Key term
AQA GCSE History 8145
America, 1840–1895: Expansion and ConsolidationPeriod study
Topic overviewThe geography of North AmericaWhy the early settlers went west and the challenges they facedDealing with a different cultureIncreasing conflict on the PlainsThe background to the American Civil WarComing to terms with the MormonsThe aftermath of the American Civil WarThe continued settlement of the westThe resolution of ‘the Indian problem’ after 1865
America, 1920–1973: Opportunity and InequalityPeriod study
Topic overviewThe ‘Boom’Social and cultural developmentsA divided society: prohibition, organised crime and racial tensionAmerican society during the DepressionThe effectiveness of the New Deal on different groups in societyThe impact of the Second World WarPost-war American society and economyRacial tension and developments in the Civil Rights campaigns in the 1950s and 1960sAmerica and the ‘Great Society'
Conflict and Tension Between East and West, 1945–1972Wider world depth
Topic overviewThe end of the Second World WarThe Iron Curtain and the evolution of East-West rivalryThe significance of events in Asia for superpower relationsMilitary rivalries: the arms race and the space raceThe ‘Thaw’The building of the Berlin WallTensions over CubaCzechoslovakia and the Prague SpringEasing of tension
Conflict and Tension in Asia, 1950–1975Wider world depth
Conflict and Tension in the Gulf and Afghanistan, 1990–2009Wider world depth
Conflict and Tension: The First World War, 1894–1918Wider world depth
Conflict and Tension: The Inter-War Years, 1918–1939Wider world depth
Elizabethan England, c1568–1603British depth
Topic overviewElizabeth I and her courtThe difficulties of a female rulerA ‘Golden Age’Poverty and the treatment of the poorEnglish sailors: Hawkins, Drake, Raleigh and circumnavigationReligious matters: Catholic plots and the threat to the settlementMary Queen of ScotsConflict with SpainThe historic environment of Elizabethan EnglandHistoric site: the Spanish Armada (2027)Historic site: Kenilworth Castle (2028)
Germany, 1890–1945: Democracy and DictatorshipPeriod study
Topic overviewKaiser Wilhelm and the difficulties of ruling GermanyImpact of the First World WarWeimar democracyThe impact of the DepressionThe failure of Weimar democracyThe establishment of Hitler’s dictatorshipNazi economic changes and the impact of warNazi social policy: women, youth, education, churches and racial persecutionNazi control: propaganda, the police state, opposition and resistance
Health and the People in Britain, c1000 to the Present DayThematic study
Topic overviewThe factors that shape this studyMedieval medicineMedical progressPublic health in the Middle AgesThe impact of the Renaissance on BritainDealing with diseasePrevention of diseaseThe development of Germ Theory and its impact on the treatment of disease in BritainA revolution in surgeryImprovements in public healthModern treatment of diseaseThe impact of war and technology on surgeryModern public health
Medieval England: The Reign of Edward I, 1272–1307British depth
Topic overviewHenry III’s legacyDevelopment of government, rights and justiceTrade, towns and villagesEducation and learningThe development of the legal systemMedieval warfare, tactics and technologyThe invasion and colonisation of WalesRelations with ScotlandThe historic environment of Medieval EnglandHistoric site: the Battle of Stirling Bridge (2027)Historic site: Acton Burnell Castle (2028)
Migration, Empires and the People in Britain, c790 to the Present DayThematic study
Topic overviewThe factors that shape this studyInvasion: the Vikings, the Danelaw and the North Sea EmpireA Norman Kingdom and ‘Angevin’ EmpireThe birth of English identitySugar and the CaribbeanColonisation in North AmericaMigrants to and from BritainExpansion in IndiaExpansion in AfricaMigrants to, from and within BritainThe end of EmpireThe legacy of EmpireBritain’s relationship with Europe and its impact
Norman England, c1066–c1100British depth
Topic overviewCauses of Norman ConquestMilitary aspects: Stamford Bridge, Hastings and Norman tacticsEstablishing and maintaining controlFeudalism and governmentEconomic and social changes and their consequencesThe Norman Church and Archbishop LanfrancNorman monasticism, learning and educationThe historic environment of Norman EnglandHistoric site: the Battle of Hastings (2027)Historic site: the White Tower (2028)
Power and the People in Britain, c1170 to the Present DayThematic study
Topic overviewThe factors that shape this studyConstraints on kingshipThe origins of parliamentMedieval revolt and royal authorityPopular uprisings against the CrownDivine Right and parliamentary authorityRoyal authority and the right to representationThe extension of the franchiseProtest and changeWorkers’ movements and the growth of trade unionismWomen’s rightsWorkers’ rightsMinority rights
Restoration England, 1660–1685British depth
Topic overviewCrown and ParliamentThe Catholic questionCharles II’s courtCrisis: the Great Plague of 1665 and the Fire of LondonRestoration cultureLand: the East India Company and overseas possessionsTrade: mercantilism, the Navigation Acts and the slave tradeWar: sea power and conflict with the DutchThe historic environment of Restoration EnglandHistoric site: the Dutch Raid on the Medway (2027)Historic site: St Paul's Cathedral (2028)
Russia, 1894–1945: Tsardom and CommunismPeriod study
Topic overviewRussia’s economy and societyNicholas II’s autocracy and the courtThe First World War and the collapse of Tsarist governmentThe Provisional GovernmentThe impact of Lenin's dictatorshipWar Communism, the Kronstadt Rising and the New Economic PolicyStalin the dictatorStalin's modernisation of the USSRImpact of the Second World War
America, 1840–1895: Expansion and Consolidation
The background to the American Civil War
- 3 things to know
- Paper 1 section A
Overview
How North and South differed, the Missouri Compromise, the Kansas–Nebraska Act and Bleeding Kansas, Dred Scott, the abolitionists and Uncle Tom's Cabin, John Brown, Lincoln's election and secession, what Lincoln and Jefferson Davis did as war leaders, and what it did to civilians on both sides.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
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Key term
Why did the question of slavery in the new territories matter so much?
Key term
What did the Missouri Compromise of 1820 arrange?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
How did the northern economy differ from the southern one by 1860?
Model answer
The North was industrial and commercial with fast-growing cities and paid workers, while the South lived by cotton plantations worked by enslaved people.
- 2
Why did the question of slavery in the new territories matter so much?
Model answer
Every state admitted altered the balance in the Senate between slave states and free states, so each side fought to control the west.
- 3
What did the Missouri Compromise of 1820 arrange?
Model answer
Missouri entered as a slave state and Maine as a free one, and slavery was barred from the rest of the Louisiana Purchase north of 36°30′.
- 4
How did the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 overturn that arrangement?
Model answer
It let the settlers of those two territories vote on slavery for themselves, although both lay north of the line agreed in 1820.
- 5
What was ‘Bleeding Kansas’?
Model answer
The violence from 1855 as pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers poured in to win the vote, producing rival governments, raids and murders.
- 6
What did the Dred Scott judgement of 1857 decide?
Model answer
That an enslaved man was property rather than a citizen, and that Congress had no power to forbid slavery in any territory.
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