Regional study topics, Exam paper 3:
2 hours, 30 minutes.
36 questions are given with two from each of the 18 topics.
Answer any 3 questions.
If a question asks about “one or more countries in the region,” references must be to countries in the Americas.
HL option 2: History of the Americas
Only people and events named in the guide will be named in the examination questions.
*12: The Great Depression and the Americas (mid 1920s–1939)
This section focuses on the causes and nature of the Great Depression as well as the different solutions adopted by governments in the region, and the impact on these societies. The Great Depression produced the most serious economic collapse in the history of the Americas. It affected every country in the region and brought about the need to rethink economic and political systems. The alternatives that were offered, and the adaptations that took place, marked a watershed in political and economic development in many countries in the region. With respect to the last three bullets, a case-study approach should be adopted, using one country from the region as an example. The chosen country should be identified in the introduction to the examination answers.
The Great Depression: political and economic causes in the Americas
Nature and efficacy of solutions in the United States: Hoover; Franklin D Roosevelt and the New Deal
Critics of the New Deal; impact of the New Deal on US political and economic systems
Nature and efficacy of solutions in Canada: Mackenzie King and RB Bennett
Impact of the Great Depression on Latin America; political instability and challenges to democracy; economic and social challenges
Latin American responses to the Great Depression: import substitution industrialization (ISI); social and economic policies; popular mobilization and repression
Impact of the Great Depression on society: specifically the impact on women and minorities; impact of the Great Depression on the arts and culture
*13: The Second World War and the Americas (1933–1945)
As the world order deteriorated in the late 1930s, resulting in the outbreak of war in Europe and Asia, the countries of the region reacted in different ways to the challenges presented. This section focuses on the changing policies of the countries in the region as a result of growing political and diplomatic tensions prior to, and during, the Second World War. It also examines the impact of the war upon the Americas.
Hemispheric reactions to the events in Europe and Asia: inter-American diplomacy; cooperation and neutrality; Franklin D Roosevelt’s Good Neighbour policy—its application and effects
Involvement and participation of any two countries of the Americas in the Second World War
Social impact of the Second World War; impact on women and minorities; conscription
Treatment of Japanese Americans, Japanese Latin Americans and Japanese Canadians
Reasons for, and significance of, US use of atomic weapons against Japan
Economic and diplomatic effects of the Second World War in any two countries of the Americas
16: The Cold War and the Americas (1945–1981)
This section focuses on the development and impact of the Cold War on the region. Most of the second half of the 20th century was dominated by the global conflict of the Cold War. Within the Americas, some countries were closely allied to the United States and some took sides reluctantly. Many remained neutral or sought to avoid involvement in Cold War struggles. A few, influenced by the Cuban Revolution, instituted socialist governments. No nation, however, escaped the pressures of the Cold War, which had a significant impact on the domestic and foreign policies of the countries of the region.
Truman: containment and its implications for the Americas; the rise of McCarthyism and its effects on domestic and foreign policies of the United States; social and cultural impact of the Cold War
Korean War, the United States and the Americas: reasons for participation; military developments; diplomatic and political outcomes
Eisenhower and Dulles: New Look and its application; characteristics and reasons for the policy; repercussions for the region
United States’ involvement in Vietnam: the reasons for, and nature of, the involvement at different stages; domestic effects and the end of the war; Canadian non-support of the war; Latin American protest against the war
United States’ foreign policies from Kennedy to Carter: the characteristics of, and reasons for, policies; implications for the region: Kennedy’s Alliance for Progress; Nixon’s covert operations and Chile; Carter’s quest for human rights and the Panama Canal Treaty (1977)
Cold War in either Canada or one Latin American country: reasons for foreign and domestic policies and their implementation