1. What events can you mention?
As mentioned, chronology is key! Below are some essay questions that require a good understanding of chronology.
TASK: For the following questions, write down the events you could mention in your response.
To what extent was ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ responsible for the growing sectional tension 1852 to 1856?
How significant was the Dred Scott decision in causing increased sectional tensions of the years 1857 to 1860?
‘The Kansas Nebraska Act was the most important reason for the rise of the Republican Party by 1858.’ Assess the validity of this view.

2. Flipped Learning Reminder…
We have now finished the content for AS America.
You have until the lesson before Easter to complete your AS America revision grids

3. Causes of the American Civil War
KNOW
Key chronology leading up until the Civil War
EXPLAIN
The different causes of the Civil War
EVALUATE
The main cause of the Civil War
Key Words:
Secession
Confederacy

4. The Big Picture
Necessary Preconditions
Developing Causes
Trigger Cause
TASK: Take all the events we have studied over the year, and categorise them into the categories in the table
Hint: use your revision grid to help (p.14 of planner!)
KNOW
Key chronology leading up until the Civil War
ANALYSE
The different causes of the Civil War
EVALUATE
The main cause of the Civil War

5. ________________ caused the Civil War Assess the validity of this view
1860 election
Actions of Abraham Lincoln
Actions of James Buchanan
Southern political leaders
Fort Sumter
Growing Abolitionist feeling
You have a sheet with a box for each of the following topic
TASK: For each topic, you need to write down 3 reasons why it can be seen to have caused the American Civil War
KNOW
Key chronology leading up until the Civil War
ANALYSE
The different causes of the Civil War
EVALUATE
The main cause of the Civil War

6. What caused the American Civil War?
1860 Election
Actions of Lincoln
Actions of Buchanan
What caused the American Civil War?
Growing Abolitionist feeling
Fort Sumter
Southern Political leaders

7. 1860 Election
Lincoln winning the Presidency was the trigger for secession which signalled the start of the war. With Lincoln winning the presidency with no support in the South, Southern fears of Northern domination seemed to be confirmed
Lincoln had been portrayed as an abolitionist throughout the South following the Douglas-Lincoln debates in 1858
Lincoln made no effort to reassure Southerners during the campaign.
KNOW
Key chronology leading up until the Civil War
ANALYSE
The different causes of the Civil War
EVALUATE
The main cause of the Civil War

8. Lincoln’s Actions
Lincoln made no effort to reassure Southerners that he had no intention of ending slavery where it already existed. He even stated in his presidential inaugural address that he would not use his executive power to interfere with the institution in any state where it existed. Still, Lincoln vehemently opposed the expansion of slavery into new western territories and served as one of the most influential advocates of "free soil." For this reason, the president posed a significant threat to the economic and political interests of the slaveholding South.
Lincoln’s belief in a ‘slave power’ conspiracy meant he was unwilling to make concession to the South that may have prevented secession and prevented war.
It was Lincoln who issued a call to arms and to blockade the Confederacy. Following this and Fort Sumter, the Upper Southern States seceded.
KNOW
Key chronology leading up until the Civil War
ANALYSE
The different causes of the Civil War
EVALUATE
The main cause of the Civil War

9. The Actions of Buchanan
When South Carolina seceded, James Buchanan was still President. He did little to stop the secession, but did pass laws through Congress to gain more control over the army.
James Buchanan’s role in the Dred Scott case exacerbated Slave Power Conspiracy theories. His knowledge of the outcome of the case before the ruling was made, increased Northern opinion that the American government was conspiring to expand slavery. The Supreme Court's ruling was a provocative opinion. It stated flatly that Blacks had "no rights which the white man was bound to respect" and rejected the right of any territory to ban slavery within its own borders. Inflaming public opinion in the North, the case led to a hardening of antislavery attitudes and a surge in popularity for the new antislavery Republican Party.
KNOW
Key chronology leading up until the Civil War
ANALYSE
The different causes of the Civil War
EVALUATE
The main cause of the Civil War

10. Southern Political Leaders
It was Southern politicians who pushed for and led Secession from the Union which started the war and the confederate leader, Davis, ordered the taking of Fort Sumter starting the war
South Carolina and the other seceding states can be argued to have acted irrationally given Lincoln’s stated position on slavery and the constitutional constraints on his power, particularly as the Republicans did not control Congress
Lincoln, on becoming President, was conciliatory but firm and Congress did seek compromise, but Southern politicians largely refused to enter into any discussion of compromise
Lincoln at the time, and some historians since, believed that the war was a result of a ‘slave power conspiracy’ in which the Southern politicians from the planter class conned the Southern voters into secession and war
KNOW
Key chronology leading up until the Civil War
ANALYSE
The different causes of the Civil War
EVALUATE
The main cause of the Civil War

11. Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is seen by many as the first shots of the American Civil War, with 5000 rounds of artillery fired within 33 hours. Some see Fort Sumter as the first battle of the American Civil War.
It can be argued that Lincoln acts cleverly in ensuring that the Confederates fire the first shots helping promote support for a war in the North (e.g. rally in NY- 250,000 people) and meaning the upper South remained in the Union.
Fort Sumter is the reason why Lincoln called to arms and blockaded the Confederacy in the April of This is the point at which the war started.
KNOW
Key chronology leading up until the Civil War
ANALYSE
The different causes of the Civil War
EVALUATE
The main cause of the Civil War

12. Growing Abolitionist Feeling
The popularity of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (sold copies in its first year of publication and a further two million copies in the next 10 years) showing growing concern about slavery in the North. It is believed to have been read by one in every four or five of readers in the USA. Lincoln, on meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe, is believed to have said ‘so you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war’
The John Brown raid of 1859 created Abolitionist martyrs and strengthened Abolitionist feeling in the North whilst also increasing the fear of Abolitionism in the South
In the Lincoln-Douglas debate, Douglas portrayed Lincoln as an abolitionist
Abolitionist feeling was strong in the radical wing of the emerging Republican Party
KNOW
Key chronology leading up until the Civil War
ANALYSE
The different causes of the Civil War
EVALUATE
The main cause of the Civil War

13. ‘Growing Abolitionist feeling caused the Civil War’ Assess the validity of this view
TASK: Plan an answer to the following essay
KNOW
Key chronology leading up until the Civil War
ANALYSE
The different causes of the Civil War
EVALUATE
The main cause of the Civil War

14. Flipped Learning Reminder…
Fill in the fish bone diagram to plan an answer to the question
“Growing abolitionist feeling caused the American Civil War”
Assess the validity of this view

15. “Growing abolitionist feeling caused the American Civil War”
Assess the validity of this view
Criteria:
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POINT:
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Judgement:
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