A divided union: civil rights in the USA, 1945-74 is the period study investigating the issues that divided America, how these issues were challenged, and to what extent the challenges were successful. You will focus on crucial events during this period, and study the different political, economic and social changes that occurred.

This study will help you understand the complexities of America between 1945 and 1974. You will investigate themes such as communism, capitalism, racism, segregation, discrimination, sexism, counter-culture, equal rights, boycotts and protest. This course enables you to develop the historical skills of identifying key features of a time period, and encourages you to analyse and compare sources and evaluate interpretations.

A divided union: civil rights in the USA, 1945-74 is split into 5 enquiries:

• ❖ Enquiry 1 looks at the Red Scare and McCarthyism. You will investigate the reasons why the USA was gripped by the Red Scare and the key events that took place during it, including the Hiss and Rosenberg trials. You will study the impact of the Red Scare on America.
• ❖ Enquiry 2 looks at civil rights in the 1950s. You will investigate the issues of segregation and discrimination. You will study the impact of early civil rights cases such as Brown v Topeka and the murder of Emmett Till, as well as the significance of key civil rights protests and the impact of the KKK.
• ❖ Enquiry 3 looks at the impact of civil rights protests between 1960 and 1974. You will study the significance and impact of the Freedom Riders and sit-ins, as well as the role of individuals and organisations on the development of the civil rights movement from Martin Luther King to the Black Power movement.
• ❖ Enquiry 4 looks at other protest movements that developed because of the Vietnam War and counterculture movement such as the hippies. You will also study the women's movement and the reasons why there was opposition to it.
• ❖ Enquiry 5 looks at President Nixon and the Watergate scandal. You will investigate the causes of the scandal, what happened and the impact it had on American politics.

Some of the key individuals studied on this course include:

• ❖ Senator McCarthy.
• ❖ Ethel and Julius Rosenberg.
• ❖ Emmett Till.
• ❖ President Kennedy.
• ❖ President Johnson.
• ❖ Martin Luther King Jr.
• ❖ Malcolm X.
• ❖ President Nixon.

Some of the key events you will study on this course include:

• ❖ The Trial of Alger Hiss.
• ❖ The Execution of the Rosenbergs.
• ❖ The Montgomery Bus Boycott.
• ❖ The Civil Rights Act, 1957.
• ❖ The Black Panthers.
• ❖ Anti-Vietnam and Student Protests.
• ❖ The Watergate Scandal.

A divided union: civil rights in the USA, 1945-74 forms part of paper 1 which you have a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete. You should spend 45 minutes on this section of the paper. There will be 1 exam question on A divided union: civil rights in the USA, 1945-74. The question will be broken down into 4 sections: a, b, c(i) and c(ii). You will answer a, b and either c(i) or c(ii).

• ❖ Question a is worth 6 marks. This question requires you to examine an extract and assesses your ability to analyse and evaluate a historical interpretation. You will need to identify the author's opinion or perspective by analysing the language the author uses and what they have chosen to comment on. You will explain how valid the overall impression is by using your own knowledge to evaluate that impression.
• ❖ Question b is worth 8 marks. This question requires you to explain two effects of an event on something else by using your contextual knowledge and looking at the consequences. You will need to identify two effects and then demonstrate how the event led to the effect you have identified.
• ❖ Question c(i) and c(ii) are worth 16 marks. This question requires you to construct an argument to support and challenge an interpretation stated in the question. You will be given two pieces of information to help jog your memory but you must use information of your own. You will have the opportunity to show your ability to explain and analyse historical events using second order concepts such as causation, consequence, change, continuity, similarity and difference.