To what extent did the expansion of slavery contribute to the outbreak of the US Civil War?

Candidates are required to consider the disputes regarding the expansion of slavery and how these disputes affected the outbreak of the war. Candidates should also be aware of other causes of the war, and determine whether the expansion of slavery was a significant cause.

Indicative content

• Candidates may refer back to the Missouri Compromise of 1820 as an attempt to determine the extension of slavery in territories by the 36’30’ line.
• Acquisition of territory from Mexico in the Mexican American War, the Wilmot Proviso and the Compromise of 1850, which established popular sovereignty, could be considered.
• Maintaining a balance of power in Congress with new Senators and Representatives from either slave or free states was a concern.
• The Kansas-Nebraska Act and the ensuing Bleeding Kansas increased sectionalism.
• The commonly held view by both the North and the South by 1850 that if slavery didn’t expand into new territories, it would die.
• Northerners attempted to prevent expansion of slavery, while Southerners worked to spread slavery. Some might see this as an irreconcilable difference leading to the unavoidable conflict.
• Southerners saw the emergence of the Republican Party and the election of Lincoln as the end to any chance for expansion.
• Other causes could be states’ rights, economic differences, cultural differences, and sectionalism.

The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, the list is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.

Examiners are reminded of the need to apply the markbands that provide the “best fit” to the responses given by candidates and to award credit wherever it is possible to do so.

[20 marks]