Taking the Line That Answers It
D3.1.3-5
Look at the source, then answer the questions.
Script of a Radio Broadcast
The script of a national radio broadcast made by a government minister in 1947. BROADCAST TO THE NATION We promised 300,000 homes a year. We built 140,000 last year. Bricks and timber have been harder to obtain than we expected. I will not pretend the promise has been kept. We ask for patience, and we will publish the figures each quarter. Nobody in this country should live four to a room.
- 1. Why were fewer homes built than promised?
- 2. What had been promised?
- 3. What does the minister promise to publish?
A Contested National History
An extract from a national history published in 2011. This is a SECONDARY work making a causal claim other historians reject. REBUILDING: WHAT ACTUALLY DECIDED IT The author argues that shortages, not politics, set the pace of rebuilding. She points to the broadcast admitting bricks and timber ran short. Critics reply that the choice to use councils slowed the work. The author concedes she cannot separate the two causes with certainty. She rests her case on the quarterly figures the minister promised.
- 1. What do critics reply?
- 2. What does the author argue set the pace of rebuilding?
- 3. What evidence does she point to?
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