Higher British Unit
Text Books
The main text book for this topic is Britain & Scotland and Germany
by J Kerr and J McGonigle (Hodder Gibson).
An excellent revision test book is Higher History Grade Booster
Second Edition by J Kerr (Leckie)
Essay theme 1 - An assessment of how democratic Britain became, 1867-1928.
You will need to understand how changes between 1867-1928 regarding
 The widening of the franchise
 Distribution of seats
 Corruption and intimidation
 Widening membership of the House of Commons
 The role of the House of Lords
made Britain more democratic!
Glossary – learn and understand these words.
Electorate
Electors
Franchise
Suffrage
Distribution
of seats
Constituencies
County or
Borough
Whigs
Tories
the voters
the voters
the voting qualification
the right to vote
the way in which MPs are spread around the country
the areas that MPs represent
the 2 types of area that at one time MPs represented
the party who became the Liberals from the 1860s
became the conservative from about 1850
TASK 1
Use the text book and your revision notes.
For each heading split your answer into two columns; one showing facts and the
other to comment on how democratic Britain was/what still needed to be done at
that point.
1. Put the heading – Widening of the Franchise. Using these dates note
down changes to the franchise 1867, 1884, 1918 and 1928. Pages 6, 13,
20 – 22 and 40.
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2. Put the heading – Distribution of seats. Using these date notes down
changes to the distribution of seats 1867, 1885 and 1918. Pages 6 and
12.
3. Put the heading – Corruption and Intimidation. Using these date notes
down changes to electoral conduct 1872 and 1883. Page 12
4. Put the heading –The role of the House of Lords/electoral reform. Use
this date to note down changes to the Lords/electoral reform 1911. Pages
18-19
5. Put the heading – Widening membership of the House of Commons.
Notes down changes to the House of Commons in1911. Page 19
6. Put the heading –Choice of political parties. Pages 19-20.
TASK 2
(Use your revision notes as well)
1. Complete activity on page 17
2. Complete the activity on page 22
TASK 3
1. Look at question 1 Sample essays on page 26. Write an introduction,
topic sentences and a conclusion for this question. Use the question as a
heading.
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Essay theme 2 – An evaluation of the reasons why the liberals introduced
social welfare reforms, 1906-1914.
You need to understand the various reasons why the Liberal government bought
in social reform. These included
 concerns over poverty - the social surveys of Booth and Rowntree
 municipal socialism
 foreign examples
 national efficiency
 fears over national security
 the rise of the New Liberalism
 party advantage and the rise of the Labour Party
These could all ne isolating factors in an essay question.
TASK 1
Use the text book and revision notes. This task will help you establish context in
an essay, make a note of this!
1. What did the government policy of ‘Laissez faire mean’? Page 42
2. What were the Scottish Poor house and the Work house in England?
Page 43
3. What was Philanthropy and why has it been seen as a failure? Page 43
4. What did the Reverend L.R. Phelps believe? Page 45
5. Complete activity 2 and 3from the text book page 51
6.
TASK 2
Use the text book and your revision notes to make extensive notes under the
following headings. (This work will enable to analyse the various motives for the
Liberal reforms in an essay – make a note of this).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Concerns over poverty Pages 45-47
Worries over national security Page 47
Worries over national security Page 48
Political advantage/Rise of the Labour Party Pages 48-49
New Liberalism/ Key individuals Pages 48-49
Municipal socialism Pages 49-50
Examples for other countries Sheets
TASK 3
Read the example essay pages 51-54.
1. To what extent did the Liberals hope to win political advantage by starting
a programme of social reforms after 1906? Write an introduction, topic
sentences and a conclusion for this question. Have the question as a
heading.
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Essay theme 3 – An assessment of the effectiveness of the Liberal social
reforms, 1906-1914!
You need to know what were the aims of the Liberal reforms and to extent to
which reforms for the
 Young
 Old
 Sick
 Employment
met the needs of the British people effectively.
TASK 1
1. What could you use for context in an essay introduction on how effective
were the Liberal reforms? Mention essay introduction context as part of
your answer.
2. List the groups for whom the Liberals passed reforms.
3. Why do you think many of the early reforms were for the young and the
old?
TASK 2
Make extensive notes on each are of reform using text book and revision notes.
Show
a) Who was the reform meant to help
b) What was it called
c) What did the reform do
d) Drawbacks for the reform
e) On a scale of 1 point for very little help and 5 for very helpful, give each
reform a score.
Do this under each of these headings
1. Young p 55 - 58
2. Old p 58 - 59
3. Sick p 59 - 60
4. Employment p 61-63
TASK 3
1. Create a detailed summary of the Liberal reforms using the text book
(p63-64) and revision notes. Give this task a heading – How effective
were the Liberal Reforms, 1906-1914? Divide your summary into two
lists of detailed bullet points showing positive and negative comment. This
task will help you write an essay conclusion – make a note of this in your
answer.
TASK 4
1. Study page 65 and turn it into a mind map. Use the question at the centre
of your mind map.
2. Write an introduction, topic sentences and a conclusion for this question.
Use the question as a heading.
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Essay theme 4 – An assessment of the effectiveness of the Labour
social welfare reforms, 1945-1951!
You will need to know what the aims of the Welfare State were, the extent to
which the Labour Reforms met these and the needs of the British People
through
 Health
 Social Security
 Employment
 Housing
 Education
TASK 1
The following task will help set the context of any essay on this theme. Make
a note of this!
1. Put a heading World War Two.
2. Explain why it is a good argument to claim the Second World War paved
the way for later reforms and the establishment of a welfare state.
Mention rationing, evacuation, bombing and tax in your answer. P 67
3. Put a heading ‘The Beveridge Report’s Importance.
4. Explain each of the ‘Five Giants’. P 68
5. What was the main aim of the Beveridge Report? P 68
6. How would this aim be achieved? P 68
7. What else did Beveridge argue? P 68
TASK 2
Make extensive notes on each area of reform using text book and revision notes.
Show
a) Who was the reform meant to help and match it to one of the ‘five Giants’
b) What was it called
c) What did the reform do
d) Drawbacks for the reform
e) On a scale of 1 point for very little help and 5 for very helpful, give each
reform a score.
Do this under each of these headings
1. Social Security P 70-71
2. Health P 71-73
3. Education P 73-74
4. Housing P 74-76
5. Employment P 76-77
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TASK 3
1. Create a detailed summary of the Labour reforms using the text book
(p77-79) and revision notes. Give this task a heading – How effective
were the Labour Reforms, 1945-1951? Divide your summary into two
lists of detailed bullet points showing positive and negative comment. This
task will help you write an essay conclusion – make a note of this in your
answer.
2. In a strong higher essay historical debate, also known as historiography
should be used if relevant. Copy this statement.
3. Give two examples of historiography on this topic about the Labour
reforms, 1945-1951.
TASK 4
1. Look at the two sample essay questions on page 80. They are basically
the same essay but you need to think carefully how you would word an
essay. Write an introduction, topic sentences and a conclusion for
question 2 (make sure you directly answer the question)! Use the
question as a heading.
TASK 5
1. Complete the Activities on pages 79 and 80.
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PAST PAPER QUESTIONS
1.
2.
3.
4.
How democratic was Britain by 1911?
Discuss the view that by 1914 Britain was not yet a democratic country.
How democratic had Britain become by 1928?
"By 1928, Britain was a fully democratic country." How accurate is this
view?
5. To what extent were the Liberal social reforms of 1906-1914 a response to
the challenge from the Labour Party?
6. How important were concerns about poverty in Britain in the Liberal
Government's decision to introduce social reform between 1906 and
1914?
7. How far were the reports on poverty produced by Booth and Rowntree
responsible for the Liberal social reforms of 1906-1914?
8. To what extent were the social reforms of the Liberal Government 1906 –
1914 promoted by feelings of genuine concerns for the masses?
9. How effectively did the Liberal Government (1906-1914) deal with the
problem of poverty?
10. “Between 1906–1914 the real causes of poverty were tackled successfully
by government action”. To what extent would you agree with this
statement?
11. To what extent did the social reforms of the Liberal government (19061914) improve the lives of the British people?
12. “The Liberals failed to deal with the real problems facing the British
people.” How valid is this view of the Liberals’ social reforms from 1906 to
1914?
13. How significant an impact did the welfare reforms of the Labour
Government 1945-1951 have on the lives of the British people?
14. How successfully did the Labour government of 1945-1951 deal with the
social problems identified in the Beveridge Report of 1942?
15. How successful were the social reforms introduced by the Labour
Government of 1945 – 1951?
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