War,
ideological rhetoric boosted by British support and fears of expansion led to
arms increases. Arms spending increased in the US by $130b. Pershing II
missiles were placed in Germany and the Strategic Defence Initiative brought
about a new era in technological defence weaponry. The massive spending –
some $100 billion was a major factor in stoking Soviet fears and intensifying
the Second Cold War. It was a war launched by the US arguably with the
explicit intention of winning a victory over a declining USSR tied up in
Afghanistan and with a declining economy unable to sustain a competition
with high tech weapons – not merely containing. The shooting down of a
South Korean airliner in 1983 seemed to suggest that the USSR was a
ruthless regime careless of human life but its avoidance of war in the 1980s
when faced with seeming missile strikes from the US seems to confirm that
they did not want to push the Second Cold War to the limit. For Reagan and
Thatcher, repression in the USSR and the satellites, the maintenance of the
Berlin Wall and the invasion of Afghanistan, together with the arsenal of
weapons and the spying and covert activities were justification; however, the
moves towards greater armaments and the distinct aim of pressuring the
USSR to a point to which it could collapse might indicate US responsibility for
a dangerous move away from the 1970s policies driven by a distinct political
agenda and recovery from post-Vietnam weakness.

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Question Answer Marks

9 Assess how far the policy of détente (1963–79) resulted from the 30
superpowers’ fear of nuclear war.

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 had increased public fear of nuclear war.
The issue of Mutually Assured Destruction was also a factor as each side had
believed that the other would not launch a first strike and now they were not
sure. Towards the end of the 1960s there was a clear easing of US-Soviet
tension as both acknowledged the need for negotiation and compromise.
However, to the Soviets, détente did not mean an end to competition with the
United States but an agreement not to escalate the competition to dangerous
levels. Their goal was still global socialism but they wanted to avoid direct
confrontation which may result in nuclear war. Improved communication did
lead to arms reduction summits, the signing of anti-nuclear proliferation
agreements and a reduction in nuclear arms stockpiles. Pressure groups like
the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and Greenpeace lobbied nuclear
powers against the further production and proliferation of nuclear weapons. In
July 1968, the United States, USSR and Britain signed the Non-Proliferation
Treaty, an international agreement to limit the spread of nuclear weapons and
work towards nuclear disarmament. In August 1975, the United States, USSR
and 33 other nations signed the Helsinki Accords aimed at enhancing
relations between communist nations and the West. Both sides agreed to
recognise the current borders of European countries, to respect human rights
and freedoms in their countries and to help each other economically and
technologically. The SALT talks in 1972 and 1979 outlawed the production of
biological weapons and limited the numbers of ballistic missiles. The Space
Race also ended with the launching of the joint American-Soviet space
mission, the Apollo-Soyuz project in 1975.

However, a change of leadership in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Richard
Nixon in the United States and Leonid Brezhnev in the USSR, brought more
pragmatic politicians to power; they had domestic issues to contend with and
the arms race was expensive. The United States was spending billions of
dollars on the Vietnam War which faced great opposition from the American
people. The OPEC oil embargo of 1973 also hit its economy badly. The
Watergate Scandal, resulting in Nixon’s resignation, also distracted the United
States from foreign affairs. The USSR was preoccupied with economic
problems, such as falling crop yields, internal opposition and problems within
the Soviet bloc. Economic changes and conditions made arms spending and
direct confrontation costly, dangerous and unpopular and resulted in the
United States and USSR choosing negotiation rather than confrontation. The
USSR also wanted to increase its trade with the West and was concerned
about US improved relations with China. By 1967, Moscow and Beijing were
barely communicating. In 1969, border clashes between Russian and Chinese
soldiers threatened to plunge the two nuclear powers into a full-scale war. The
United States saw advantages in perpetuating the Sino-Soviet split and in
1972 Nixon visited the PRC and met Mao Zedong leading to the restoration of
diplomatic relations between Beijing and Washington. The USSR feared a
US-China alliance. In May 1972, Nixon visited Moscow, met with Brezhnev
and signed trade agreements and two treaties to reduce arms manufacture.
However, the United States reacted strongly to the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan in December 1979 and Carter asked the Senate to postpone
action on the SALT II nuclear weapons treaty.

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Question Answer Marks

10 Assess the extent to which the policy of containment was the reason for 30
the United States’ growing involvement in Vietnam.

After the Viet Minh won a decisive victory at Dien Bien Phu in May 1954,
France surrendered, and the Geneva Accords called for dividing Vietnam in
half at the seventeenth parallel. Elections were never held, and the country
remained divided with North Vietnam becoming a communist republic led by
Ho Chi Minh while South Vietnam was a capitalist republic led by Ngo Dinh
Diem. President Eisenhower referred to the Domino Theory in April 1954
believing it would be a disaster if IndoChina fell to communism. From 1958
the South came under increasing attack from communists based in South
Vietnam who in 1960 formed the National Liberation Front and had the
backing of North Vietnam. Kennedy believed that the United States had an
obligation to help build strong non-communist native governments and to help
governments and political movements that were trying to resist communist
insurgencies. There was also a great fear of communism domestically.
Johnson supported the domino theory, and he believed that South Vietnam
was the victim of communist aggression from and directed by North Vietnam.
If the United States failed to help South Vietnam, it would send a message to
the rest of Southeast Asia and the world that the United States was not truly
committed to containing communism.

However, US involvement must also be set in the context of the Cold War.
Cold war rivalries shaped US decision-making. The United States gave
economic and military aid to South Vietnam, while the USSR and China
offered assistance to North Vietnam. The Cold War power struggle between
the United States, the USSR, and China was key in shaping the Vietnam War.
In the context of the Cold War power struggle, Americans had to prove that
their pronouncements about containing communism and aiding democracy
building were credible. Kennedy argued that if the United States did not act
aggressively to protect the region, China would come in and dominate it. The
United States had a moral responsibility to help resist communist
insurgencies. The region was important because in communist hands, it
would pose a most serious threat to the security of the United States. Vietnam
was the United States’ test case to prove that it could meet the global
challenge of communist wars of liberation.

Johnson’s anxieties about US credibility, combined with political instability in

Saigon, China’s resistance to negotiations, and Hanoi’s refusal to remove
troops from South Vietnam and stop aiding the NLF led him to escalate the
US military presence in Vietnam from 1964 to 1967. In 1964 American naval
forces in the Gulf of Tonkin reported being fired upon by North Vietnamese
gunboats. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed by both houses of
Congress within days of the naval confrontation. It gave the President broad
authority to defend US troops in the region. In March 1965, President Johnson
ordered US Marine battalions to defend the American airbase at Da Nang, the
first-time combat troops were involved in the war. Operation Rolling Thunder
began. The escalation continued throughout 1965 and by the end of 1967 the
number of troops had risen from 184 000 to 490 000. However, the Tet
Offensive in 1968 turned Americans against the war. From 1969 Nixon
reduced the levels of combat troops but there was still considerable support
for the war with the belief that Vietnam would be in vain if America simply
withdrew from the war but without the combat support Saigon fell in 1975.

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Question Answer Marks

11 Analyse the significance of Senghor’s role in gaining independence for 30

Senegal.

Léopold Sédar Senghor was a philosophical leader who led Senegal to

independence and laid the foundations for a stable state. Senghor and
Mamadou Dia formed the Bloc Démocratique Sénégalais (BDS) which came
to power in 1948. His formation of the party resulted partly from a protest
against what he considered France’s lack of consideration for the interests of
Africa. Senghor’s friends in Senegal helped gather support for the new party.
The BDS principles were to ‘ensure equitable, democratic participation by all
major regional, ethnic, and economic interests’. In 1951, it won both
Senegalese seats in the French National Assembly and, in 1952, 43 of the 50
seats in Senegal's Territorial Assembly. Senghor and Mamadou Dia secured
overwhelming majorities at the parliamentary elections in 1956 and launched
a campaign to unite all Senegalese parties. In April 1958 the Union
Progressiste Sénégalaise (UPS) was formed. The UPS won all 80 seats in the
elections to the Senegal legislature in 1959. African socialism, was the
political doctrine that would become the platform for Senghor’s UPS party.
Senghor and Mamadou Dia, emphasised the creation of a socialist society
grounded on a combination of modern economic planning and traditional
African communitarian values. They wanted to preserve the economic and
technical advantages of colonial rule and reject the colonial system’s flaws.
Senghor’s African socialism for Senegal differed from conventional Marxism; it
encouraged spiritual freedom and rejected implicit Marxist atheism which
were more acceptable to the country’s Muslim religious leaders than Marxist
ideology.

However, independence as a nation state was not Senghor’s first choice. As

problems with France’s African colonies escalated with the revolt in Algeria in
1955, Senghor was appointed by the French government to investigate the
problems of overseas territories. He urged France to allow African states to
form in loose confederations. France granted internal autonomy to its African
territories under the provisions of the Loi-cadre of 1956 which was seen by
the French government as an alternative to political independence. But the
collapse of the Fourth Republic shortly afterwards put in jeopardy France’s
plans to keep its black African colonies under French control. When Charles
De Gaulle offered Senghor the opportunity to take immediate independence in
the 1958 referendum that established the Fifth Republic, he, together with all
the other leaders of French Africa apart from Touré in Guinea, refused.
Instead, he campaigned successfully to persuade the Senegalese to vote
against immediate independence, arguing that this was the best way of
retaining French development funds. Less than two years later, when the
international tide against colonialism and the political and economic costs to
France of maintaining colonial rule convinced De Gaulle to move rapidly to
grant independence to black Africa, Senghor chose to retain close political,
military, and cultural links with France and supported efforts to create a West
African Federation consisting of Senegal, the French Sudan, Upper Volta, and
Dahomey, called the Mali Federation.

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Question Answer Marks

11 The latter two countries soon withdrew after the first constitution was drafted
and a second constitution for the Mali Federation, including only Senegal and
Sudan, was drafted in June 1959. The Federation gained independence a
year later. The new federal constitution altered the balance of power to fit the
two-state system, creating a dual executive at Senegal’s insistence. However,
disagreements led to Senegal’s withdrawal. Senegal then drafted its own
constitution, and Senghor was elected its first president in 1960.

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Question Answer Marks

12 ‘The consequences of the Arab-Israeli War of 1948–49 were more 30

significant for Israel than the Arab world.’ Discuss.

The war began upon the termination of the British Mandate of Palestine and
the Israeli declaration of independence on 15 May 1948, following a period of
civil war in 1947–1948. The war ended with the 1949 Armistice Agreements.
For Israel 1948 was the year of liberation and the war increased Israeli land,
making it easier to defend and gave it more fertile land and access to
Jerusalem, which was proclaimed the capital. It increased its territory by 21%
in comparison to the partition resolution boundaries. David Ben Gurion was
elected Prime Minister before the war ended and in 1950 the Knesset passed
the Law of Return. Over the next 3 years the population almost doubled to 1.5
million. Large numbers of Jewish immigrants, many of them survivors of the
Holocaust arrived. In certain respects, the war of Independence was Israel’s
most successful campaign against the Arabs being the only contest in which
Israel succeeded in translating a military victory into a political settlement; one
that survived for 18 years. At first, Israel regarded the agreements of 1949 as
an interim phase and there would be a permanent peace settlement.
However, the armistice regime persisted until 1967 and Israel’s gain of land
increased hostility from the Arabs who believed Israel should have no land
whatsoever. Jews were also expelled from other Middle Eastern states. In
1949–50, US and British aircraft airlifted 47 000 Jews to Israel following
violent anti-Semitic riots in Yemen. In Iraq Jews were sacked from jobs and
became the subject of assassination attacks and the Jewish population of
120 000 had to be airlifted to Israel. Six thousand Israelis had died fighting for
Israeli independence and Israel became a more militarised state. The Arab
League boycotted all trade with Israel and with any country trading with Israel.
Egypt blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba to Israel and did nothing to stop the
infiltration of Fedayeen through the Gaza Strip.

However, for Palestinians 1948–9 was ‘The Catastrophe’ (Al Nakba). About
900 000 lived in the region that became Israel; about 300 000 fled before the
war started and a further 400 000 during the war. These Palestinians became
landless refugees. Even the lands given to Palestinians by the partition plan
had been lost to Israel, Egypt and Jordan. The majority became refugees in
neighbouring states where they occupied vast tented camps where they
received water, sanitation and health care from the UN Relief Works Agency.
The Arab League told its members to deny citizenship to the Palestinian Arab
refugees in order that they would keep their identity and ‘right to return’ but as
a result Palestinians found it difficult to travel or apply for jobs. Jordan went
against the instruction and granted citizenship to Palestinians. The Gaza Strip
became densely populated as 190 000 refugees joined the original population
of about 20 000 leading to overcrowding, sanitation problems, water
shortages and the collapse of the local economy. The refugee camps became
the breeding ground for paramilitary resistance groups known as the
Fedayeen. The Arab defeat also had significant consequences. Firstly, it
demonstrated the lack of united aims and cooperation between the Arab
League. The Arab governments all pursued their own objectives, with King
Abdullah of Transjordan willing to accept a Jewish state in return for territorial
gains. Therefore, the Arab states were divided, with Palestine playing a fairly
passive role. Most significantly, the Arab defeat had ‘important domestic
repercussions’. It ‘de-legitimised’ the existing leadership leading to
revolutions, military coups and instability.

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