HL: THE COLD WAR AND THE AMERICAS ESSAY MARK …



Once you have planned (see website for Dead Fish Frame) or written each essay you can scroll to the bottom of the document to see the comments from the IB marks scheme. Remember, these are only a selection of past paper questions, use your textbook and other materials to ensure that you have questions for all syllabus points.PAST ESSAY QUESTIONS1. Examine the social impact of the Second World War on minorities in one country in the Americas up to 1945.2. “The economic and diplomatic effects of the Second World War were of limited significance.” Discuss with reference to one country in the Americas up to 1945.3. “The Second World War served as a catalyst for great social change in the Americas.”With reference to women and minorities, to what extent do you agree with this statement?4. Examine the significance of the diplomatic or military role of two countries in the Americas during the Second World War.5. To what extent was the use of the atomic bomb in the Second World War a political rather than a military decision?6. To what extent could the United States be considered neutral from 1935 to 7 December 1941?7. Examine the economic effects of the Second World War on one country of the Americasuntil 19458. Assess the social impact of the Second World War on women and ethnic minorities in any one country of the region.9. “The Second World War greatly transformed inter-American diplomacy and economicinteraction in the years 1939–1945.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?MARK SCHEMES1. Examine the social impact of the Second World War on minorities in one country in the Americas up to 1945.Candidates must examine how minorities were affected socially by the Second World War, up to1945, in any one country of the region. While they may generalize as to how minorities wereaffected, specific examples should be applied as evidence to support the generalizations.Indicative content? The Second World War contributed to economic growth, due mostly to defence-related jobcreation. Minorities often found greater opportunity for social mobility as they acquired positions that provided higher wages, more secure employment and advanced social standing.? Economic opportunity created by the war led to changes in both the pace and pattern ofmigration by minorities, especially rural to urban migration. The interaction of minorities in anurban culture established opportunities for cultural borrowing and intermarriage, among othereffects. However, clashes among competing minorities or conflict with the dominant culturalgroup also occurred.? Immigration patterns were also affected by the Second World War. In some cases, immigrationof minorities was expanded to meet the needs of agriculture and industry, replacing native-bornindividuals that had entered the military. In other cases, immigration rates declined due to risksassociated with wartime travel or due to restrictions tightened for reasons of national security.? New opportunities were opened for minorities to enter the armed forces within those nations of the region that declared war. In general, minorities achieved more, but less than full, equality in their respective branches of service as compared to their pre-war position. Minorities oftengained respect and some advancement of status due to their service, which was less restrictedto menial labour than in the First World War. There were some minority groups that haddistinguished combat records.? In some countries of the region, minorities were isolated to internment camps, based on eithertheir nationality or concern in regard to their loyalty. Internment generally caused long-termsocial stigma and loss of civil liberty as well as economic hardship.The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, it is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.2. “The economic and diplomatic effects of the Second World War were of limited significance.” Discuss with reference to one country in the Americas up to 1945.Candidates must offer a considered and balanced review of the influence of the Second World War on the economy of the selected country and on its diplomatic relations with others. Answers will depend on the country chosen and it must be noted that the question stops in 1945.Indicative contentEconomic effects:? These may include its contribution to the end of the Depression, conversion from a peacetime toa wartime economy, increase in the demand of goods and employment opportunities (includingwomen and minorities), government control (resources, production, wages and prices), inflation,rationing and changes in trade relations.Diplomatic effects:? These may include the early stages of the war and neutrality, relations with the belligerentnations before and after US entry in 1941, US pressure on countries to declare war on the Axispowers, and economic and political agreements up to 1945.The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, it is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.3. “The Second World War served as a catalyst for great social change in the Americas.”With reference to women and minorities, to what extent do you agree with this statement?Responses to the statement should reference both groups suggested in the stimulus question andthey could refer to any countries of the Americas; as such answers are expected to varysignificantly. There is no prescribed number of countries for candidates to assess. Candidatesmight choose to discuss one country in depth or several countries in less depth in more of aregional approach. Other factors that may have occasioned social change in the Americas may beconsidered; however there needs to be an analysis of the significance of the Second World Warand a reasoned conclusion should be expected.Note: Candidates may assess changes that occurred either during the Second World War and/orimmediately after it concluded.Indicative content? Any country within the region is acceptable, though most are likely to choose the United Statesor Canada.? Regardless of which country is chosen, candidates must address specific changes occurring forwomen and minorities.? These could include changes in the workplace and involvement in the Armed Forces during thewar.? Post-war, changes could be increased consciousness of inequality for women and minoritygroups.? Formation of civil rights groups for various minorities and the feminist movement may beaddressed.? Candidates might argue that while the Second World War created the possibility for change, thereal changes didn’t occur until over a decade later.The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, it is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.4. Examine the significance of the diplomatic or military role of two countries in the Americas during the Second World War.Discussion of either the diplomatic or military role requires that candidates consider the nature of both countries’ diplomatic or military participation, and make an assessment of the significance of their contribution. Much depends upon the particular countries chosen. Popular choices might be the US, Canada and Brazil; however accept any choice of countries selected by the candidates provided the focus remains on their role.Diplomatic issues may include: agreements by which the US provided economic and industrialassistance in exchange for naval bases and a secure flow of war materials; decisions related toconcerns over Axis-nation residents in Latin America and their possible confinement or deportation to the US; agreements reached at the meetings of foreign ministers (for example Panama, 1939;Havana, 1940; and Rio, 1942).Military issues may include: the provision and the use of naval and air bases; the contributionregarding strategies or tactics; intelligence gathering; contribution with troops and their participation in the different theatres of war; the production of war supplies; the patrolling of the seas and other actions against German U-boats; the protection of the Panama Canal zone.The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, it is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.5. To what extent was the use of the atomic bomb in the Second World War a political rather than a military decision?The decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan has been extensively researched and yetremains controversial. Reward responses that thoroughly evaluate the political and militaryconsiderations which led to the decision and assess the extent to which the decision was political.Military considerations: advisors to President Truman disagreed as to how close Japan was toending the war, with Secretary of State Byrnes, Secretary of War Stimson and the Joint Chiefs ofStaff advocating the necessity of the bomb to achieve Japan’s surrender; several Cabinetmembers, scientific groups and senior military advisors (including General Eisenhower) maintained that Japan was nearly at the point of surrender without the use of the atomic bomb; US intelligence Sources estimated that Japan had two million soldiers ready to defend the islands and that tactics similar to those used at Okinawa would be employed; various estimates of US casualties (dead and wounded) have been made, ranging from sixty-six thousand to one million; estimates are speculative and depend upon various assumptions having to do with Japanese military capacity, time span necessary to defeat Japan, actions Japan may have taken against Allied prisoners of war, and numerous other factors; questions have emerged as to the changing nature of the estimates, which were often increased after the war, and whether this reflected an attempt to justify the use of the atomic bomb; projections less frequently address the estimates as to Japanese civilian or military casualties; also less considered is the question of how the war’s continuation might have impacted Allied casualties in other areas of the Pacific theatre of war.Political considerations: difficult to quantify, but subject to speculation, is the American desire forrevenge against Japan over the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941; the US public might raisecriticism of the expenditure of over two billion dollars, (Manhattan Project), to develop the bomb if there was no use of the device; high casualties from a conventional invasion of Japan could not be justified to the American public if they knew that a weapon was available to end the war (thepolitical effect could cause Truman and the Democratic party to lose power); use of the bombmight end the war before the USSR could broaden its expansion into East Asia, particularlyManchuria; the Soviet Union might be intimidated by the new weapon and its implications as to US military superiority, thus limiting Soviet expansion in Europe; the moral issue of civilian casualties in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was made politically acceptable by the wartime promotion of the Japanese as immoral for their commission of atrocities.The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, it is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.6. To what extent could the United States be considered neutral from 1935 to 7 December 1941?The question allows the candidate to determine how neutral the US was in the years leading up to its declaration of war in the Second World War. Candidates are likely to discuss the officialposition of neutrality as indicated by the passage of the Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936 and 1937 and the growth of the America First Committee and its Fortress America philosophy. At the same time, candidates should recognize the less than neutral actions of the Neutrality Act of 1939, thedestroyers for bases trade with Britain, the patrolling of the western Atlantic by the US, the Lend– Lease Act of 1941, the Atlantic Charter, as well as economic sanctions the US imposed against Japan.The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, it is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.7. Examine the economic effects of the Second World War on one country of the Americasuntil 1945.Answers will vary depending upon which nation’s economic effects are selected for assessment.Depending on the country chosen possible issues which could be discussed include: the ending ofthe Great Depression; conversion from a peacetime to wartime economy; employment growth with opportunities for women and minorities; stabilization policies; price and wage controls;government control of the allocation of resources and production; increased revenues to fund thewar effort; and an expanded export market in resources needed for the war effort.In the United States examples of programmes that might be mentioned include the War Production Board, War Manpower Commission, Office of Economic Stabilization and the Office of Price Administration.While in Canada the National War Labour Order, the Wartime Prices and Trade Board and theDepartment of Munitions and Supply are examples of programmes that indicate the economicimpact of the war on the nation. Economic effects of the Second World War in Latin Americavaried from countries challenged by the loss of American and European markets (Caribbean andCentral American countries) to those that were able to implement industrialization (Argentina,Brazil and Mexico).Although answers will address policies and programmes, candidates should assess the effects ofthese programmes and not simply list the actions of the nation. Candidates should avoid generaldescriptions of the economic effects without specific information.The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, it is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.8. Assess the social impact of the Second World War on women and ethnic minorities in any one country of the region.It is expected that the majority of candidates will address both requirements from the same country.However, it is acceptable to approach separately the impact on women in one country and ethnicminorities in another. A comparative approach might be developed, but it is not a requirement.The United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Chile and Argentina mightbe popular choices although any other case of the region should be accepted. As a generalstatement, the level of involvement in the Second World War was a key factor for its social impact on women and minorities.Related to the impact on women, candidates will probably highlight: significant incorporation ofwomen to the defence industries (especially in the United States and Canada) and workforce ingeneral – sometimes covering the same responsibilities that were held by men but still earninglower salaries; some improvement in political participation as well as an increase in marriage and birth rates. Women also played important roles directly linked to the war front as nurses, assistants and members of entertainment groups for the troops.Ethnic minorities such as Latin American, Japanese, Germans, African Americans and NativeAmericans could be addressed depending on the country selected and its level of involvement in the war.The social impact on Latin Americans differed depending on their participation in the armed forces. In the United States they were incorporated as soldiers and members of white units. Later on, it resulted in the achievement of better social status for them and their families.African Americans entered the Second World War still racially segregated and largely limitedto support roles in the military, as they had been in the First World War. However, in 1941,the United States government began to establish a limited number of all-African American combat units and the events of the war sometimes resulted in temporary integration of African Americans into white units, as well as more frequent combat roles. As a result, social consciousness about discrimination expanded and the civil rights movement eventually became stronger. This would also contribute to President Truman’s decision to begin official integration of the armed forces in 1948.The language of Native Americans (ie Navajo “code-talkers”) was the most noted contribution ofthe ethnic minority to the war effort. Japanese people and those having Japanese ancestry – withthe excuse of possible disloyalty and espionage – were relocated in internment camps in the interior of the United States and Canada. Countries – such as Peru – having significant Asiatic immigration received political pressure to apply similar domestic policies with little result.Germans suffered comparatively less in the Americas, as they were part of big communities and,due to their European ancestry, even better integrated, though some were also placed in internment camps.If only women or ethnic minorities are addressed, mark out of a maximum of 8 Marks.9. “The Second World War greatly transformed inter-American diplomacy and economicinteraction in the years 1939–1945.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?Candidates can agree or disagree with the statement, but in all cases they should focus ondiplomatic and economic factors and the way in which they were affected during the war. Somereferences to pre- and post-war periods may be necessary in order to develop the arguments, but the focus should remain on the period 1939–1945.Inter-American cooperation during the war set the stage for the post-war formation of the OAS.Two examples of this cooperation could be the 1939 Panama Declaration which created aPan-American Security Zone and the 1940 Havana Conference which established an inter-American defense of Dutch and French colonies in the Americas and the promise of collectivesecurity. Diplomats were crucial for the increase of international trade and commerce – not onlyrelated to the acquisition of arms and military devices, as well as for the promotion of agreements and mutual cooperation. Some examples of that type of agreement were: (a) Inter-American Coffee agreement, (b) Inter-American Defense Board, (c) Summits of 1944, (d) Chapultepec Act, (e) Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Río Treaty), etc.Economic aspects which might be addressed include: transportation systems; electrification;expansion of local and national industries; increase of domestic market; relative post-war decline in the exports of crops; accumulation of finance and monetary resources; capital investment; labour markets. The war allowed rich countries to use their natural resources as an instrument for negotiation. Once the war was over, relations among some American countries were considerably changed.Stronger answers will focus and analyse the way in which complexity in the relations evolved in the interaction during the war. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download