SECTION A: CORE CONTENT. Option B: The twentieth century. The League of Nations struggled to achieve all of its aims.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2024). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] The Slavery Commission wanted to end slave owning/free slaves.
2. [1] They wanted to stop the slave trade.
3. [1] They wanted to end white slavery.
4. [1] They wrote reports and pressured governments.
5. [1] In Sierra Leone 200 000 slaves were freed.
6. [1] Countries such as Nepal, Iran, Iraq and Jordan abolished slavery.
7. [1] The Commission challenged forced labour, especially on the Tanganyika railway where death rates were reduced from 50% to 4%.
8. [1] The Commission organised raids against slave owners in Burma.
9. [6] Level 4: Explains two reasons.
10. [4-5] Level 3: Explains one reason. Four marks for one explanation, five marks for explanation supported by specific contextual knowledge.
11. [4] Japan was badly affected by the Depression and invaded Manchuria to tackle some of the problems it faced. It was not self-sufficient and was struggling to feed its rising population. By invading Manchuria, Japan hoped to solve these problems by gaining extra land and resources and a market for Japanese exports.
12. [2-3] Level 2: Identifies or describes valid reason(s); addresses the question but does not explain. One Level 2 mark for each identification/description.
13. [1] Japan was badly affected by the Depression.
14. [1] There was over population.
15. [1] China was weak.
16. [1] Japan needed to provide more food for its population.
17. [1] Japan needed raw materials.
18. [1] Japan needed a market for exports.
19. [1] Japan could not sell exports of silk to pay for imports.
20. [1] An alleged incident on the Mukden railway was used to justify the invasion.
21. [1] It was a decision made by the generals.
22. [1] Japan wanted to expand its territories.
23. [1] Level 1: Writes about the topic but does not address the question.
24. [1] In March 1932 Manchuria was renamed Manchukuo.
25. [0] Level 0: No creditable response. 0 marks
26. [10] Level 5: Explains both sides and supports a valid judgement on 'how far'. One explanation or more on each side.
27. [10] The main reason the League failed wasn't that its decision making was slow, although this didn't help. The main reason was that the main powers in the League – Britain and France were not committed fully to applying League policy. When Mussolini invaded Abyssinia, they went behind the back of the League to try and reach an agreement with Mussolini. If the League couldn't trust its two main members to counteract aggression then it was never going to work.
28. [7-9] Level 4: Explains both sides. For candidates to be awarded this level they must have one explanation on each side; one additional mark for each additional explanation on either side.
29. [4-6] Level 3: Explains one side. One Level 3 mark for each explanation.
30. [4] The need to reach unanimous decisions prevented the League from taking effective action. For instance, after the invasion of Manchuria in 1931, Japan continued its aggression into other regions of China. The League discussed banning arms sales to Japan. However, the members could not agree about what action to take and so nothing was done.
31. [4] There were other reasons for the lack of effective action by the League. They had no army to enforce their decisions. In 1920, Poland took over Vilna, the capital of Lithuania. When Lithuania appealed to the League, it ruled that Polish action was illegal and asked Poland to withdraw. However, the Poles refused and the League was unable to act against them.
32. [2-3] Level 2: Identifies or describes valid points; addresses the question but does not explain. One Level 2 mark for each identification/description.
33. [1] Decisions had to be unanimous which meant the League did not act if one member disagreed.
34. [1] Decision making was slow.
35. [1] Members acted in their own interests.
36. [1] The League had no army to enforce decisions.
37. [1] Britain and France would not take effective action against Mussolini.
38. [1] The US was not a member of the League.
39. [1] Economic sanctions were damaging to members as well as to an aggressor.
40. [1] If members disagreed with the League (such as Japan and Germany) they simply left.
41. [1] The League failed to bring about disarmament.
42. [1] Level 1: Writes about the topic but does not address the question.
43. [1] The League of Nations had a policy called collective security.
44. [0] Level 0: No creditable response. 0 marks