Paper 2 Section A Question Types » Paper 2 Section A Question (b): How Far Does Source A Support Source B?

The question

"Study Sources A and B. How far does Source A support the evidence of Source B about the issue? Explain your answer."

Matched quotations

Quote from both sources for every point. Keep each quotation short, a few words, and say which source it comes from. A point with a quotation from only one source is not a cross-reference.

Fact file: Prohibition in the USA

• The Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution banned making, selling and transporting alcoholic drink. It came into force in January 1920.
• The Amendment was approved by the states in January 1919.
• The Volstead Act of 1919 explained the ban and how it would be enforced. Drinking was not banned, and some uses, such as medicine and religious wine, were allowed.
• Illegal bars called speakeasies opened, and criminal gangs such as Al Capone's in Chicago made money from illegal alcohol.
• The Twenty-first Amendment ended Prohibition in December 1933.

Source A

From the platform of the Republican Party for the 1928 presidential election

"... 'The Constitution which at any time exists until changed by the explicit and authentic act by the whole people is sacredly obligatory upon all.' ... The people through the method provided by the Constitution have written the Eighteenth Amendment into the Constitution. The Republican Party pledges itself and its nominees to the observance and vigorous enforcement of this provision of the Constitution."

Source B

From the platform of the Democratic Party for the 1932 presidential election

"We advocate the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment. ... we urge the enactment of such measures by the several states as will actually promote temperance, effectively prevent the return of the saloon, and bring the liquor traffic into the open under complete supervision and control by the states."

Question

Study Sources A and B. How far does Source A support the evidence of Source B about Prohibition? Explain your answer. [8 marks]

Strong answer

Source A supports Source B in a small way, because both treat drink as something the law must control. Source A pledges "vigorous enforcement" of the Amendment, and Source B wants the liquor trade under "complete supervision and control by the states". Both want firm control of alcohol.

However, the sources differ in detail. Source A wants the Eighteenth Amendment kept, saying the people "have written" it into the Constitution, but Source B says "We advocate the repeal" of it. They differ in emphasis too. Source A is about obeying a rule that already exists, whereas Source B is about what should replace it, to "prevent the return of the saloon". Their tone also differs: Source A is firm, with "pledges" and "vigorous", while Source B is practical and offers a plan to "promote temperance".

Overall, Source A supports Source B only to a limited extent. They share a wish for control, but disagree on the main point: whether Prohibition should continue at all.

Weaker answer

Source A says Prohibition is good and Source B says it is bad. Prohibition caused lots of crime in the 1920s, so Source B is right.

Common mistakes

• Only agreement or only difference. You need both to reach the top of the middle band. For the top band you must also explain how far.
• Describing each source in turn. Compare them point by point instead.
• Judging reliability or adding own knowledge. This question does not reward it.
• No judgement. Always finish by saying how far, and why.
• Long quotations. A few words is enough, and it saves time.

Fact file: votes for women in Britain

• Before 1918 no woman could vote in a general election in Britain.
• The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, led by Millicent Fawcett, campaigned by peaceful methods.
• The Women's Social and Political Union, led by Emmeline Pankhurst, was founded in 1903 and later turned to militant action.
• Militant action included breaking windows. Many women were sent to prison, and some went on hunger strike.
• In 1918 some women over 30 who met a property qualification won the vote.

Source A

From a speech by Emmeline Pankhurst, leader of the Women's Social and Political Union, in Hartford, USA, 13 November 1913

"... when damage is done to property it is not done in order to convert people to woman suffrage at all. It is a practical political means, the only means we consider open to voteless persons ... The first people who were put out of a political meeting for asking questions, were women; they were brutally ill-used; they found themselves in jail before twenty-four hours had expired."

Source B

From a book by Millicent Fawcett, leader of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, published in 1912

"... They never weakened in their conviction that constitutional agitation was not only right in itself, but would prove far more effective in the long run than any display of physical violence, as a means of converting the electorate ... to a belief in women's suffrage. ... the brutal severity with which some of the militant suffragists were treated gave suffragists of all parties another subject on which they were in agreement."

Question

Study Sources A and B. How far does Source A support the evidence of Source B about the campaign for votes for women? Explain your answer. [8 marks]

Model answer

Source A supports Source B on how campaigners were treated. Source A says women who asked questions were "brutally ill-used" and jailed within a day, and Source B also describes "the brutal severity" with which militant suffragists were treated. Both agree the treatment was harsh, and both writers criticise it.

The sources differ in detail about methods. Source A defends damage to property as "a practical political means", but Source B believes "constitutional agitation" would be "far more effective" than "physical violence". They differ in emphasis too. Source A is mainly about why voteless women turned to militancy, whereas Source B is mainly about winning over the electorate and Parliament. The tone differs: Source A is defiant, calling damage "the only means" open to women, while Source B sounds patient, with "never weakened in their conviction".

Overall, Source A supports Source B only to a limited extent. They share anger at harsh treatment, but disagree on the central question of whether damage and violence were the right way to win the vote.

Exam tip

Before you write, put a tick beside one agreement and one difference, and underline a few words from each source for both. Then your quotations are ready and you can write straight through.