AQA AS HISTORY Challenge and transformation: Britain, c1851–1964 Component 1G Victorian and Edwardian Britain, c1851–1914 FINAL MAY 2023

AQA AS HISTORY Challenge and transformation: Britain, c1851–1964 Component 1G Victorian and Edwardian Britain, c1851–1914 Wednesday 17 May 2023 Afternoon Time allowed: 1 hour 30 minutes Materials For this paper you must have: • an AQA 16-page answer book. Instructions • Use black ink or black ball-point pen. • Write the information required on the front of your answer book. The Paper Reference is 7041/1G. • Answer two questions. In Section A answer Question 01. In Section B answer either Question 02 or Question 03. Information • The marks for questions are shown in brackets. • The maximum mark for this paper is 50. • You will be marked on your ability to: – use good English – organise information clearly – use specialist vocabulary where appropriate. Advice • You are advised to spend about: – 50 minutes on Section A – 40 minutes on Section B. Section A Answer Question 01. Extract A The support base of the Liberal Party, founded in 1859, was made up of several classes: the great Whig landowners, the industrial and commercial classes, and most of those artisans who had the vote. The elements comprising the party co-operated on short-term objectives, but disagreed on long-term objectives. The trick of leadership was to keep several issues running at once and to persuade the party to expect parliamentary failures as well as successes. Temperance, religious and educational measures all caused sharp disagreement within the party. In 1866, when Russell and Gladstone brought forward a modest Liberal reform bill, the party and government disintegrated. Radicals thought that the bill did too little, cautious Liberals and Whigs that it did too much. Adapted from C Matthew, The Nineteenth Century, 2000 5 Extract B Many historians have tended to create an exaggerated impression of division and disunity in mid-Victorian liberalism. However, the common basis of liberalism is clear. Above all, the party was dedicated to the cause of free trade which many Liberals saw not merely as the key to economic prosperity but as a great moral good. In addition, Liberals advocated a range of constitutional, legal and religious reforms, which reflected their desire to restrict excessive privilege and to improve civil liberties for the individual. On this basis, it is clear that, by the 1860s, liberalism represented something coherent and distinct from conservatism. Adapted from M Pugh, The Making of Modern British Politics 1867–1939, 1993 5 0 1 With reference to these extracts and your understanding of the historical context, which of these two extracts provides the more convincing interpretation of the Liberal Party in the years 1859 to 1868? [25 marks]