2025 Cambridge IAS-Level History (9489) Practice Paper with Answers

**Similarities:**
- Both sources acknowledge that Italy is committing acts of aggression in Abyssinia ('deplore the aggression of Italy' in Source A; 'blatant aggression' in Source B).
- Both sources recognize that the League of Nations has a direct interest and involvement in the crisis, referencing the Covenant (Source A) and 'collective security' (Source B).
- Both sources identify the key issue of oil sanctions as a critical turning point in the League's response.

**Differences:**
- **Policy approach:** Source A advocates for a cautious, conciliatory diplomatic approach to avoid provoking a wider war, whereas Source B demands strong, decisive military and economic action (oil sanctions, closing the Suez Canal).
- **Purpose of the League:** Source A views the League's primary purpose as conciliation and the maintenance of peace ('not to act as an engine of global war'). Source B views the League's purpose as enforcing collective security and defending weaker nations against imperialism.
- **Consequences of inaction:** Source A fears that aggressive actions by the League will lead to a general European war and push Italy towards Germany. Source B fears that a lack of decisive action will destroy the moral authority of the League and encourage global lawlessness.

**Contextual Evaluation:**
Source A represents the official British government stance of appeasement and cautious diplomacy in late 1935, driven by fears of military unpreparedness and a desire to keep Italy as an ally against Germany (the Stresa Front). Source B reflects the growing frustration among the British public and liberal/left-wing press who believed that the failure of collective security in Abyssinia would prove fatal to the League, as indeed it did, leading to its collapse as an effective peace-keeping body.

**Level 1 (1-3 marks):** Describes the content of one or both sources without explicit comparison, or makes simple, superficial assertions of similarity or difference.

**Level 2 (4-7 marks):** Identifies agreements OR disagreements between the two sources, supported by selective references to the texts.

**Level 3 (8-11 marks):** Identifies both agreements and disagreements between the sources, with clear explanations and supporting evidence drawn from both texts.

**Level 4 (12-15 marks):** Provides a comprehensive comparison and contrast of both sources, and evaluates their perspectives using historical context (e.g., the Stresa Front, British public opinion, the Hoare-Laval Pact context) to explain why these differing viewpoints existed in late 1935.

### Analysis of Sources

* **Source A** supports the hypothesis. It argues that the League is highly successful and possesses strong 'moral authority' and 'practical mechanisms.' It uses the peaceful resolution of Upper Silesia (1921) and the Aaland Islands (1921) as evidence that the League can avert war and gain the goodwill of disputing parties.
* **Source B** challenges the hypothesis. It argues that the League is weak and limited, particularly when dealing with great powers. It uses the Corfu incident (1923) to show that Italy successfully bypassed the League, and that real power lay with traditional diplomatic bodies like the Conference of Ambassadors.
* **Source C** challenges the hypothesis. It highlights the League's failure in Vilna (1920–1921), explaining that the League was paralyzed by the self-interest of its major members (France protecting its ally Poland, and Britain refusing to act alone). It also highlights a critical structural flaw: the League's lack of an independent military force.
* **Source D** supports the hypothesis. It argues that the League's prompt, decisive action during the Greco-Bulgarian crisis (1925) prevented a wider conflict, proving the effectiveness of the Covenant's mechanisms when the Council acts with unity and determination.

### Source Evaluation and Contextualization

* **Source A**: Lord Robert Cecil was a passionate champion of the League. Speaking to the League Assembly, his motive was to generate optimism, build confidence, and justify the institution's existence. While his tone is highly supportive, his examples are historically accurate. Both the Aaland Islands and Upper Silesia cases involved disputants who were willing to accept mediation, making these 'easy' cases for the League to resolve.
* **Source B**: The French press in 1923 was highly sensitive to national security. France preferred traditional alliances and bodies like the Conference of Ambassadors (where it had strong leverage) over the League. Therefore, *Le Temps* is likely to highlight the League's failures to justify France's preference for direct diplomatic action. However, the observation that the League failed to act against a great power (Italy) is historically accurate and represents a key systemic weakness of the League.
* **Source C**: As a confidential report, this diplomatic memo is highly reliable as an honest, unvarnished assessment of British foreign policy and geopolitical realities. It accurately identifies that France's desire to maintain Poland as a strong eastern bulwark against Germany compromised the League's neutrality. This confirms that the League could not operate independently of the national interests of its most powerful members.
* **Source D**: An official report from the League Secretariat naturally carries institutional bias, seeking to paint its actions in the best possible light. Nonetheless, the Greco-Bulgarian War of 1925 (the 'War of the Stray Dog') was indeed a genuine success for the League. However, this success was only possible because both disputants were minor powers, and Britain and France were united in their determination to enforce a settlement.

### Synthesis and Conclusion

Ultimately, the sources collectively demonstrate that the League's success in the 1920s was highly conditional. It was highly effective in resolving disputes between minor powers (Aaland Islands, Greco-Bulgarian incident) where the major powers were in agreement (Sources A and D). However, as Sources B and C demonstrate, the League consistently failed when its permanent members lacked political unity or when a major power directly challenged the international order, exposing its fundamental lack of enforcement power and its dependency on the self-interest of Britain and France.

### Marking Scheme Breakdown (Total: 25 Marks)

* **Level 5 (21–25 marks)**: Answers show a clear and sustained focus on the question. They group the sources logically into those that support and those that challenge the claim. They evaluate the reliability/utility of the sources using detailed, accurate contextual knowledge and provenance. This evaluation is used to resolve the conflict between the sources and reach a balanced, well-supported final conclusion.
* **Level 4 (16–20 marks)**: Answers group the sources effectively to show both sides of the argument. There is clear attempts to evaluate the sources based on their provenance (author, motive, context) and/or historical knowledge, but this evaluation may not be fully integrated into a final synthesized judgment.
* **Level 3 (11–15 marks)**: Answers identify which sources support and which sources challenge the view. However, the analysis is largely a source-by-source run-through rather than a synthesized argument, and evaluation of reliability is limited or generic.
* **Level 2 (6–10 marks)**: Answers make simple use of the sources, identifying some points of agreement or disagreement, but fail to group them or evaluate them effectively. They may rely heavily on paraphrasing the sources.
* **Level 1 (1–5 marks)**: Answers write about the topic but make little or no direct use of the sources, or describe the sources without addressing the specific prompt.

The Frankfurt Parliament failed to achieve German unification due to several critical weaknesses:

1. **Internal Divisions**: The delegates were deeply divided over crucial issues, most notably the geographical definition of Germany. The debate between a 'Grossdeutschland' (including Catholic Austria) and a 'Kleindeutschland' (excluding Austria, led by Protestant Prussia) delayed progress for months. There were also deep ideological splits between moderate liberals, who wanted a constitutional monarchy, and radical democrats, who wanted a republic.

2. **Lack of Executive and Military Power**: The Parliament possessed no army, no taxation mechanism, and no administrative bureaucracy. It relied entirely on the goodwill of the existing German rulers, especially Prussia and Austria. When conflict arose (such as the Schleswig-Holstein crisis), the Parliament had to rely on the Prussian military, demonstrating its ultimate dependency.

3. **Rejection by the German Princes**: The old ruling elites quickly recovered their confidence after the initial shock of the 1848 revolutions. When the Parliament finally completed its constitution and offered the imperial crown of a united Germany to King Frederick William IV of Prussia in April 1849, he rejected it. He famously stated he would not accept a 'crown from the gutter' (offered by a popular assembly rather than fellow princes), delivering a fatal blow to the Parliament's legitimacy.

**Marking Scheme (10 Marks Total):**

- **Level 4 (8-10 marks)**: Evaluates and explains multiple distinct reasons (e.g., internal divisions, lack of military/executive power, and the role of Frederick William IV / Austrian opposition). The response shows clear historical understanding of the interaction between these factors, explaining *why* they led to failure rather than just describing the events.

- **Level 3 (5-7 marks)**: Explains at least one or two factors clearly. For example, provides a detailed explanation of the Grossdeutschland vs. Kleindeutschland debate or explains the significance of Frederick William IV's rejection of the crown.

- **Level 2 (3-4 marks)**: Identifies relevant factors (e.g., 'they argued too much', 'Prussia didn't support them') but lacks deep historical explanation or development of *why* these factors were decisive.

- **Level 1 (1-2 marks)**: Offers a general or descriptive response with little direct relevance to the question of why the Parliament failed.

The Populist (or People's) Party emerged in the early 1890s as a powerful political force due to several key factors:

1. **Agricultural Distress and Debt**: American farmers, particularly in the South and West, faced a severe economic crisis during the late 19th century. Overproduction led to a dramatic decline in crop prices (such as wheat and cotton). To survive, farmers took out mortgages on their land, leading to high levels of debt. As deflation persisted, repaying these debts became increasingly difficult.

2. **Exploitation by Railroads and Monopolies**: Farmers relied heavily on railroads to transport their goods to market. Railroad companies, often operating as monopolies in rural areas, charged exorbitant freight rates. Middlemen, grain elevator operators, and banks also exploited farmers, prompting a deep sense of resentment against Eastern financial elites.

3. **The Demand for Monetary Reform (Free Silver)**: The US monetary system was tied to the gold standard, which restricted the money supply and contributed to deflation. Farmers argued that a bimetallic system, introducing the free and unlimited coinage of silver at a 16:1 ratio to gold, would inflate the currency, raise crop prices, and make it easier to pay off debts.

4. **Failure of the Two-Party System**: Farmers felt that both the Democratic and Republican parties were controlled by wealthy industrialists and bankers, ignoring the plight of the working class and agrarian sector. Existing organizations like the Grange and the Farmers' Alliances realized that to achieve systemic reform, they needed to organize a national political party to challenge the status quo.

**Marking Scheme (10 Marks Total):**

- **Level 4 (8-10 marks)**: Explains multiple distinct reasons for the rise of the Populist Party (such as agricultural economic distress, railroad exploitation, monetary issues/gold standard, and the perceived indifference of the major political parties). Shows an understanding of how these economic grievances coalesced into a political movement.

- **Level 3 (5-7 marks)**: Explains one or two reasons in detail. For example, provides a clear explanation of how the gold standard and deflation hurt farmers, or how railroad pricing practices drove political activism.

- **Level 2 (3-4 marks)**: Identifies factors (e.g., 'farmers were poor', 'railroads charged too much', 'they wanted silver') but lacks analytical depth or structured explanation of *why* this led to the creation of a new political party.

- **Level 1 (1-2 marks)**: Offers a very general, descriptive, or inaccurate response with little focus on the specific reasons for the party's emergence.

Introduction: The debate centres on whether James Watt's development of the steam engine was the primary driver of British industrialisation or if it was merely one of several interconnected factors. Arguments for the steam engine: It liberated factories from geographic constraints (previously tied to fast-flowing water for water wheels), allowing them to be built near raw materials, transport hubs, and urban labor markets. It dramatically increased efficiency in coal mining (pumping water out of deep mines) and textile manufacturing (powering looms and spinning frames), and paved the way for the railway revolution which integrated national markets. Arguments for other factors: The Agricultural Revolution increased crop yields, freeing up a large labor force to move to cities. Capital and banking systems, such as the Bank of England, provided low-interest loans for industrial investment. Britain's vast colonial empire provided cheap raw materials (like cotton) and captive markets. Transport infrastructure, particularly canals and turnpike roads, was already highly developed before the widespread use of steam. Conclusion: While the steam engine was a transformative technological catalyst that sustained and accelerated industrial growth, it could not have done so without the pre-existing framework of agricultural efficiency, capital availability, and global trade networks.

Level 5 (17-20 marks): Detailed, balanced, and highly analytical response. Evaluates the steam engine against other factors with sophisticated historical arguments. Level 4 (13-16 marks): Clear, structured essay. Explains the impact of the steam engine and at least two other factors, but may lack a fully integrated analytical conclusion. Level 3 (9-12 marks): Descriptive account of industrialisation. Identifies factors like steam, agriculture, and empire but lacks deep evaluation. Level 2 (5-8 marks): Basic narrative with limited details. Level 1 (1-4 marks): Irrelevant or highly generalized response.

Introduction: The New Deal introduced by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 aimed to address the catastrophic effects of the Great Depression through Relief, Recovery, and Reform. There is a strong debate over its actual economic success versus its political and social legacy. Arguments for success: The New Deal successfully stabilized the banking system through the Emergency Banking Act and FDIC, preventing further bank runs. It provided immediate relief and employment to millions of Americans through agencies like the CCC, WPA, and PWA. It established crucial structural reforms, including Social Security, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate Wall Street, and the Wagner Act to protect labor unions. Arguments against success: The New Deal failed to achieve complete economic recovery; unemployment remained high throughout the 1930s (around 15% in 1937) and only fell to pre-depression levels due to massive military mobilization for World War II. The 'Roosevelt Recession' of 1937-38 demonstrated that the economy was still fragile and reliant on government spending. Furthermore, some policies, like the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), inadvertently harmed poor sharecroppers and tenant farmers by reducing crop acreage. Conclusion: The New Deal was highly successful in terms of short-term relief and long-term institutional reform, but it was not fully successful in achieving macroeconomic recovery, which was ultimately accomplished by wartime production.

Level 5 (17-20 marks): Balanced, analytical essay that clearly distinguishes between relief, recovery, and reform. Evaluates the economic limitations of the New Deal against its structural successes. Level 4 (13-16 marks): Explains both achievements and shortcomings of the New Deal with good historical detail, though the analytical judgment may be less developed. Level 3 (9-12 marks): Descriptive response outlining various New Deal programs (e.g., WPA, AAA, NRA) without a clear, balanced evaluation of their overall economic success. Level 2 (5-8 marks): Identifies a few New Deal policies but lacks depth and historical context. Level 1 (1-4 marks): Fragmentary or inaccurate response.