History Revision Document: AmericaThis option provides for the study of a period of major change in American history, which saw the disintegration of the country into Civil War, demanding a subsequent reconstruction. It explores concepts such as political authority, abolitionism and social justice. It also encourages students to consider what creates social tension and harmony, the idea of nationhood and the issues surrounding political compromise.

Part one: the origins of the American Civil War, c1845–1861North and South in c1845

Key: Past Paper Q, Possible Q Content Possible Essays Notes•• The American Republic: the federal government and its relationships with the states; the role of thepresident; the US constitution and the Supreme Court

To what extent was sectional tension c1845 due to the issues regarding States rights?

‘Unresolved issues in the American Constitution were significant in creating sectional tension in America by c1845.’Assess the validity of this view.

•• The Northern states: ‘Economic differences

social, economic and political characteristics

were the major cause of division between the North and South by 1850.’Assess the validity of this view

‘The North and South had more in common than not’Assess the validity of this view

•• The Southern states: social, economic and political characteristics

‘Economic differences were the major cause of division between the North and South by 1850.’Assess the validity of this view

‘The North and South had more in common than not’Assess the validity of this view

•• The legacy of the past: the Missouri Compromise; the Nullification Crisis; southern fears ofmodernisation; the moving frontier

‘By 1845, the Missouri Compromise was ineffective in maintaining peace.’Assess the validity of this view

‘The Nullification Crisis

demonstrated that the North and South wanted different futures’Assess the validity of this view

‘The American Republic was undivided and politically stable in 1845.’ Assess the validity of this view.

Attempts to maintain the Union, c1845–1854Content Possible Essays Notes•• Westward expansion and its impact on North and South: the ideas of Manifest Destiny; controversyover the new territories acquired by victory over Mexico

How important was western expansion in the deterioration of relations between the North and South by 1850?

‘The Mexican War was the greatest cause of tension between North and South in the USA by 1848’Assess the validity of this view

‘The USA was united in support of Manifest Destiny’Assess the validity of this view

•• Attempts at political ‘The 1850 Compromise was

compromise: the Wilmot Proviso; the role of personalities such as Zachary Taylor, Stephen Douglas and Henry Clay; the Compromise of 1850; Texas and California; the FugitiveSlave Law

a great success’Assess the Validity of this view in relation to the years 1850-1854

‘The 1850 Compromise paved the way for even greater division in the USA, 1850-1854’Assess the validity of this view

•• The growth of abolitionist sentiment in the North: political leaders such as William Seward; activistssuch as John Brown;

popular literature and the press;

the cultural and economic influence ofEuropean immigrants arriving in the northern states

‘Growing Abolitionist feeling in the North, in the years 1850 to 1860, caused theCivil War.’Assess the validity of this view.

To what extent was ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ responsible for the growing sectional tension 1852 to 1856?

•• Reactions against abolitionism in the South; political leaders such as Jefferson Davis; popularliterature and the press

‘The Southern response to Abolitionism in the South was disproportional to its threat’ Assess the Validity of this view

The outbreak of Civil War, 1854–1861Content Possible Essays Notes•• ‘Bleeding Kansas’: the de-stabilisation of the balance between North and South

‘Bleeding Kansas’ was the most significant event in the de-stabilisation of relations between the North and South in the years 1850 to 1856.’Assess the validity of this view.

•• The emergence of the Republican Party: the political impact of the controversy over the Kansas-Nebraska Act; the spread of Republican parties across northern states; the elections of 1856; keypersonalities including Lincoln, Seward and Chase

‘The Kansas Nebraska Act was the most important reason for the rise of the Republican Party by 1858.’

‘The collapse of the Whigs and emergence of the Republican Party did more than anything else to increase Sectional tension, 1854-1860’Assess the validity of this view

•• Hardening of positions: the Dred Scott decision; the Lincoln-Douglas debates; Harper’s Ferry; localconflicts; the split in the Democratic Party

How significant were the Lincoln-Douglas debates in causing increased sectional tensions of the years 1858 to 1860?

How significant was the Dred Scott decision in causing increased sectional

tensions of the years 1858 to 1860?

How significant was Harper’s Ferry in causing increased sectional tensions of the years 1858 to 1860?

•• The drive for secession of the South: the presidential election of 1860; southern political leaders and proclamation of the Confederacy; outbreak of hostilities

‘The election of a Republican President was the main reason for the outbreak of the Civil War.’Assess the validity of this view.

‘Southern politicians were responsible for the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.’Assess the validity of this view

Part two: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861–1877 (A-level only)The War, 1861–1865 (A-level only)

Content Possible Essays Notes•• The strengths and weaknesses of the Confederate cause: military resources; political and militaryleadership; economic and geographical factors; relations with foreign powers

‘The failure of the Confederate cause in the Civil War was due to limited resources.’ Assess the validity of this view.

•• The strengths and weaknesses of the Unionist cause: military resources; political and militaryleadership; economic and geographical factors; relations with foreign powers

How significant were the Union’s superior resources to their victory in the Civil War?

•• The course of the Civil War: military campaigns; the reasons for the final defeat of the Confederacy

How significant were the Union’s superior resources to their victory in the Civil War?

‘Union Victory at Gettysburg was the key turning point in the Civil war’Assess the validity of this view.

•• The United States at the ‘At the end of the War

end of the Civil War: the costs of war for the South; the costs of war for theNorth; the prospects for reconciliation

there was still little chance of reconciliation’Assess the validity of this view

Early Reconstruction, 1865–1867 (A-level only)Content Possible Essays Notes•• Planning for the future after the war: the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation; Lincoln’s aims;the approach to preparing for post-war reconstruction

‘Lincoln’s planning for the future after the war was too lenient on the South.’

Assess the validity of this view

•• The Thirteenth Amendment: origins and impact

To what extent did the 13th Amendment change both the Civil War and the USA?

•• The Fourteenth Amendment: Thaddeus Stevens; Radical republicans; the struggle to pass theamendment; the Reconstruction Acts

To what extent were the Radical Republicans responsible for the Conflict with President Johnson?

•• The presidency of Andrew Johnson: personality and aims; conflicts with Congress; break with the

To what extent were President Johnson’s actions towards the former Confederate States the cause of the deep divisions,

Republicans; impeachment 1865-1868?

Radical Reconstruction, 1867–1877 (A-level only)Content Possible Essays Notes•• The presidency: the election of 1868 and Andrew Johnson’s Christmas amnesty; the aims andpolicies of Ulysses Grant; personalities; policies; conflicts with Congress

To what extent were President Johnson’s actions towards the former Confederate States the cause of the deep divisions, 1865-1868?

‘The Presidency of Ulysses Grant was positive in ensuring the rights of former slaves’Assess the validity of this view

•• Radical Reconstruction in the South: the impact of the Reconstruction Acts; southern Unionists; therole of the army; the campaign for the Fifteenth Amendment

How significant was the impact of Radical Reconstruction in the South, 1867 to 1877?

•• Resistance to Radical Reconstruction in the South: Southern Democrats and ‘Redeemers’; the Ku

‘The KKK resistance to Radical Reconstruction in the years 1867 to 1876, was responsible for its failure’

Klux Klan; the issue of voter registration

Assess the validity of this view.

‘The ‘Redeemers’ were principally motivated by the desire to remove corruption from politics in the South, in the years 1868 to 1877.’

Assess the validity of this view.

•• The end of Radical Reconstruction: the position of African-Americans in North and South by 1877

To what extent did the position of African-Americans improve in the years 1865 to 1877?