us economy essay leaving cert

H1 Sample Answer - What were the strengths and weaknesses of the US economy, 1945-1989? (2016)

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History: The United States and the Wider World, 1945-1989 - H1 Essays

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Lenin, Stalin and economics and social change for Leaving Cert History #625Lab

To what extent did lenin and/or stalin bring about social and economic change.

#625Lab – History , marked 70/100, detailed feedback at the very bottom. You may also like:  Leaving Cert History Guide  (€).

Both Lenin and Stalin brought about massive social and economic change during their respective rules. Both used terror and propaganda to achieve and retain power. Lenin’s economic policies included war communism during the civil war and the new economic policy after the war. Stalin established the five-year plans, which proved more successful then (than) his agricultural policy, collectivization. While Lenin’s rule was brutal, due to the cheka, it was nothing compared to Stalin’s rule due to his extensive countrywide purges and his show trials, which resulted in millions of deaths.

Lenin came to power in 1917 by means of revolution. During the civil war between 1918 and 1921 Lenin implemented war communism. With this policy he ensured that all industry and agriculture in the communist controlled territory was geared solely towards the war effort. Within this policy he was also putting communist ideas into practice. Surplus crops were requisitioned by the government to feed the workers and soldiers. Food was rationed according to people’s contribution to the economy. Industrial workers were given three times more food then professionals like lawyers. While war communism achieved its aim of winning the war it had detrimental effects on the economy and society. It caused a famine, which resulted in between five and seven million deaths. Industrial production also declined as a result. After the Krondstadt Rising of 1921, Lenin realized he needed to change his policies. For him, “reality was illuminated like a flash of lightning.”

Lenin’s new economic policy was successful, however ( don’t use however as a replacement for but ) because he died in 1924 he never saw its full benefits. In it he ended requisitions from peasants, allowed private enterprise in small factories and trade and allowed peasants sell their surplus products. However heavy industry was still under the control of the state. Lenin justified criticisms that the NEP wasn’t a communist by saying it was a temporary retreat from communism to give the Russian economy time to recover and to ensure the survival of the Russian economy. Farming increased to pre war (pre-war – you need a dash here ) levels and heavy industries increased, although not reaching pre war (pre-war) levels.

Lenin did not rely on terror and propaganda as heavily as Stalin, yet they were still elements of his regime. During the civil war the cheka, Stalin’s secret police killed between12,000 and 50,000 people. They executed anyone accused of supporting the whites or being anti Bolshevik. Stalin also relied on propaganda to win the war. He exploited the whites and said they would put the landlords back in power if they regained power. After Lenin’s death a cult of personality was set up about him however ( but ) it is unlikely he would have wanted this.

Stalin came to power after a power struggle between him and Trotsky. He immediately set about creating a totalitarian state. He brought the army, the party and the secret police all under his direct control. Through the secret police he was able to establish a state of terror and he controlled all areas of life through representatives throughout the party. Stalin used propaganda extremely effectively. He created a cult of personality that made him into a revered man. He stages portraits and posters and they were everywhere. History was rewritten to make him the hero of the October revolution. Propaganda made him into an equal of Lenin. “Stalin is the new Lenin of today.”

In 1928 Stalin introduced the first five-year plan. The NEP was abandoned , and a centrally planned economy was put in place. Stalin wanted greater control of the economy and wanted to modernize Russia , so it matched the US economy. Gosplan directed the economic planning. In the first five-year plan he concentrated on heavy standards and decided on manufacturing targets. Overall the targets were too high but by 1932 significant progress was made. Electricity almost trebled and oil production doubled. In the second five-year plan the Moscow underground was built. However , by the third year plan efforts were directed solely towards preparing for war and it was shortened by the German invasion in 1941. The Russian economy grew rapidly because of the five ear plans and became the second largest economy in the world.

Stalin’s policy for agriculture was far less successful. He wanted to collectivize all farms and have them jointly owned and run by peasants. In 1929 Stalin insisted on forced collectivization. There was massive resistance from the kulaks and they burned their crops and slaughtered their animals in response. This lead ( led ) to famine. The kulak class was almost wiped out as they were sent to concentration camps in retaliation. By the mid 1930s (mid-1930s) Stalin made small concessions and allowed people have small private plots. By the end of the 1930s most meat and wool was produced on the private plots and 10 million had died as a result of famine or the gulags.

Stalin’s purges had a massive effect on both the economy and society. He caused a mass genocide of his people out of paranoia. He purged his people, his army, the secret service and the army. This lead ( led ) to a weakened army when world war two broke out. About eight million people were arrested during the great purge. Stalin made use of show trials to purge the party. He scripted scripts for trials and put members of the party he distrusted on trial. They were always found guilty and almost always shot or sent to the gulags. The purges and show trials established a terror in Russia. They also affected the economy as many skilled workers were killed or emigrated.

Both Lenin and Stalin made massive changes to Russia’s economy and society. While Lenin was cruel , he achieved nowhere near the cruelty of Stalin and his purges and show trials. However , both were ruthless leaders and used the secret police to gain absolute control over society. They both took deep interest in the economy. This is not surprising as communism is an economic system.

Feedback: This essay is written in a nice style and includes a lot of relevant factual information that allows you to answer the question in detail. It’s a really good idea in questions that say “and/or” to discuss both aspects like you did in this essay, as it allows you to flesh out the answer and reach a good length. Your analysis of the economic aspects of both Lenin and Stalin’s is done well, but there is less focus when it comes to social change. Regarding Lenin, you don’t deal with his social changes very much at all and while with Stalin, you discuss the atmosphere of fear created by propaganda, it is not in as much detail as your analysis of the economy. You would lose out on marks because of this, as the question specifies both economic and social change. You should also be careful to pay attention to the key words of the question – here they ask you to examine the extent to which Lenin and Stalin brought about change. You should therefore be directly addressing this by briefly mentioning the previous situation. There are a few little grammatical errors in this essay, such as the incorrect use of “however” and a lack of commas (I have inserted some in bold). You use quotation well to enhance your answer.

Cumulative Mark: Your 9 paragraphs are of varying standards, as some are shorter and less-detailed than others. For your cumulative mark, I would give this essay about 45 out of 60.

Overall Evaluation: For your overall evaluation mark, I would give this about 25 out of 40you’re your handling of the question could be more complete.

Total mark: 70/100

What were the challenges facing the USSR from 1924 – 1945? (2014)

After Lenin’s era, from 1924 to 1945, Russia faced a series of challenges under the leadership of Stalin. There was a struggle for power after Lenin’s death in 1924 which proved challenging as Russians now had to decide who would be the most appropriate to succeed him. Both industrialisation and collectivisation were also challenges to both survive in the capitalist world and thrive on communally-owned farms. As Hitler was rising up from the shattered Weimar Republic in Germany, he posed a serious threat and was a challenge to the USSR to build up armies, annex more land and prepare for a certain invasion. All of these challenges faced by the USSR are what built up Russia and shaped it throughout the period from 1924 – 1945 under Stalin’s rule.

Vladimir Lenin was the leader of Russia up until 1924, when he suffered a series of strokes, and died as a result. Lenin had essentially introduced communism to Russia, creating the first communist state controlled by a one-party Gov. and its leader. His death in 1924 however, was detrimental as the new leader who rose from his ashes, Stalin, would not prove a suitable replacement for Lenin. Lenin thought so himself and left a note in his last testament condemning Stalin, saying that he does not always know how to use his power. During Stalin’s rise to power however, he insured this letter remained hidden and instead portrayed himself as Lenin’s right-hand man, his truest comrade-in-arms. Stalin arranged Lenin’s funeral himself, creating a cult of Lenin, arrecting (erecting) statues and portraits of Lenin all over Russia. He also gave Trotsky, a bitter rival, the wrong date for the funeral to ensure his absence. During the struggle for power, Stalin used this to his utmost advantage. (This is a bit long for an introduction – a lot of what you said is background detail that isn’t really required in an exam essay. In the introduction, all you really need to do is answer the question with a small bit of context, and plot out how the essay is going to develop)

The struggle for power was a challenge that faced the USSR after Lenin’s death. Stalin, Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev and Bukharin were the next possible leaders. Realising that Trotsky was the most threatening rival, Stalin joined with Zinoviev and Kamenev in a bid to get rid of him. Luckily for him, Trotsky wasn’t (was not – don’t use contractions when writing your essays) the favourite as he had, not only complained about Lenin’s NEP not being pure communism, but he also had the idea of ‘Permanent Rev .’ (if you’re going to abbreviate in an essay, it should only be used for words that come up a lot in the essay. You should write the word out in full the first time you use it, then put your intended abbreviation in brackets afterwards) in which Russia should, and needed, to convert other countries to communism before developing it in Russia. This did not go down well however, and Stalin’s theory of ‘Socialism in one Country’ was favoured. In 1926, Stalin had won and became the new leader of the Communist party. No longer needing Zinoviev and Kamenev, he got rid of them and denounced Trotsky from the Communist party. The challenges for the struggle for power had been overcome by Stalin.

The next challenge that faced Russia was the need to industrialise. This was needed in order for the USSR to survive in a capitalist world. Stalin himself said “we are 50 to 100 years behind advanced countries. We must make good this distance in 10 years … or we shall be crushed”. With that led the start of the 5yr (See previous note about abbreviations) Plans. The first 5yr Plan in 1928-33, was mainly focused on the production of heavy industry such as coal and steel. The second 5yr Plan from 1933-38, was focused on building up stocks of ammunition and weapons for a possible war that was looming. And in fact, the third 5yr Plan was cut short with the invasion of Germany in 1941. Stalin believed by industrialisation, he could consolidate his power in the USSR. This industrialisation also proved challenging for the Russian society. There were harsh quotas and famine was widespread. The Russians had everything they needed to fulfil the lowest level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. By 1941, Russia was now only second to the USA as an industrial power.

In 1929, collectivisation was introduced as Stalin believed that industrialisation also required a concurrent Agricultural Rev. However the USSR faced many challenges here – the Kulaks, rich farmers, strongly opposed the thought of all farms being owned communally as they had flourished after Lenin’s NEP. Stalin’s response was to “liquidate the Kulaks as a class” and so eradicated all who opposed collectivisation. Another challenge was that food was needed to be produced for the growing no. of people in the factories due to industrialisation. As a result, 97% of land was collectively owned to combat these challenges.

In 1939, much to everyone’s surprise, Stalin signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact with Germany. Stalin had observed Hitler rising up from the Weimar Republic in Germany and seen his yearning for Lebensraum, or living space, as a serious threat and a challenge for the USSR. Soviet foreign minister Molotov, in response to this challenge, signed the pact with Germany , in which they both agreed not to attack each other and split Poland in half between them. This negotiation however, was merely a handshake between two dictators to buy more time to build up their armies and prepare for war.

As this negotiation pact was (was not?) entirely safe, Germany still proved a challenge for the USSR. To combat this, Russia tried to annex as much (many) countries as possible on the USSR’s western borders. They did this to provide them with a buffer-zone should the Germans attack suddenly. They attacked Finland in what became known as the Winter War. The League of Nations soon questioned them but the USSR claimed the accused bombings were a hoax and they were, in fact, just dropping humanitarian supplies and groceries. The Finnish sarcastically named these bombing attacks ‘Molotov’s Bread Baskets’ and they retaliated by devising their own bomb, a poor-man’s grenade nicknamed ‘Molotov’s Cocktail’. The Winter War proved a challenge to the USSR.

In 1941, the Germans finally invaded in what was known as Operation Barbarossa. They penetrated deep into Russian territory, eventually reaching the outskirts of Moscow and Leningrad. This sudden attack proved a great challenge for the USSR, and Stalin himself even look a few days to realise what was actually happening, as he imagined the Germans attacking at a much later stage. The Germans devised a plan to reach Baku, which was very challenging for the USSR, as 80% of the war’s oilfields were located at Baku. However, Hitler made the mistake of trying to seize control of both Baku and Stalingrad at the same time. ‘Stalin’s City’ would have been a massive blow for the USSR but during the Battle of Stalingrad , the tables turned, and the Russians gained control. This was a massive turning point in WW2.

In conclusion, from the period of 1924-45, there were many challenges that faced the USSR under Stalin’s rule. Russia overcame these challenges however, and they helped to mould and shape Russia into a stronger country during Stalin’s rule.

Feedback: There are too few paragraphs in this essay – in order to achieve the maximum cumulative mark of 60/60, each of these paragraphs would have to score at least a 7 or 8, which is quite difficult to do. However, it is well-written, makes good use of quotation and is full of relevant factual information. Some of your commentary is a bit shallow, for example instead of saying anything particularly insightful about the information you’re providing, you sometimes just say “This was a challenge” – you should also try to establish why it was a challenge. 

Cumulative Mark: Currently, your cumulative mark would stand around 45 out of 60 – your long paragraphs would get around 5 or 6 each, but your conclusion is very short and adds little to the essay so it would score much lower. To improve this, try cutting some long paragraphs into two if at all possible. 

Overall Evaluation: For your overall evaluation mark, you would achieve around the 25/40 mark. This essay answers the question but is not exceptional in its commentary.

• Post author: Martina
• Post published: January 1, 2019
• Post category: #625Lab History / History

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Leaving Cert History Essay plan: US Foreign policy in Berlin, Korea, Cuba

Subject: History

Age range: 16+

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

10 September 2024

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An essay plan with success criteria for the essay: During the period 1945-1989, what was the importance for US foreign policy of one or more of the following: Berlin; Korea; Cuba?

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