Exam Skills: Explaining Consequences in the American West - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

11 original exam-style questions - 4 pages of questions with a full mark scheme - free printable PDF.

Download PDF Jump to mark scheme (page 5)Exam Skills: Explaining Consequences in the American West revision guide

This topic is chapter 7 of GCSE History: The American West, c1835-c1895 Practice Book.

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6.7 Exam Skills: Explaining Consequences in the American West

EDEXCEL 1HI0 · about 60 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer ALL questions. Write in full sentences for Questions 13, 14 and 15. You are advised to spend about 60 minutes on this pack.

Name the 1868 treaty that created the Great Sioux Reservation and recognised Lakota control of the Black Hills.

(Total for Question 1 is 1 mark)

State one immediate effect on transportation of the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862.

(Total for Question 2 is 2 marks)

Give one consequence of the near-destruction of the buffalo herds for Plains Indian food supply.

(Total for Question 3 is 1 mark)

Give two reasons why settlers were attracted to land in the Great Plains after the Civil War.

(Total for Question 4 is 2 marks)

State two consequences of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864.

(Total for Question 5 is 2 marks)

State two reasons why the US government wanted to move Plains Indian nations onto reservations in the second half of the nineteenth century.

(Total for Question 6 is 2 marks)

State one way the expansion of railways affected the buffalo herds.

(Total for Question 7 is 2 marks)

Explain two consequences of the First Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 for Plains Indian nations.

(Total for Question 8 is 8 marks)

Write a narrative account analysing how the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 and the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 affected settlement and economy on the Plains.

You may use the following information in your answer:
- the Pacific Railroad Act provided land grants and loans to railroad companies
- the completion of the transcontinental railroad linked eastern markets to the West in 1869

You should also use information of your own.

(Total for Question 9 is 8 marks)

Explain two consequences of the Battle of the Little Bighorn of 1876 for Plains Indian nations.

(Total for Question 10 is 8 marks)

Explain two of the following:
(a) the importance of the Homestead Act of 1862 for westward settlement
(b) the importance of the destruction of the buffalo herds for Plains Indian society
(c) the importance of the Dawes Act of 1887 for the ownership of land on the Plains

You must answer on TWO parts.

(Total for Question 11 is 16 marks)

Mark scheme · 6.7 Exam Skills: Explaining Consequences in the American West

Question 1

B1 the Treaty of Fort Laramie, 1868
Answer: The Treaty of Fort Laramie, 1868

Question 2

B1 identifies an effect, e.g. it provided government support for railway construction
B1 supporting detail, e.g. through land grants and loans that helped the Union Pacific and Central Pacific build track westward
Answer: It provided government support for railway construction, through land grants and loans to companies building westward.

Question 3

B1 severe shortage of wild protein leading to hunger and dependence on government rations
Answer: Severe shortage of food, leading many Plains people to suffer hunger and to depend on government rations.

Question 4

B1 availability of cheap or free land under acts such as the Homestead Act
B1 improved transport links such as the transcontinental railroad making travel and supply easier
Answer: Cheap or free land under the Homestead Act, and improved transport links like the transcontinental railroad.

Question 5

B1 it increased Plains Indian mistrust of the US Army or government
B1 it encouraged further conflict or retaliation on the Plains
Answer: It increased mistrust of the US Army and government, and it encouraged further conflict and retaliation on the Plains.

Question 6

B1 to free up land on the Plains for white settlers, railroads and ranching
B1 to bring Plains Indian nations under closer government control and encourage them to adopt farming and a settled way of life
Answer: The government wanted to free up Plains land for white settlers, railroads and ranching, and it wanted to bring Plains Indian nations under closer control and encourage a settled, farming way of life.

Question 7

B1 identifies an effect, e.g. railways opened access to previously remote hunting areas
B1 supporting detail, e.g. transport of hunters and market access for buffalo hides led to mass commercial hunting
Answer: Railways opened remote areas to hunters and gave quick transport for hides to market, fuelling mass commercial hunting that reduced buffalo numbers.

Question 8

Level 1 (1-2): Identifies one or two simple consequences with little or no supporting detail or explanation.
Level 2 (3-4): Identifies and begins to explain one consequence, supported by some accurate detail.
Level 3 (5-6): Explains two consequences, each supported by accurate and relevant detail.
Level 4 (7-8): Explains two consequences in a well-developed way, showing clear links between the treaty terms and their effects, with precise and accurate supporting detail.
Indicative content:
- One consequence was the formal recognition of tribal territories, which on paper reduced violent conflict between some groups and settlers, but in practice fixed boundaries that limited tribes' seasonal movement and control of hunting grounds.
- A second consequence was increased US government involvement in Plains affairs, since the treaty established the principle of federal negotiation and payments, creating expectations of annuities and agents whose failure to deliver on promises later caused mistrust and instability.
- Good answers will distinguish consequence from mere description by explaining how treaty terms produced political limitations, altered traditional mobility and brought new administrative control that changed tribal autonomy.

Question 9

Level 1 (1-2): Simple, generalised statements with little organisation or sense of change over time.
Level 2 (3-4): Some accurate knowledge is used, with limited organisation; may be more a list of consequences than an organised narrative.
Level 3 (5-6): Organised account showing how events are linked, with relevant supporting detail and some analysis of change over time.
Level 4 (7-8): A coherent, well-organised narrative that analyses connections between events across the period, showing clearly how the Act and the railroad completion changed settlement patterns and the Plains economy, fully supported by precise and accurate detail.
Indicative content:
- The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 gave land grants and government loans to the Union Pacific and Central Pacific, encouraging rapid railway construction across the Plains and reducing the financial risk to private companies.
- Completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 created faster, cheaper transport for people, goods and agricultural produce, linking eastern markets to western farms and encouraging large scale migration and settlement on the Plains.
- Railway construction also opened access to remote regions, stimulated towns and trading posts along the route, and supported industries such as cattle ranching and wheat farming by providing markets and bringing in equipment and settlers.
- A strong narrative explains the sequence from legislation to construction to market integration, and analyses how this sequence shifted the Plains from a sparsely settled region into one connected to national economic networks.

Question 10

Level 1 (1-2): Identifies one or two simple points with little or no supporting detail or explanation.
Level 2 (3-4): Begins to explain one point, supported by some accurate detail.
Level 3 (5-6): Explains two points clearly, each supported by accurate and relevant detail.
Level 4 (7-8): Explains two points in a well-developed way, showing clear links between the development and its effects, with precise and accurate supporting detail.
Indicative content:
- One consequence was a short-term boost to the confidence and reputation of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho who defeated Custer's force. It showed that Plains Indian resistance could still win a major battle against the US Army.
- A second consequence was harsher US government and army action afterwards. The defeat shocked public opinion and encouraged stronger military campaigns to force independent bands onto reservations.
- Another consequence was that the victory did not secure long-term independence. In the following years the US government increased pressure on Plains Indian nations, and reservation control became more firmly enforced.
- Good answers explain consequences rather than narrating the battle: they link the event to both immediate morale and the longer-term tightening of US control.

Question 11

Level 1 (1-4): For each part answered, identifies a general point of importance with little or no supporting detail or explanation.
Level 2 (5-8): For each part answered, begins to explain importance, supported by some accurate detail.
Level 3 (9-12): For each part answered, explains importance clearly, supported by accurate and relevant detail, with some analysis of consequences.
Level 4 (13-16): For each part answered, explains importance in a well-developed, analytical way, fully supported by precise and accurate detail, showing clearly why the development mattered for the outcome named.
Indicative content:
- (a) The Homestead Act was important because it provided cheap or free land to millions of settlers, accelerating migration, encouraging family farming and creating a legal route for occupation that transformed patterns of settlement across the Plains.
- (a) The Act also encouraged government-backed population growth which increased demand for infrastructure, markets and law and order, making permanent settlement more viable.
- (b) The destruction of the buffalo herds was important because it removed the main food and material base of Plains societies, forcing many tribes into famine, dependence on US government supplies and surrender of autonomy.
- (b) It also undermined economic and social structures built around buffalo hunting, accelerating cultural disruption and making it easier for the US state and settlers to occupy traditional Plains lands.
- (c) The Dawes Act was important because it broke up communal landholding and imposed the idea of individual private ownership, weakening tribal structures and making it easier for non-Native buyers to acquire 'surplus' land.
- (c) The Act also aimed at assimilation by promoting private farming but in practice led to significant loss of Native-held land and long term changes in land tenure patterns across the Plains.
- A high-quality answer addresses two options, explains why each development mattered for the specified outcome, and supports points with precise factual detail and analysis of short and longer term effects.

Exam Skills: Explaining Consequences in the American West - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

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