Paper 1 Section A/D: America, 1920–1973: Opportunity and inequality

June 2022

Q1: How does Interpretation B differ from Interpretation A about popular culture,

including Rock and Roll, in post-war America? Explain your answer based on what it says in Interpretations A and B.

Answer:

For example, Interpretation B says that only a few teenagers were affected by Rock and Roll and that most people hated it. Whereas Interpretation A says that it influenced the whole country in terms of consumerism and social attitudes throughout an entire decade. For example, Interpretation B says Rock and Roll was a bad influence whereas Interpretation A says that Rock and Roll was a good thing that brought joy.

Q2: Why might the authors of Interpretations A and B have a different interpretation

about popular culture, including Rock and Roll, in post-war America? Explain your answer using Interpretations A and B and your contextual knowledge.

Answer:

For example, Interpretation A is written by someone who has made a career out of new styles of music being created so he clearly welcomes new fashions in popular culture. Whereas, Sinatra lost his fame and popularity when the new style of music became fashionable. The development of Rock and Roll caused him to suffer financially and professionally. For example, Interpretation A is written by someone who enjoyed Rock and Roll music as a young person whereas Interpretation B is written by someone who was an older adult during the 1950s.

Q3: Which interpretation gives the more convincing opinion about popular culture,

including Rock and Roll, in post-war America? Explain your answer based on your contextual knowledge and what it says in Interpretations A and B.

Answer:

For example, the interpretations reflect the different attitudes of the age groups affected by post war popular culture. The teenagers were attracted to the excitement associated with the rebelliousness of the new culture symbolised by film stars such as James Dean. But some of the older generation, such as Sinatra in Interpretation B, were shocked by the attitudes of teenagers and blamed Rock and Roll for encouraging lawlessness. For example, Interpretation A is convincing because teenagers were a large part of the consumerism in post war popular culture. They had huge spending power which they used on music, cars and alcohol. They were the first generation of young people in America that did not have to get jobs to support their parents and Rock and Roll helped to create a new identity for their age group. Interpretation B is not convincing when it says everyone was horrified by Rock and Roll because businesses were happy to target new products at the new consumer group of ‘teenagers’. For example, Interpretation A is convincing. Teenagers liked Rock and Roll because it was easy to dance to. Listening to Rock and Roll seemed daring to teenagers because the songs had sexual references which was very different from the types of music their parents listened to. For example, Interpretation B is not convincing because it was not just a few teenagers that listened to Rock and Roll. Singers such as Elvis Presley sold millions of albums.

Q4: Describe two problems faced by people in America during the Depression.

Answer:

These might include, one problem was that the farming industry failed. Large areas of farmland had become a dust bowl which was impossible to farm. Bank loans for equipment caused financial pressure on farmers. Another problem was that the government did not provide any effective help. Without a job, people could not pay their mortgages and were evicted from businesses closed down.

Q5: In what ways were the lives of American people affected by feminist movements in the

1960s and early 1970s? Explain your answer.

Answer:

For example, people’s lives were affected in different ways. Whilst the feminist movements increased opportunities by law in terms of education and reproductive rights, in practice the new laws did not guarantee more equality for all American women. The average rate of pay for women remained lower than for men. For example, women gained more rights when the campaign to legalise abortion was won via the ‘Roe v Wade case’. The Supreme Court ruled that women had the right to a safe, legal abortion. This was supported by Betty Friedan and the National Organisation for Women (NOW) which campaigned for sexual equality in US law. For example, the lives of some women were affected by the ‘Stop ERA’ campaign. They were successful because the proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the constitution was not ratified. The ERA would have granted full gender equality rights but the ‘Stop ERA’ campaign argued it would be damaging to society and women’s rights because they could, for example, be drafted into combat as men were. For example, the campaign group called ‘Women’s Lib’ used extreme demonstration tactics such as disrupting the Miss World beauty contest and burning bras because these things represented the way women were objectified and controlled by men. For example, the law was changed by the Equal Pay Act to ensure that men and women received equal pay for doing the same job.

Q6: Which of the following had more impact on American society in the 1920s:

• prohibition • immigration? Explain your answer with reference to both bullet points. and AQA will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgements. If you have any queries please contact the CopyrightTeam.

Answer:

For example, prohibition had more impact because this affected every social group in society in some way. Furthermore, the impact of police corruption and organised crime was a real threat to the security of all citizens. Whereas, the fear generated by the ‘Red Scare’ and the imagined threat of communism posed by immigrants was unfounded and never materialised. There was never an attempted revolution. For example, one impact of prohibition was that gangsters such as Al Capone gained more influence in society. They were able to make millions of dollars by supplying smuggled alcohol because they bribed law enforcers to turn a blind eye to their activities. Organised crime also made them wealthy because they forced business owners to pay protection money to avoid having their shops For example, immigration in the 1920s had an impact on society because it created fear and division. The immigrants that arrived from Central and Eastern Europe were suspected of bringing communist ideas. This led to a fear of a revolution happening in America and was known as a ‘Red Scare’. There was a lot of prejudice against immigrants and during the ‘Palmer Raids’, thousands of suspected communists were arrested but there was no evidence of any plans to launch terror attacks. For example, people made their own alcohol which was called moonshine; this was so strong that it poisoned people and alcohol related deaths increased during prohibition. There were not enough agents to enforce the law or prevent For example, alcohol was made illegal; people went to secret bars that were called Speakeasies. Immigrants in the 1920s faced prejudice; they were paid extremely low wages and accused of stealing jobs from other Americans.