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GCSE · History

EDX.ASU8 Exam Skills: Writing Analytical Narrative Accounts of the American West

EDEXCEL 1HI0 · Calculators not allowed · about 50 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer ALL questions. Write in full sentences for Questions 13, 14 and 15. You are advised to spend about 50 minutes on this pack.

Give the name of the cattle trail that linked Texas ranches to railheads in Kansas and became important in the 1860s and 1870s.

(Total for Question 1 is 1 mark)

Name the Kansas town that became the first major cattle railhead and boom town in the 1860s.

(Total for Question 2 is 1 mark)

State two reasons why cattle drives from Texas to Kansas were profitable in the late 1860s and early 1870s.

(Total for Question 3 is 2 marks)

Give the year in which Red Cloud's War began with attacks on US forts and supply routes along the Bozeman Trail.

(Total for Question 4 is 1 mark)

Name the US army lieutenant colonel who led the 1874 expedition into the Black Hills that helped trigger the Black Hills gold rush.

(Total for Question 5 is 1 mark)

State one reason why the discovery of gold in the Black Hills led to increased conflict with the Lakota.

(Total for Question 6 is 2 marks)

Give the name of the 1876 battle in which Custer and much of his immediate command were killed.

(Total for Question 7 is 1 mark)

State two features of a typical frontier boom town created by a railhead or gold rush, such as early Abilene or Black Hills mining camps.

(Total for Question 8 is 2 marks)

Name the US treaty, signed in 1868, that temporarily recognised Lakota control of the Black Hills area before it was broken by gold prospectors.

(Total for Question 9 is 1 mark)

State one change in plains warfare or raiding caused by the adoption of the horse among Plains nations.

(Total for Question 10 is 2 marks)

Name one way railheads helped transform cattle ranching into a large-scale industry in the late nineteenth century.

(Total for Question 11 is 1 mark)

State two reasons why settlers and miners often ignored treaty limits on Indian land in the 1870s.

(Total for Question 12 is 2 marks)

Explain two consequences of the Black Hills gold rush for relations between the US government and the Lakota between 1874 and 1876.

(Total for Question 13 is 8 marks)

Write a narrative account analysing how events from the Black Hills gold rush led to the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

You may use the following information in your answer:
- the 1874 expedition into the Black Hills and subsequent stream of prospectors
- the failure of the US government to prevent miners from entering treaty land

You should also use information of your own.

(Total for Question 14 is 8 marks)

Explain two of the following:
(a) the importance of railheads for the development of the cattle industry
(b) the importance of the horse for Plains Indian warfare and mobility
(c) the importance of government policy for the outbreak of Red Cloud's War, 1866-68

You must answer on TWO parts.

(Total for Question 15 is 16 marks)

Mark scheme · EDX.ASU8 Exam Skills: Writing Analytical Narrative Accounts of the American West

Question 1

B1 the Chisholm Trail
Answer: The Chisholm Trail

Question 2

B1 Abilene
Answer: Abilene

Question 3

B1 higher prices for cattle in northern and eastern markets
B1 railheads in Kansas gave access to long-distance markets and transport to cities
Answer: Because cattle fetched higher prices in northern and eastern markets, and Kansas railheads provided access to those markets.

Question 4

B1 1866
Answer: 1866

Question 5

B1 George Armstrong Custer
Answer: George Armstrong Custer

Question 6

B1 miners and settlers entered land guaranteed to the Lakota by treaty, breaking the Fort Laramie agreements
B1 the US government failed to prevent or control the influx of gold prospectors, increasing tensions and violence
Answer: Because prospectors entered Lakota treaty land in the Black Hills, breaking agreements, and the government did not stop the influx of miners, increasing tensions and violence.

Question 7

B1 the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Answer: The Battle of the Little Bighorn

Question 8

B1 rapid population growth and a predominance of single men
B1 basic, makeshift services and law enforcement, with saloons, boarding houses and informal justice
Answer: Rapid population growth with many single men, and makeshift services and weak law enforcement such as saloons and informal justice.

Question 9

B1 the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)
Answer: The Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)

Question 10

B1 mounted warriors could strike more quickly and travel further, increasing the scale and mobility of raids
B1 horses made warfare more focused on quick mounted skirmishing rather than set-piece infantry-style engagements
Answer: Mounted warriors could strike more quickly and travel further, making raids larger and more mobile; warfare relied more on mounted skirmishing than on infantry-style battles.

Question 11

B1 they allowed cattle to be transported to eastern markets quickly by rail
Answer: Railheads allowed cattle to be transported quickly by rail to eastern markets.

Question 12

B1 economic incentive: gold and land attracted prospectors and settlers who wanted to stake claims
B1 weak enforcement: the US government and army often did not prevent or control the influx of settlers
Answer: Because gold and valuable land attracted prospectors, and government enforcement was often too weak or unwilling to stop them.

Question 13

Level 1 (1-2): Identifies one or two basic consequences with little or no supporting detail or explanation.
Level 2 (3-4): Begins to explain a consequence, supported by some accurate detail.
Level 3 (5-6): Explains two consequences, each supported by accurate and relevant detail, and begins to show links between them.
Level 4 (7-8): Explains two consequences in a well-developed way, showing clear analytical links and supported throughout by precise, accurate detail.
Indicative content:
- Increased violation of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty as miners flooded the Black Hills, creating diplomatic and legal crisis points between the US government and the Lakota, since treaty provisions were being openly broken.
- Rising military tension and eventual escalation to armed campaigns, because the government attempts to remove miners or to force cessions of land led to armed resistance and then to a decision to send larger US forces into the area.
- Political pressure on the US government from settlers and prospectors demanding protection for their claims, which pushed federal policy toward supporting removal or military action rather than enforcing treaty guarantees to the Lakota.
- Destabilisation of intertribal relations and Lakota unity, as the influx of prospectors and the government's responses forced bands to choose between negotiation, flight, or resistance, contributing to the large-scale confrontation at Little Bighorn.

Question 14

Level 1 (1-2): Simple, generalised narrative with little sequencing or explanation of connections between events.
Level 2 (3-4): Some accurate events sequenced, with limited analysis of how events led to one another.
Level 3 (5-6): A coherent, organised narrative that explains links between key events, supported by accurate detail.
Level 4 (7-8): A well-organised, analytical narrative that sequences events clearly and explains the connections between them, supported throughout by precise and accurate detail.
Indicative content:
- The 1874 expedition, led in part by Custer, reported gold in the Black Hills, which immediately attracted prospectors despite the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty that reserved the area for the Lakota.
- As prospectors streamed in, the US government faced pressure from miners and settlers to secure their claims, and authorities failed to exclude miners effectively, undermining treaty guarantees and angering the Lakota.
- Government attempts to buy or seize the land, or to limit Lakota movement onto it, heightened tensions; some Lakota bands resisted the incursions, while others initially tried negotiation, creating divisions and uncertainty.
- By 1876 the accumulation of broken treaties, unchecked miners, and government orders to bring hostile bands to reservation areas produced a campaign to force compliance; military detachments were sent out to compel surrender, culminating in Custer's 1876 engagement with a large assembled force of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho at the Little Bighorn.
- A good narrative explains how each step increased pressure, turning a local gold rush into a political and military crisis, rather than presenting the battle as an isolated event.

Question 15

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 with accurate and relevant detail and begins to consider consequences.
Level 4 (13-16): For each part answered: explains importance in a well-developed, analytical way with precise and accurate detail, considering wider consequences and making links between factors.
Indicative content:
- (a) Railheads were crucial because they provided rapid, reliable transport to eastern markets, turning small-scale ranching into a profitable industry; their existence encouraged investment in large herds and the use of cattle drives to reach profitable prices.
- (b) The horse transformed Plains warfare and mobility by allowing faster movement, greater range for raids and hunting, and new tactics of mounted skirmishing, increasing the scale of intergroup conflict and enabling nations to control larger territories seasonally.
- (c) Government policy mattered for Red Cloud's War because the US decision to build the Bozeman Road and forts through territory promised to the Indians provoked resistance; the failure to consult or respect tribal concerns, and the imposition of military infrastructure, directly caused the conflict.

Exam Skills: Writing Analytical Narrative Accounts of the American West - Worksheets, Questions and Revision