Paper 1 Section A/A: America, 1840–1895: Expansion and consolidation

June 2022

Q1: How does Interpretation B differ from Interpretation A about Homesteading on the

Great Plains? Explain your answer based on what it says in Interpretations A and B.

Answer:

For example, the interpretations differ about the success of the homesteaders. In Interpretation B the homesteaders were successful because they had plenty of food and they liked the sod house. However, in contrast in Interpretation A, the homesteaders had a miserable life because they didn’t have enough to eat, their crops failed and the work was very hard. For example, according to Interpretation A the wheat did not grow well whereas Interpretation B says that it was a land of orchards and rich farms.

Q2: Why might the authors of Interpretations A and B have a different interpretation

about Homesteading on the Great Plains? Explain your answer using Interpretations A and B and your contextual knowledge.

Answer:

For example, students may argue that the experience of Anderson and Stanley was substantially different. Anderson has to look after four small children who cannot help her husband on the farm so that is why it is such hard work for him and he becomes ill and weak. However, Stanley in Interpretation B grew up with several brothers and his farm in Kansas was well established by his grandfather and father. They had proved that the land was fertile, whereas Anderson in Interpretation A only saw advertisements and did not know if the land would produce enough to feed them and make a living. For example, Interpretation A was from Nebraska. However, in Interpretation B, the homesteaders are living in Kansas as Stanley was born and grew up there.

Q3: Which interpretation gives the more convincing opinion about Homesteading on the

Great Plains? Explain your answer based on your contextual knowledge and what it says in Interpretations A and B.

Answer:

For example, Interpretation A is convincing because at the start the railroad helped the American settlers populate the Plains and Interpretation B is also right because eventually mechanical power made the Great Plains very productive. Many people were attracted by the promise of owning their own land on the Plains which the railway companies advertised. However, many people from the East had little understanding of just how difficult it was to grow crops on the Plains. There were great extremes of temperature as in Interpretation B which needed special crops like Turkey Red, and special tools like the Sod Buster plough. Homesteaders needed a big amount of luck if insects like grasshoppers or fires did not destroy their crops. But as Interpretation B says it was hard work to ‘tame’ the country and it was hard physical work which needed determination and labour at different times of the year but especially harvest. For example, Interpretation B is convincing because there were many problems in trying to homestead on the Plains. There was not enough water for the crops as Anderson says and they had to develop dry farming techniques to capture what little rain there was. The plain’s soil contained thick roots which it was hard for a plough to break and they had to wait for a special steel plough called a sod buster to turn the soil. Many of the strains of wheat used in the East did not work on the Plains because they were not hardy enough and they needed Turkey Red to be used which needed less water and could withstand the cold of the Plains. The homesteaders did survive and flourish so Interpretation B is more convincing because new technology like machines such as reapers, binders and threshers helped overcome the problems. For example, Interpretation A is convincing because the railway companies were given the land by the government and used it to fund the building of the railroad. They advertised in the East about the good farming land to get people to homestead there. However, they needed a lot of land to make a go of it which is why they passed the Timber and Culture Act in 1873. For example, answers stating that Interpretation A is convincing as homesteading was a hard life. There was not enough water and the wheat did not grow. Interpretation B is convincing because they used machinery.

Q4: Describe two problems faced by people in crossing the Plains before 1865.

Answer:

For example, one problem was the weather because it took many weeks to cross the Plains and travellers could face torrential rain, tornadoes, hail and sandstorms, scorching heat and freezing cold. The snow blizzards in the mountains were a great danger. The Donner party decided to camp for the winter but ran out of food and only survived because they ate those who had Another problem was that some Plains Indians were friendly and would act as guides or offer to trade but others were hostile. The Gould family who travelled west in 1862 found 11 wagons that had been plundered by Plains Indians and the families killed. For example, one problem that everybody faced was to have enough food and water for the journey. The food could go bad or be stolen by Plains Indians.

Q5: In what ways were the lives of people in the Southern states affected by the American

Civil War? Explain your answer.

Answer:

For example, students may recognise that while women experienced a dramatic change in their circumstances during the war by taking on new roles as farmers, plantation managers and munitions workers because the men had gone off to fight, many were forced to return to their traditional roles when the war ended. Although the experience had changed the status of women to a certain extent, politically little had changed as an appeal after the war to give the vote to women received little support. For example, impact of the war in the South was a disaster. The Union troops tore up railroad tracks and burned rolling stock. The cotton growing was badly disrupted by the Union army advances and production fell from 4 million bales in 1861 to 300,000 bales in 1865 the only industries which grew were those connected with the war effort such as munitions. But the cotton growers still traded with the North who needed cotton as a raw material, and they traded food for the cotton to keep their factories going. For example, civilians in the South were hit hard by inflation which made them poorer. The Confederate government tried to fund the war through new taxes but was so unsuccessful that it resorted to printing more money. This led to hyperinflation with the inflation rate rising to 500% by 1865. For example, many civilians who had no thought of a military career ended up in the army. Local recruiting offices were set up and men were encouraged by propaganda which played on their patriotism to join up and support their state and country. But many people thought it would be a short war and it was not. They ran out of men and the Confederacy introduce conscription in April 1862. For example, the people in the South suffered from food shortages. There were food riots in some cities as early as 1863.

Q6: Which of the following was the more important reason for the successful way of life of

the Plains Indians: • the buffalo herds • the Plains Indians’ beliefs and society? Explain your answer with reference to both bullet points. and AQA will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgements. If you have any queries please contact the CopyrightTeam.

No answer found in mark scheme.