[Megan Heath]

Could anyone please help me with this question on how to structure it? I'm really struggling with the 40 mark questions and this topic in general :/

The question is:

Do you agree with the view that, in the years 1885 – 1914, the main obstacle that stood in the way of Home Rule for Ireland was party rivalry among English politicians? Explain your answer, using Sources 4, 5 and 6 and your own knowledge. (40 marks)

If anyone could help then I'd be very grateful. Thanks!

[AdvanceAndVanquish]

What are the sources? For a source-based question, it is all about how you interrogate the sources and work them into the answer.

[Megan Heath]

The sources are:

SOURCE 4
(From Hamish Macdonald, The Irish Question, published 1985)

In 1885 Gladstone decided to support Home Rule, believing that this could solve the Irish question. The Ulster Unionists were determined to stop him and turned to English Conservatives like Lord Randolph Churchill for help. Churchill's plan was to use the Orange Order to unite the Ulster Protestants against Home Rule. 'I decided some time ago', he explained, 'that if the Grand Old Man [Gladstone] went for Home Rule, the Orange card would be the one to play'. For Conservatives and for Imperialists, there was more at stake than Ireland.

SOURCE 5
(From a letter written by John Redmond to the Liberal MP John Morley in November 1909. The letter was passed to Asquith. A few days later Asquith announced his support for legislation to grant Home Rule for Ireland.)

The political conditions in Ireland are such that, unless an official declaration on the question of Home Rule is made, it will be impossible for us to support Liberal candidates in England. Furthermore, we will unquestionably be forced to ask our supporters in Britain to vote against them. As you know, the opposition of Irish voters in Lancashire, Yorkshire and Scotland would mean the loss of many seats.

SOURCE 6
(From A.C. Hepburn, The Conflict of Nationality in Modern Ireland, published 1980)

The Conservatives' adoption of the name 'Unionist' after 1886 acknowledged a measure of their commitment to the Union. However, the scale and intensity of their opposition to Home Rule in 1911-14 was something new. Historians have portrayed this variously as a determination to maintain the United Kingdom, a cynical exercise by a thrice-defeated politcal party, or revenge for the Parliament Act of 1911. But for many Conservatives watching traditional values being swept away by radicals, Ulster, where militant loyalty cut across class barriers, was the ideal place for a defiant stand.

[Cupcake_Queen]

I did Ireland last year and, I find the best way to structure it is to do a brief intro that agrees with the statement but notes that there were other factors.

Best way to start is to look through the sources and makes notes on what it says, putting them in either a yes or no column depending on if it agrees or disagrees with the source ( ie in SOurce 6, the mention of how the Conservatives backing the Unionists in Ireland, shows that they are taking sides, and using own knowledge talk about how this turned home rule into a party Issue)


Do one paragraph on how the sources agree with the statement, then the next paragraph which says how the sources disagree with the statement. Then a conclusion.

[JustinHavelock]

Excuse me but have you got any idea where are the sources on the edexcel website? I couldn't find it because they are not attached in the question papers!

[Megan Heath]

(Original post by JustinHavelock)
Excuse me but have you got any idea where are the sources on the edexcel website? I couldn't find it because they are not attached in the question papers!

I'm not sure sorry, my teacher gave me a copy of all the past papers and the sources. If you tell me what paper you're doing then I could tell you the sources?