OCR A-Level History A H505
Y101: Alfred and the Making of England 871–1016Unit group 1
Y102: Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1035–1107Unit group 1
Y103: England 1199–1272Unit group 1
Y104: England 1377–1455Unit group 1
Y105: England 1445–1509: Lancastrians, Yorkists and Henry VIIUnit group 1
Y106: England 1485–1558: The Early TudorsUnit group 1
Y107: England 1547–1603: The Later TudorsUnit group 1
Y108: The Early Stuarts and the Origins of the Civil War 1603–1660Unit group 1
Y109: The Making of Georgian Britain 1678–c.1760Unit group 1
Y110: From Pitt to Peel 1783–1853Unit group 1
Y111: Liberals, Conservatives and the Rise of Labour 1846–1918Unit group 1
Y112: Britain 1900–1951Unit group 1
Y113: Britain 1930–1997Unit group 1
Y201: The Rise of Islam c.550–750Unit group 2
Y202: Charlemagne 768–814Unit group 2
Y203: The Crusades and the Crusader States 1095–1192Unit group 2
Y204: Genghis Khan and the Explosion From the Steppes c.1167–1405Unit group 2
Y205: Exploration, Encounters and Empire 1445–1570Unit group 2
Y206: Spain 1469–1556Unit group 2
Y207: The German Reformation and the Rule of Charles v 1500–1559Unit group 2
Y208: Philip II 1556–1598Unit group 2
Y209: African Kingdoms c.1400–c.1800: Four Case StudiesUnit group 2
Y210: Russia 1645–1741Unit group 2
Y211: The Rise and Decline of the Mughal Empire in India 1526–1739Unit group 2
Y212: The American Revolution 1740–1796Unit group 2
Y213: The French Revolution and the Rule of Napoleon 1774–1815Unit group 2
Y214: France 1814–1870Unit group 2
Y215: Italy and Unification 1789–1896Unit group 2
Y216: The USA in the 19th Century: Westward Expansion and Civil War 1803–c.1890Unit group 2
Y217: Japan 1853–1937Unit group 2
Y218: International Relations 1890–1941Unit group 2
Y219: Russia 1894–1941Unit group 2
Y220: Italy 1896–1943Unit group 2
Y221: Democracy and Dictatorships in Germany 1919–1963Unit group 2
Y222: The Cold War in Asia 1945–1993Unit group 2
Y223: The Cold War in Europe 1941–1995Unit group 2
Y224: Apartheid and Reconciliation: South African Politics 1948–1999Unit group 2
Y301: The Early Anglo-Saxons c.400–800Unit group 3
Y302: The Viking Age c.790–1066Unit group 3
Y303: English Government and the Church 1066–1216Unit group 3
Y304: The Church and Medieval Heresy c.1100–1437Unit group 3
Y305: The Renaissance c.1400–c.1600Unit group 3
Y306: Rebellion and Disorder Under the Tudors 1485–1603Unit group 3
Y307: Tudor Foreign Policy 1485–1603Unit group 3
Y308: The Catholic Reformation 1492–1610Unit group 3
Y309: The Ascendancy of the Ottoman Empire 1453–1606Unit group 3
Y310: The Development of the Nation State: France 1498–1610Unit group 3
Y311: The Origins and Growth of the British Empire 1558–1783Unit group 3
Y312: Popular Culture and the Witchcraze of the 16th and 17th CenturiesUnit group 3
Y313: The Ascendancy of France 1610–1715Unit group 3
Y314: The Challenge of German Nationalism 1789–1919Unit group 3
Y315: The Changing Nature of Warfare 1792–1945Unit group 3
Y316: Britain and Ireland 1791–1921Unit group 3
Y317: China and Its Rulers 1839–1989Unit group 3
Y318: Russia and Its Rulers 1855–1964Unit group 3
Y319: Civil Rights in the USA 1865–1992Unit group 3
Y320: From Colonialism to Independence: The British Empire 1857–1965Unit group 3
Y321: The Middle East 1908–2011: Ottomans to Arab SpringUnit group 3
Y315: The Changing Nature of Warfare 1792–1945
Depth study: The American Civil War 1861–1865 — Grant, Atlanta and interpretations
- 3 things to know
- Unit group 3
Overview
Recall questions on black soldiers, Grant’s command, the fall of Atlanta, the death toll, whether this was the first modern or a total war, the rifled musket debate, Confederate defeat and Lee’s reputation.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
How many died in the war, and why is the figure disputed?
How have historians disagreed about the impact of the rifled musket?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
How significant was black military service to the Union?
Model answer
About 180,000 black soldiers served in the Union armies, providing manpower the Confederacy could not match and turning the war into a struggle over slavery itself.
- 2
What made Grant's approach to command in 1864–1865 different from that of earlier Union generals?
Model answer
He directed all the Union armies to advance together so that Confederate forces could not reinforce each other, and he kept up continuous pressure instead of withdrawing after each battle.
- 3
How did the fall of Atlanta in September 1864 affect the war?
Model answer
It transformed Northern opinion at the moment of the presidential election, all but securing Lincoln's re-election and with it the continuation of the war to unconditional victory.
- 4
How many died in the war, and why is the figure disputed?
Model answer
The traditional estimate is about 620,000 dead, but demographic studies of census data have suggested a figure closer to 750,000, since deaths from disease and among civilians were poorly recorded.
- 5
Outline the debate over whether this was the first modern war.
Model answer
Some historians point to railways, the telegraph, mass conscript armies, industrial production and the entrenched siege lines around Petersburg as evidence of modernity, while others argue that tactics, staff work and command remained essentially Napoleonic.
- 6
How have historians disagreed about the impact of the rifled musket?
Model answer
One line of argument holds that rifled weapons made frontal assault suicidal and explains the war's casualties, while Griffith and Hess have argued that most firing took place at short range and that the rifle's tactical effect has been exaggerated.
Other ways to work this
The same content, four other ways.
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