American West | 4 Markers
These are practice questions for Medicine.
- What can we learn about life in the West from Source A?
- What could a historian infer about the life of a cowboy from Source A?
- What can we understand about the Plains by using Source A?
American West | 9 Markers
This question is compulsory. It is question number 2.
It requires you to explain why a person (such as Joseph Smith or Wyatt Earp) or a development or event (such as the Johnson County War or 1848 Gold discovery) was important.
To be successful you must be able to discuss why one is more important than the other and provide specific, detailed reasons and examples that answer the question.
American West | 12 Markers
The boxes below show two groups. Choose one and explain why they travelled west in the 1840s. Trappers and Mountain Men / Miners
Who was more successful in the west, the Homesteaders or the Mormons? Explain your answer using your knowledge.
Who was most responsible for the Indian victory at Little Bighorn? Crazy Horse / Custer
Which was the bigger factor in the final defeat of the Indians? Slaughter of the buffalo / setting up reservations.
Which was Brigham Young’s most important contribution to the Mormons: deciding to go West and organizing the journey or organizing the community at Salt Lake? Explain your answer.
Who had a greater impact on the growth of Mormonism? Joseph Smith \ Brigham Young
Which was more significant at encouraging people to go West? Homestead Act 1862 / Transcontinental Railroad
Which had the biggest impact in destroying the Indian way of life? Mass hunting of Buffalo by white settlers \ Manifest destiny
Which of these pull factors was the greatest for filling the Great Plains? Discovery of Gold 1848 \ opportunity to establish own Homestead
American West | 12 Markers
These are some examples of 12-mark questions for you to practise to improve your exam technique.
For these questions you have to analyse and explain the importance of a person or event, or the impact or consequences of an event.
This is a general mark scheme which shows a basic outline of how the Marks are awarded in the exam for the answers to this question.
How effectively did the US Government deal with the problems of Law and Order?
Why was Brigham Young such an important figure to the Mormons?
How important was the Transcontinental Railroad for settling the Great Plains in the 1860s and 1870s?
Why were the Plains Indians able to live so successfully on the Great Plains?
Why was it difficult to deal with problems of law and order in the 1860s and 1870s?
What problems did the Homesteaders face settling on the Great Plains?
What solutions did the Homesteaders think up to the problems they faced on the Plains?
American West | 9 and 16 Markers
This question is compulsory. It is question number 5 or 6. You can choose EITHER.
It requires you to judge the importance or consequences of a person or event. You have to weigh both sides of the arguments and then come to a conclusion of your own based on the evidence.
To be successful you must be able to discuss why one is more important than the other and provide specific, detailed reasons and examples that answer the question.
9 Mark Questions
Describe the problems faced by Homesteaders in the 1860s.
Explain why the Mormons moved to the Great Salt Lake in 1847.
Describe the role of Joseph Smith in the Mormon movement in 1830s and 1840s.
Explain why the Homesteaders were so successful the Great Plains in 1860s and 1870s.
Why did the White Settlers fail to live alongside the Indians on the Great Plains?
16 Mark Questions
“Severe weather was the major obstacle to easily setting up Homesteads in the 1860s.” How far do you agree with this statement about the difficulties faced by Homesteaders?
To what extent was Brigham Young crucial to the success of the Mormons in settling in the West in the 1840s and 1850s?
“Winning the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876 meant the end of the Indian way of Life on the Great Plains.” Do you agree? Explain your answer.
How true is it to say that the white Americans tried to exterminate all the Indians on the Great Plains?
“Push factors were far more important in getting groups to settle the Great Plains that pull factors.” How far do you agree with this statement?
“The development of the railroad was the crucial factor in ending the Plains Indians culture.” How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.