General Instructions

All USA tasks should be emailed to LChesterton-Gemmell@hartonacademy.co.uk
Angevin tasks should be emailed to KDixon@hartonacademy.co.uk
If you want to submit physical work it should be left at the main reception in an envelope with the teachers names on and your name clearly on your work.
The tasks are a vital part of the A Level course and no one commences the course in September without having fully completed the summer tasks.

USA summer tasks

Rationale: there is a wealth of content to cover in class so it is necessary and essential for you to complete these initial tasks so you understand the context of 1865 which is where the course starts from.

You should log onto the following site and read the specification carefully so you understand the course content. 1K The Making of a Superpower: USA, 1865–1975 http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/history/as-and-a-level/history-7041-7042

Task 1 Skill – chronological understanding

Create a timeline of U.S History from 1865-1920. It must contain a minimum of 15 key dates accompanied by detailed descriptions. Maximum of 30 dates.

Task 2 Skill – Demonstrate, organise and communicate knowledge and understanding Read the following articles on the U.S Civil War and summarise each into exactly 10 bullet points.

• A Brief Overview of the American Civil War: A Defining Time in Our Nation’s History By Dr . James McPherson
• The Legacy of the Civil War by Rick Beard and Richard Rabinowitz

Task 3 Skill- Analyse and evaluate appropriate source material, primary and/or contemporary to the period, within its historical context.

Read sources A and B and identify the importance of the type, time and purpose of both sources in a detailed paragraph then write a paragraph explaining why they give different interpretations of Lincoln.

Source A: A letter from Frederick Douglass to Mary Todd Lincoln, August

1865.

‘Mrs. Abraham Lincoln:

Dear Madam: Allow me to thank you, as I certainly do thank you most sincerely for

your thoughtful kindness in making me the owner of a cane which was formerly the

property and the favourite walking staff of your late lamented husband the

honoured and venerated President of the United States. I assure you, that this

inestimable memento of his Excellency will be retained in my possession while I live

– an object of sacred interest – a token not merely of the kind consideration in

which I have reason to know that President was pleased to hold me in personally,

but as an indication of his humane interest in the welfare of my whole race.

With every proper sentiment of Respect and Esteem

I am, Dear Madam, your Obedient Servant

Frederick Douglass.’

 

Source B: John Wilkes Booth writing in his diary, April 15th 1865.

‘This country was formed for the white not for the black man. And looking upon African

slavery from the same stand-point, as held by those noble framers of our Constitution,

I for one, have always considered it, one of the greatest blessings (both for

themselves and us) that God ever bestowed upon a favoured nation. Our country owed

all her troubles to him (Lincoln), and God simply made me the instrument of his

punishment. The country is not what it was. This forced Union is not what I have loved.

I care not what becomes of me. I struck for my country and that alone. A country that

groaned beneath his tyranny, and prayed for his end.

 

Angevin Summer Task

For this summer task you are going to demonstrate the following skills: independent reading/learning, summarising, categorisation, analysis and evaluating.

To understand Henry II’s reign you need to know what happened in the reign before – King Stephen.

Using the Purser reading, the websites listed below and any other websites/books/articles you believe may be helpful you need to investigate Stephen’s reign. (Wikipedia is not a valid website to use!)

The work you should hand in is as follows:

1) A timeline of Stephen’s reign – key events e.g. battles, treaties, deaths, etc.

2) A summary of the causes, events and outcomes of Stephen’s reign. What helped Stephen to become king? What were the major events of his reign? What impact did Stephen’s reign have on England and the authority of the king? These are your notes so use your preferred method – mind map, bullet points, table, spider diagram, etc.

3) Reach a judgement – Was Stephen’s reign a 19 year ANARCHY? To do this you need to understand what the word ‘anarchy’ means and decide if the evidence supports this for the full 19 years, part of the reign or none of the reign. In no more than 250 words you need to share your opinion but it must be supported with evidence.

Websites that might help:

https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/guide-the-anarchy-what-civil-war-stephenmatilda/
https://www.history.co.uk/articles/the-anarchy-england-s-dark-period-of-lawlessness-andwar
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/King-Stephen-Anarchy/
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Empress-Maud/
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/medievalengland.htm

Purser reading