What did Thomas Paine argue in 'Common Sense'?

That it was absurd for a small island to govern a continent, and that Americans should throw off monarchy altogether and rule themselves.

Why was 'Common Sense' so influential?

It was short, cheap and written in plain language rather than for lawyers, so it sold in vast numbers and made independence an ordinary demand instead of an extreme one.

What claim about government does the Declaration of Independence make?

That all men are created equal and hold rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and that a government which destroys those rights may rightly be replaced.

What contradiction lay at the heart of the Declaration?

Its author and many who signed it owned enslaved people, and the equality it proclaimed was not extended to them, to women or to Indigenous nations.

Edexcel GCSE History 1HI0

Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88British depth

Topic overview Anglo-Saxon government, economy and society The last years of Edward the Confessor and the succession crisis The rival claimants for the throne The Norman invasion, 1060–66 Establishing control, 1066–87 Anglo-Saxon resistance, 1068–71 The legacy of resistance to 1087 Revolt of the Earls, 1075 The feudal system and the Church Norman government, 1066–88 The Norman aristocracy, 1066–88 William I and the succession

British America, 1713–83: Empire and RevolutionPeriod study

Topic overview Developments in colonial society Slavery in North America Problems within the colonies The impact of cultural developments War in the colonies The aftermath of the French and Indian war American colonist relations with Britain: growing opposition, 1765-75 The War of Independence 1775-83 Consequences of the war in America

Conflict in the Middle East, 1945–95Period study

Topic overview The British withdrawal and the creation of Israel Aftermath of the 1948–49 war Increased tension, 1955–63 The Six Day War, 1967 Aftermath of the 1967 war Israel and Egypt, 1967–73 Diplomatic negotiations, 1974–95 The Palestinian issue, 1974–95 Attempts at a solution

Crime and Punishment in Britain, c1000–presentPaper 1 option

Topic overview Factors driving change in crime and punishment, c1000–present Nature and changing definitions of criminal activity, c1000–c1500 The nature of law enforcement and punishment, c1000–c1500 Case study: the Church, sanctuary and trial by ordeal Nature and changing definitions of criminal activity, c1500–c1700 The nature of law enforcement and punishment, c1500–c1700 Case studies: the Gunpowder Plot and Matthew Hopkins Nature and changing definitions of criminal activity, c1700–c1900 The nature of law enforcement and punishment, c1700–c1900 Case studies: Pentonville prison and Robert Peel Nature and changing definitions of criminal activity, c1900–present The nature of law enforcement and punishment, c1900–present Case studies: conscientious objectors and Derek Bentley

Early Elizabethan England, 1558–88British depth

Topic overview The situation on Elizabeth’s accession The ‘settlement’ of religion Challenge to the religious settlement The problem of Mary, Queen of Scots Plots and revolts at home Relations with Spain, 1569–88 Outbreak of war with Spain, 1585–88 The Armada, 1588 Education and leisure, 1558–88 The ‘problem’ of the poor Exploration and voyages of discovery Attempted colonisation of Virginia

Henry VIII and His Ministers, 1509–40British depth

Topic overview Henry VIII, Renaissance Prince The rise of Wolsey and his policies Wolsey’s foreign policy, 1509–29 Wolsey, Catherine, the succession and annulment Cromwell’s rise to power, 1529–34 The king’s marriages, 1529–40 Cromwell and government, 1534–40 The fall of Cromwell The break with Rome Opposition to, and impact of, Reformation, 1534–40 The dissolution of the monasteries The Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536

London and the Second World War, 1939–45Paper 1 option

Topic overview London at the outbreak of the Second World War The nature of attacks on London The impact of the Blitz on civilian life London’s response to the war Britain and the Second World War: the wider context Sources for a London Blitz enquiry

Mao’s China, 1945–76Modern depth

Topic overview The Civil War, 1945–49 Communist rule, 1945–59 Consolidating the CCP’s hold on power, 1951–52 The Hundred Flowers campaign, 1956–57 Early changes in agriculture, 1949–57 Industry and the Five-Year Plan, 1953–57 The Great Leap Forward Economic reform, 1962–65 Reasons for the Cultural Revolution The Red Guards and the Red Terror The effects of the Cultural Revolution The end of the Cultural Revolution, 1968–76 Communist control, 1949–76 Family life and the role of women Education and health, 1949–76 Cultural change, 1949–76

Medicine in Britain, c1250–presentPaper 1 option

Topic overview Factors driving change in medicine, c1250–present Ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1250–c1500 Approaches to prevention and treatment, c1250–c1500 Case study: the Black Death, 1348–49 Ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1500–c1700 Approaches to prevention and treatment, c1500–c1700 Case studies: William Harvey and the Great Plague of 1665 Ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1700–c1900 Approaches to prevention and treatment, c1700–c1900 Case studies: Jenner’s vaccination and the 1854 cholera outbreak Ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1900–present Approaches to prevention and treatment, c1900–present Case studies: penicillin and the fight against lung cancer

Migrants in Britain, c800–presentPaper 1 option

Topic overview Factors driving change in migration to Britain, c800–present The context for migration, c800–c1500 The experience and impact of migrants, c800–c1500 Case study: York under the Vikings The context for migration, c1500–c1700 The experience and impact of migrants, c1500–c1700 Case studies: Flemish and Walloon migrants, and the Huguenots The context for migration, c1700–c1900 The experience and impact of migrants, c1700–c1900 Case studies: Liverpool, and Jewish migrants in the East End The context for migration, c1900–present The experience and impact of migrants, c1900–present Case studies: Bristol, and Asian migrants in Leicester

Notting Hill, c1948–c1970Paper 1 option

Topic overview The local context of Notting Hill The influence of Caribbean cultures on the area Racism and policing Black activism in the Notting Hill area Migration, race relations and the national context Sources for a Notting Hill enquiry

Russia and the Soviet Union, 1917–41Modern depth

Topic overview The growth of opposition to the tsar in early 1917 The February Revolution The Provisional Government The Bolshevik Revolution Early consolidation of power, 1917–18 The Civil War, 1918–21 Moves towards totalitarianism, 1917–24 Economic and social change, 1918–24 The struggle for power, 1924–28 The use of terror in the 1930s Propaganda and censorship, 1924–41 The Cult of Stalin Agriculture and collectivisation, 1924–41 Changes in industry, 1924–41 Life in the Soviet Union The position of women and ethnic minorities

Spain and the ‘New World’, c1490–c1555Period study

Topic overview Spanish exploration, c1490–1512 Columbus reaches the Americas Spanish claims in the Caribbean The start of an empire The conquest of Mexico Impact of Spain in the Americas Pizarro and the conquest of the Incas Expansion of empire, c1528–c1555 Impact of the 'New World' on Spain

Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941–91Period study

Topic overview Early tension between East and West The development of the Cold War The Cold War intensifies Increased tension between East and West Cold War crises, 1958–70 Reaction to crisis, 1958–70 Attempts to reduce superpower tensions in the 1970s The end of détente and the ‘Second Cold War’The collapse of Soviet control of Eastern Europe, 1985-91

The American West, c1835–c1895Period study

Topic overview Indigenous peoples of the Plains: their beliefs and ways of life Migration and early settlement Conflict and tension, c1835–c1862 The development of settlement in the West Ranching and the cattle industry Changes in the ways of life of Indigenous peoples of the Plains Changes in farming, the cattle industry and settlement Conflict and tension, c1876–c1895 Indigenous peoples of the Plains: the destruction of their ways of life

The British Sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: Injuries, Treatment and the TrenchesPaper 1 option

Topic overview The British sector of the Western Front and the trench system Conditions requiring medical treatment on the Western Front Medical treatment on the Western Front Experiments in surgery and medicine on the Western Front Medicine in the early twentieth century Sources for a Western Front enquiry

The Reigns of King Richard I and King John, 1189–1216British depth

Topic overview The feudal system, 1189–1216 Kingship and succession, 1189–1216 Royal government and finances English society, 1189–1216 The nature of crusading Richard and the Third Crusade Aftermath of the crusade Richard, John and the loss of Normandy The dispute with the Papacy Worsening relations with the barons Magna Carta and the First Barons’ War England in 1216

The USA, 1954–75: Conflict at Home and AbroadModern depth

Topic overview The position of Black Americans in the early 1950s Developments in education, 1954–60 The Montgomery Bus Boycott and its impact, 1955–60 Opposition to the civil rights movement Developments, 1960–62 Peaceful protests and their impact, 1963–65 Malcolm X and Black Power, 1963–70 The civil rights movement, 1965–75 Reasons for US involvement in the conflict in Vietnam, 1954–63 Escalation of the conflict under Johnson The nature of the conflict in Vietnam, 1964–68 Changes under Nixon, 1969–73 Opposition to the war Support for the war The peace process and end of the war Reasons for the failure of the USA in Vietnam

Warfare and British Society, c1250–presentPaper 1 option

Topic overview Factors driving change in warfare, c1250–present The nature of warfare, c1250–c1500 The experience of war, c1250–c1500 Case studies: the battles of Falkirk and Agincourt The nature of warfare, c1500–c1700 The experience of war, c1500–c1700 Case study: the Battle of Naseby, 1645 The nature of warfare, c1700–c1900 The experience of war, c1700–c1900 Case studies: the battles of Waterloo and Balaclava The nature of warfare, c1900–present The experience of war, c1900–present Case studies: the Somme and the Iraq War

Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39Modern depth

Topic overview The origins of the Republic, 1918–19 The early challenges to the Weimar Republic, 1919–23 The ‘Golden Years’: recovery of the Republic, 1924–29 Changes in society, 1924–29 Early development of the Nazi Party, 1920–22 The Munich Putsch and the Nazi Party, 1923–28 The growth in support for the Nazis, 1929–32 How Hitler became Chancellor, 1932–33 The creation of a dictatorship, 1933–34 The police state, 1933–39 Controlling and influencing attitudes Opposition, resistance and conformity Nazi policies towards women Nazi policies towards the young Employment and living standards The persecution of minorities

Whitechapel, c1870–c1900: Crime, Policing and the Inner CityPaper 1 option

Topic overview The local context of Whitechapel The inhabitants of Whitechapel The organisation of policing in Whitechapel Investigative policing in Whitechapel The Metropolitan Police and the national context Sources for a Whitechapel enquiry

British America, 1713–83: Empire and Revolution

The War of Independence 1775-83

3 things to know
Paper 2 booklet P

Overview

Paine's 'Common Sense', the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson's role and the contradiction at its heart, Washington's leadership, Saratoga in 1777 and the French alliance, Spain's part, British mistakes, Yorktown in 1781, the Peace of Paris of 1783, Franklin's part and what the treaty left unsettled.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

How did the campaign of 1777 bring France and Spain into the War of Independence, and what did the alliance give the Americans?

Key term

What was Thomas Jefferson's role?

Evaluation

What was Washington's greatest strength as commander-in-chief?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What did Thomas Paine argue in 'Common Sense'?
Model answer
That it was absurd for a small island to govern a continent, and that Americans should throw off monarchy altogether and rule themselves.
2
Why was 'Common Sense' so influential?
Model answer
It was short, cheap and written in plain language rather than for lawyers, so it sold in vast numbers and made independence an ordinary demand instead of an extreme one.
3
What claim about government does the Declaration of Independence make?
Model answer
That all men are created equal and hold rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and that a government which destroys those rights may rightly be replaced.
4
What was Thomas Jefferson's role?
Model answer
He was chosen by the drafting committee to write the Declaration, and its wording and argument are largely his.
5
What contradiction lay at the heart of the Declaration?
Model answer
Its author and many who signed it owned enslaved people, and the equality it proclaimed was not extended to them, to women or to Indigenous nations.
6
What was Washington's greatest strength as commander-in-chief?
Model answer
He kept an army in the field through defeats, desertions and terrible winters, understanding that Britain could only win by destroying it.

See the rest and revise

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book

2Open book

3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88

British America, 1713–83: Empire and Revolution

Conflict in the Middle East, 1945–95

Crime and Punishment in Britain, c1000–present

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

£6.6 , fixed in 1921.

billionmillionthousand

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AThe huge loss of life left England short of workers.

BForeign craftsmen and labourers were wanted.

CCompetition for work also bred resentment.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Strategy means the plan for a whole campaign.

TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in British America, 1713–83: Empire and Revolution, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Start revising, £5 a month See how the method works

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.