Exam Skills: The American West, c1835–c1895 (Edexcel GCSE History)

Explain two of the following: 

• The importance of the Gold Rush (1849) for migration to the West (8).

• The importance of the US federal government for dealing with law and order in the West (8).

• The importance of Red Cloud’s War (1866-68) for relations between the Indigenous peoples (Plains Indians) and the US government (8).

(Total for Question 3 = 16 marks)

Explain two of the following: 

• The importance of the expansion of the railroads for settlement in the West (8).

• The importance of gold prospecting for conflict with the Indigenous peoples (Plains Indians) (8).

• The importance of new farming technology for farming in the West (8).

(Total for Question 3 = 16 marks)

Explain two of the following: 

• The importance of the Indian Appropriations Act (1851) for the Indigenous peoples’ (Plains Indians) way of life (8).

• The importance of the Oregon Trail for early migration to the West (8).

• The importance of the Civil War for settlement in the West (8).

(Total for Question 3 = 16 marks)

Explain two of the following: 

• The importance of changes in ranching for the cowboys’ way of life (8).

• The importance of the Exoduster movement (1879) for the growth of settlement (8).

• The importance of the extermination of the buffalo for the Indigenous peoples’ (Plains Indians) way of life (8).

(Total for Question 3 = 16 marks)

Explain two of the following: 

• The importance of the Indigenous peoples’ (Plains Indians) beliefs about land and nature for relations between Indigenous peoples and settlers (8).

• The importance of the Timber Culture Act (1873) for the settlement of the Plains (8).

• The importance of the Johnson County War (1892) for relations between homesteaders and cattlemen (8).

(Total for Question 3 = 16 marks)