How to Revise Conflict across America — AQA GCSE History
Conflict across America is a topic in the AQA GCSE History specification. This guide covers learning objectives, examiner tips, common mistakes, and key terminology to help you revise effectively.
Examiner Tips for Conflict across America
- Ensure you can explain the causal links between westward expansion and the outbreak of the Civil War.
- Be prepared to discuss the role of key individuals like Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, and Brigham Young.
- Focus on the social and economic impacts of the Civil War on civilians, not just military tactics.
Key Marking Points
- Increasing conflict on the Plains: Fort Laramie Treaty (1851) and failure of concentration policy
- Indian Wars (1862–1867): reasons for and consequences of the wars
- Sand Creek Massacre and Fetterman's Trap
- Background to the American Civil War: North-South differences, slavery, westward expansion, and free states abolitionism
- Breakdown of the Missouri Compromise, John Brown, and the roles of Lincoln and Jefferson Davis
- Social and economic impact of the American Civil War on civilian populations