British Outlines History Revision Guide

Revision advice and this guide

You should use this guide in conjunction with the How to Write a
good Pre U essay guide and all of your notes and materials that
you have accumulated during the course.
This guide;
Gives you the breakdown of the key content from the exam board
specification for every topic you have studies on the European Outlines
paper. When you revise, you need to ensure you cover all of the relevant
bullet points per topic per spec. Remember you need to answer three
questions from at least two sections. You have 45 minutes per section.
The guide also gives you the past exam questions that have been asked
on the topics since 2010. Questions do not come up for each topic each
year. The guide may show you patterns of questions but you should not
make assumptions or try and guess what may and may not come up in
your exam. You could easily get it wrong! As such you should ensure you
are well versed in all of your topics in order to ensure that you can answer
three questions well. You should know at least seven topics really well
(four from one section and three from another). This guarantees that you
will be able to answer three questions. You may well have more choice
than that.
Go through the guide and pick out the topics you have studied (I have put
the initials of teachers next to topics that they have taught). These are
what you should focus on. Ignore those topics you have not been taught.
Revision tips;
Re-read all of your notes, articles, chapters etc.
Read a new chapter or article on a particular topic. This is a good
way of triggering your memory on what you have read before.
Make essay plans on past exam questions. How would you best
tackle these? Make essay plans on the possible other questions
provided.
Write fact cards for topics and test yourself or get somebody else to
test you.
Produce a timeline of the topic with the key events and dates on.
Produce fact cards on the key personalities of the topic in question,
what they did, how important they were in relation to events etc.
 Content to revise
Section 4: 18151868
Here and later, an analytical approach to party leaders and PMs can be
valuable, putting them into context and assessing such factors as
leadership, organisation, appeal of policy ideas, electoral support.

AJVM and SJB

Topic Key areas for Study
Lord Liverpool Lord Liverpool and his opponents:
and his Personality and style of Liverpool as
opponents prime minister
The economic and social context effects
of war.
Post-war problems, repression and
controls.
Radical opposition and its signifi cance
The Liberal Tory phase, ministers,
reforms. Peel at the Home Offi ce;
economic changes
The weakness of the opposition. Why
Tory dominance lasted so long

Past exam questions;

2010 - How effectively did Lord Liverpools government tackle problems of
radicalism and popular disorder in the years 181522?

2011 - Assess the strengths and weaknesses of Lord Liverpool as prime

minister.
2012 no questions
2013 - Why was Lord Liverpool prime minister for so long?
2014 - How effectively did the authorities handle radical protest in the
years 181521?
2015 no question
2016 - How important were his personal qualities in explaining why
Liverpool was prime minister for so long?
AJVM and SJB
Topic Key areas for Study
The Whig and Reasons for Whig supremacy, 183041;
Peel ministries, nature of Whig politics and party.
18301846 The Great Reform Act of 1832: reasons;
content; impact.
Whig reforms, 183341 extent,
character, impact.
Peel and Tory revival to 1841; changes
to party, Tamworth manifesto, why Peel
won the 1841 Election;
Peel as PM 18416: social legislation; free
trade; taxation and banking measures;
Repeal of the Corn
Laws and split of party; the Anti-Corn Law
League [For Ireland, see above.]

Past exam questions;

2010 - How far was the Reform Act of 1832 the product of disunity within
the Tory party from 1827?
Why did Peel fail to retain the political loyalty of so many in his party
during his ministry of 184146?

2011 - To what extent does the 1832 Reform Act deserve the title Great?
A Conservative prime minister who followed liberal principles. How
far do you accept this assessment of Sir Robert Peel in the years
184146?

2012 A great reforming Home Secretary: discuss this judgement on Sir

Robert Peel.
How effective a prime minister was Viscount Melbourne?
2013 - To what extent do the 1830s deserve to be considered a decade of
reform?
2014 Were Peels greatest achievements before, or after, his election
victory of 1841?
2015 How radical was the Reform Act of 1832?
Why did the political fortunes of the Tories revive so rapidly in the
years 183241?
2016 - Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Peel government of
18411846.

AJVM and SJB

Topic Key areas for Study
Chartism Chartism
An interesting and challenging topic area,
with its links to working-class
consciousness, culture and
identity. Comparisons with the ACLL (Anti
Corn Law League) can help.
Origins, aims, the Charter.
Identities of the Chartists: support
levels, areas, types.
Methods, appeal, impact, leadership,
organisation.
Reasons for failure and collapse; legacy.

Past exam questions;

2010 - The failure of Chartism was, in essence, a failure of leadership.
Discuss.
2011 no question
2012 no question
2013 - To what extent may Chartism be considered as a successful
movement?
2014 no question
2015 - How effective was Chartist leadership in the late 1830s and 1840s?
2016 - Do political or economic factors better explain the emergence of
Chartism in the later 1830s?

AJVM and SJB

Topic Key areas for Study
Party politics, Palmerston as prime minister
18461868 The formation of the Liberal Party
The rivalry between Gladstone and
Disraeli and the development of their
careers and political ideas
Disraeli and the Reform Act of 1867
The beginning of a concern with Ireland
and its effects on the Party [see also
Section 6: Britain and
Ireland]
The 1868 election

Past exam questions;

2010 no question
2011 no question
2012 - Estimate the influence of the Peelites as a force in British politics in the
years 184659.
2013 - What best explains why Conservatives were so rarely in office in the
1850s and 1860s?
2014 - What best explains the growing political rivalry between Gladstone and
Disraeli in the years 184668?
2015 no question
2016 - Why was Disraeli able to pass a parliamentary reform Act in 1867
when Gladstone had failed a year earlier?

Section 5: 18681914
An awareness of on-going electoral changes (1867, 18845) and the
secret ballot (1872) and actions over corrupt and illegal practices (1883)
will be useful here: the electoral system, its functioning, the size and
make-up of the electorate. Such shaped the development of politics.

AJVM, SJB and AJB

Topic Key areas for Study
Disraeli: The concept of Disraelian
domestic conservatism, Tory Democracy
policies, 1868 Disraeli and his Party
1880 The continued rivalry with
Gladstone: reasons, features
Social reforms, 18741880
Education, 187480
Health, 187480
Trade unions, 187480
Reasons for defeat in 1880

Past exam questions;

2010 - How, in the years to 1874, were Disraeli and the Conservatives
able to recover from the general election defeat of 1868?

2011 - The Liberal party did more to lose the 1874 general election than
the Conservative party did to win it. To what extent do you agree with this
judgement?

2012 - Why was the defeat of the Conservatives in the general election of
1868 so decisive?

More successful abroad than at home. Discuss this view of

Disraelis premiership in the years 187480. (NB this would not be
asked as a question now as it involved foreign policy which is not
part of the spec)

2013 no question

2014 - Taken as a whole, the domestic policy of Disraelis government of

187480 was both limited in scope and unimpressive in achievement.
Discuss.

2015 - Disraelis leadership transformed the Conservative party in the

years 186880. Did it?

2016 - All show, no substance. Discuss this verdict on the domestic

policy of Disraelis government of 18741880.

AJVM, SJB and AJB

Topic Key areas for Study
Gladstone: Development of Gladstonian Liberalism.
domestic The rivalry with Disraeli: reasons,
policies, 1868 features.
1894 Policies in Ministries 186874, 18806,
18924 with focus on domestic areas
(reforms, education, health, social, trade
unions, etc.). The successes and eventual
failure of the 186874 Reforming Ministry.
The growing concern with Ireland and its
effects on the Party.
His legacy and importance.

Past exam questions;

2010 - To what extent was Gladstone personally responsible for the

waning fortunes of the Liberal party in the years 1885-94?
2011 - The Liberal party did more to lose the 1874 general election than
the Conservative party did to win it. To what extent do you agree with this
judgement?

2012 - To what extent were Gladstones Irish policies in the years 188094
influenced by English political considerations?

2013 - Assess the claims of Gladstones first ministry (186874) to be

considered a great reforming administration.

2014 no question

2015 - The reforms of Gladstones first administration (186874)

benefited the middle class at the expense of the working class. Discuss.

2016 no question

AJVM, SJB
Topic Key areas for Study
The The Conservative supremacy, 1886
Conservative 1905
supremacy, The context of electoral politics and the
18861905 problems of the Liberals need to be
understood.
Lord Salisbury and electoral appeal:
reasons for success.
Domestic policies and successes, 1886
92, 18951905 limited reforms; middle
ground political
appeal, etc.
Balfour as leader: problems of 19035.
Reasons for defeat in 1906.

Past exam questions;

2010 no question

2011 - How much did Conservative dominance of British politics in the

years 18861902 owe to the leadership of Lord Salisbury?

2012 no question

2013 no question

2014 - What best explains the political dominance of the Conservatives in

the years 18861905?

2015 no question

2016 - How much does the political dominance of the Conservative Party
in the years 18861900 owe to Salisburys leadership?

AJVM and SJB

Topic Key areas for Study

Trade unions The emergence and appeal of socialism.
and the Old and new unions and unionism.
growth of the SDF, Fabians, ILP and LRC developments
Labour Party and importance; Lib-Labs; Keir Hardie.
Developments 190006, 190614: the
Labour Party; MacDonalds importance;
Progressivism; electoral appeal; 1903 Lib
 Lab Pact and importance.
Labours position in 1914 regional,
national weak or relatively strong?
The effect of the war on Labour and the
Constitution of 1918
A natural link exists to:

Past questions;

2010: Which was the more important to the development of the Labour
party in the years 190014: trade-union support or socialist ideology?

2011: How important, in the years 18801906, was trade union growth
and development to the emergence of a Labour party in Britain?

2012: How important was the expansion of trade unionism to the

development of the Labour party in the years 190014?

2013: Explain why trade unionism became such a substantial force in

Britain in the years c.18801914.

2014 - What best explains the growth of the Labour party in the period
c.18901914?

2015 - Why did the trade union movement grow so rapidly in the years c.
1888c. 1914?

2016 no question

AJB

Topic Key areas for Study

The Liberal The Liberal governments, 19051914;
governments reforms and the beginnings of the
domestic Welfare State
policies, 1905 Reasons for General Election triumph in
1914 1906 and significance
Roles of Campbell-Bannerman, Asquith,
Lloyd George roles; New Liberalism;
Progressivism; concerns
for national efficiency
Domestic reforms in range and scope,
especially 190611; Beginnings of a
welfare state; acts to help
children, the old, National insurance,
problems of 190914 (the Budget of 1909
and the House of Lords,
Suffragettes, Unions, Ireland): successes
and failures
Position in 1914: weakened or still
strong?

Past exam questions;

2010 no question

2011 - To what extent were the domestic policies of the Liberal

governments in the years 190514 motivated by hatred of the aristocracy
and by fear of the working classes?

2012 no question

2013 - Which do you consider the greater achievement of the Liberal

governments of 1905 14: social reforms or constitutional change?

2014 - Why were party politics so bitterly contested in the years 190614?

2015 - The gravest domestic crisis faced by Asquiths governments in the

years 190814. Discuss this view of the clash with the House of Lords
(190911).

2016 - Did the social reforms of the Liberal governments of 19051914

mark the beginning of a welfare state?
AJB

Topic Key areas for Study

Britain and the Reasons for the end of Splendid
origins of the Isolation; 1902 Alliance with Japan
First World War, Ententes of 1904, 1907 reasons,
c. 190014: consequences
Anglo-German relations, from c.
1898: rivalry; competition; naval,
economic, imperial
Responses to 1905, 191112 crises
Importance of 1914, Belgium,
developments then
Reasons for commitment to War in
1914

Past exam questions;

2010 - Britain went to war in 1914 to defend the existing balance of

power in Europe against German aggression. Discuss.

2011 no question

2012 - Assess the strengths and weaknesses of Sir Edward Grey as foreign
secretary in the years 190514.

2013 - What best explains why Britain went to war in 1914?

2014 no question

2015 - What best explains growing British involvement in European affairs

in the years 190014?

2016 - Britain went to war in 1914 solely to curb German expansionism.

Discuss.
Section 7: 19141951
AJB
Topic Key areas for Study
Britain and the The War on land and at sea;
First World War Western Front: leadership, losses,
importance; The early campaigns
at sea
191415, Jutland and the
campaign against the U-boats;
the Dardanelles and the War in
the Middle East: main events and
features; importance of role of
Britain in the war and its
contribution to victory
Home Front: (1) political
wartime coalitions (1915, 1916
18); Asquith and Lloyd George;
revival of Conservatives;
advances of Labour, Liberals
problems
Home Front: (2) economic and
social war economy; finances;
role of women; social freedoms
and progress; trade unions

Past exam questions;

2010 - Assess the impact of World War I on opportunities for women in the
years 191420.

2011 - Assess the quality of British generalship on the Western Front

during World War I.

2012 - How close to defeat did Britain come during the First World War?

2013 no question

2014 - Assess the effectiveness of British military leadership on the

Western Front during the First World War.

2015 - How close did Britain come to losing the First World War?

2016 - Assess the importance of the Home Front to Britains war effort in
the years 19141918.
AJB and JTC
Topic Key areas for Study
The Lloyd The Lloyd George Coalition, 191822
George Electoral success in 1918.
Coalition, Policies at home and abroad:
19181922 Reconstruction; Reforms; the Economy;
trade unions; unrest; Ireland; Versailles;
diplomacy; Chanak.
Reasons for fall in 1922: revival of
Conservatives.
The decline of the Liberals: features,
extent, reasons. Lloyd George as PM will
be important and his legacy.

Past exam questions;

2010 no question

2011 - How justified is it to describe Lloyd George as merely the prisoner

of the Conservatives during the coalition government of 191822?

2012 - Asquith was more to blame than Lloyd George for the collapse of
the Liberal party in the period 191629. Discuss.

2013 - Assess the effectiveness of David Lloyd George as prime minister

in the years 1916 22.

2014 - What best explains why, in the period 191829, the Liberal party
ceased to be one of the two major political parties in Britain?

2015 - A government lacking domestic achievement. How valid is this

judgement on the Coalition Government of 191822?

2016 no question
JTC
Topic Key areas for Study
Party politics, Party Politics 192431
19221931 The rise of the Labour Party. Liberal
Decline
Career and importance of MacDonald
and first Labour Government 1924
192931 Government and the crisis of
1931
The domination of the Conservatives:
reasons; prevalence in governments;
Baldwins career and importance.

Past exam questions;

2010 - How are the fluctuating fortunes of the Labour party in the period
191831 best explained?

2011 - Assess the causes and consequences of the failure of the General
Strike of 1926.

2012 - Asquith was more to blame than Lloyd George for the collapse of
the Liberal party in the period 191629. Discuss.

2013 - How are the advances made by the Labour party in the period
191829 best explained?

2014 - What best explains why, in the period 191829, the Liberal party
ceased to be one of the two major political parties in Britain?

2015 - How effective a prime minister was Stanley Baldwin?

2016 - To what extent were the advances made by the Labour Party in the
period 19181931 dependent on weaknesses and divisions in the Liberal
Party?
JTC
Topic Key areas for Study
The National National Governments, 193140.
Governments, MacDonald, Baldwin, Chamberlain
19311939: Conservatives place and role.
economic Popularity and success in 1931, 1935.
problems and Key policy areas at home economic,
remedies; industrial, social (see below for foreign
social issues policy).
and change; Labour Party vicissitudes.
the extremes The state of the economy; short boom,
of Left and then problems, old and new industries:
Right the Depression
and unemployment; remedies; two
nations; government responses.
Social changes: wealth; poverty; class
issues; women; welfare; consumerism,
affluence.
Communism and fascism in Britain
in the 1930s

Past exam questions;

2010 - The 1930s was a decade more of new economic opportunities than
of deep economic depression. Discuss.

2011 no question.

2012 - Why was the impact of the inter-war economic depression so much
more severe in the north of Britain than in the south?

2013 no question.

2014 - A period of disappointment and frustration for British trade

unionism. How valid is this judgement for the period 191839? (N.B. this
straddles the above topic as well).

2015 no question
2016 no question

AJB and JTC

Topic Key areas for Study
The Labour The Labour Governments of 1945
governments of 1951: domestic policies
19451951: Reasons for victory in 1945; manifesto
domestic commitments; Attlee as leader and PM;
policies ministerial talents.
Domestic areas: problems; economic
changes; nationalisation; state of the
economy;
social and welfare changes; welfare
state; extent of social changes
Reasons for problems in 19501 and
defeat in 1951.

Past exam questions;

2010 - The true architect of Labours domestic achievements in the years

194551. How accurate is this assessment of the role of Aneurin Bevan in
these years?

2011 no relevant question (it was on foreign policy which is not

applicable)

2012 - Does the Labour government of 194550 deserve its reputation as

a great reforming
administration?

2013 - How radical were the economic and social policies of the Labour
Governments of 194551?

2014 no question

2015 - Why did the Labour Party win the general election of 1945 so
decisively?
2016 - The domestic policies of the Labour government of 19451950
were socialist in name only. Were they?

Section 8 1951-2000

JTC

Topic Key areas for Study

British foreign The Cold War and the relationship with
policy since the USA
1945: 1964 Britains place in the origins and
development of the Cold War; uneven
relations with the USA; special
relationship features
NATO and other alliances.
Overseas commitments.
Relations with the USSR, France and
Germany.

Past exam questions;

2010 - The relationship between Britain and the United States in the years
1945-81 was an uneasy partnership of obvious unequals. Discuss.

2011 - Why did it take so long for Britain to join the European Community
(EEC)?
2012 - Britains influence in world affairs declined in the period 194570
because its foreign policy was conducted, against all the evidence, on the
assumption that Britain remained a world power. Assess the validity of
this judgement.

2013 - To what extent, during the years 194590, did Britain have a
special relationship with the United States of America?

2014 - Why did Britain join the European Economic Community in 1973,
and not before?

2015 How effective was the foreign policy of the Conservative

governments in the years 195164?

2016 - Was the most difficult colonial problem faced by British

governments in the period 19511979 Southern Rhodesias Unilateral
Declaration of Independence (UDI)?

JTC

Topic Key areas for Study

The The role of the Prime Ministers,
Conservative especially Macmillan; the strengths and
governments, eventual weaknesses of the Party
19511964 Economic policies, including Stop-Go
and Butskellism, Never Had It So Good
and problems of early 1960s.
Social, welfare, responses to changing
society and affluence and consumerism.
Reasons for electoral successes in 1955,
1959; defeat in 1964.
Past exam questions;

2010 - Why did the Conservative party enjoy such electoral success in the
1950s?

2011 - Was the Conservative election defeat of 1964 due more to the
partys long-term weaknesses or to its poor handling of short-term crises?

2012 - To what extent did Conservative and Labour governments follow

broadly similar domestic policies in the years 195170?

2013 - What best explains why the Conservatives were able to win three
successive general elections during the 1950s?

2014 no question

2015 no question

2016 - How successfully did Conservative domestic policies in the 1950s

promote growing economic prosperity and increasing social cohesion?

JTC

Topic Key areas for Study

Industrial Industrial relations in 1951; the role and
relations and status of trade unions in 1951
the trade union Industrial relations under the
movement: Conservatives and Labour, 1951 to 1970;
strikes and restrictive practices;
regulations and incomes policies; the
Special Contract, the winter of discontent
and the miners strikes
 The Trade Union movement between
1951 and 1979; relationships with
government, political parties and
employers; organisation and membership;
role as a political, social and economic
force; the public sector unions
The Trade Union movement between
1979 and 2000; new legislation;
relationship with government,
political parties and employers;
organisation and membership; changing
role and impact

Past exam questions;

2010 - Over-mighty subjects who contributed substantially to Britains

growing economic difficulties in the 1960s and early 1970s. Assess this
judgement on Britains trade union leaders.

2011 - Why did the influence of the trade union movement decline so
sharply in the last thirty years of the twentieth century?

2012 no question

2013 - Why did the trade union movement exercise so much political
influence in the 1960s and 1970s?

2014 - Explain why, in the 1960s and 1970s, relations between

governments and the trade union movement were often so poor.

2015 no question

2016 - Why, in the 1960s and 1970s, were industrial relations so often so
poor?

JTC
Topic Key areas for Study
Thatcher and Focuses on the features of Thatcherism:
her opponents, fiscalism and monetarism, privatisation
19751990: curbs on trade union power; the Miners
Strike
phases of prosperity
attitudes towards Welfare State
(changes advocated and made)
198890: poll tax
foreign policy would include attitudes
towards Europe and the Falklands War
(1982) and relationship with
Reagan and the end of the Cold War

Past exam questions;

2010 - Why, in the 1980s, did Margaret Thatcher attract both such strong
support and such deep opposition?

2011 no question

2012 no question

2013 no question

2014 - Assess the strengths and weaknesses of Margaret Thatcher as

prime minister.

2015 - Why, by 1990, were many of Margaret Thatchers own ministers

anxious to see the end of her premiership?

2016 - Assess the effectiveness of Britains European policy during the

prime ministership of Margaret Thatcher.