← Modern History syllabus

TASModern History

Modern Nations

10 dot points across 10 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How did Australia change politically, economically and socially between the end of the First World War and the election of the Menzies government in 1949?

Analyse continuity and change in Australia as a modern nation, 1918-1949
Australia from the aftermath of the First World War through the Depression and Second World War to 1949, with key dates, figures, policies and historiography.
9 min answer →

Why did Weimar democracy collapse and how did the Nazi state take total power between 1918 and 1945?

Analyse the rise and consolidation of Nazi power in Germany, 1918-1945
How Weimar democracy failed and Hitler built a totalitarian dictatorship between 1918 and 1945, covering causes, key figures and consequences.
9 min answer →

How did the Nazis turn Germany into a totalitarian state and reshape society between 1933 and 1939?

Analyse the consolidation of Nazi power and the nature of the Nazi state, 1933-1939
How Hitler consolidated power, built a terror state and reshaped German society and the economy before 1939, with dates, figures and historiography.
9 min answer →

How did revolution transform Russia from tsarist autocracy into Stalin's totalitarian Soviet state between 1914 and 1945?

Evaluate revolution, consolidation and dictatorship in Russia and the Soviet Union, 1914-1945
From the fall of the tsar through Lenin's Bolshevik revolution to Stalin's terror and the Great Patriotic War, with causes, figures and consequences.
9 min answer →

Why did two revolutions destroy tsarism and bring the Bolsheviks to power in Russia in 1917?

Analyse the causes and course of the February and October Revolutions of 1917
Why tsarism collapsed in February 1917 and how the Bolsheviks seized power in October, covering causes, dual power, key figures and historiography.
9 min answer →

How did Stalin transform the Soviet Union through collectivisation, industrialisation and terror between 1928 and 1953?

Evaluate Stalin's transformation of Soviet society, economy and politics, 1928-1953
Stalin's rise, collectivisation, the Five-Year Plans, the Great Terror and the personality cult to 1953, with dates, figures and historiography.
9 min answer →

What caused the Great Depression in the United States and how far did the New Deal solve it?

Evaluate the causes of the Great Depression and the impact of the New Deal, 1929-1941
Causes of the Great Depression, Hoover's response and Roosevelt's New Deal, with its achievements, limits, opposition and historiography.
9 min answer →

How did the United States move from prosperity to depression to global power between 1917 and 1945?

Examine American society, economy and power from the First World War to 1945
The US journey through the 1920s boom, the Great Depression, the New Deal and the Second World War, with causes, key figures and lasting consequences.
9 min answer →

How prosperous and modern was the United States during the 1920s, and for whom?

Analyse the prosperity, society and tensions of the United States during the 1920s
The American boom of the 1920s, its consumer economy, social change and deep tensions, with key dates, figures and historiography.
9 min answer →

Why did the Weimar Republic fail to establish stable democracy in Germany between 1918 and 1933?

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the Weimar Republic and the causes of its collapse, 1918-1933
The birth, crises, brief stability and collapse of Germany's first democracy, from the 1918 revolution to Hitler's appointment, with dates, figures and debate.
9 min answer →