Assignment #03

ACIE American History - Cambridge International Examinations

Mr. Anthony Perno and Mr. Victor Wisniski – American Senior High School – 2009/2010 School Year

Syllabus Excerpt: II Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877

. . . The Civil War: strengths and weaknesses of the Union and the Confederacy. Lincoln and Davis as war leaders. Border states’ key decisions. Different strategies of the armies, key campaigns and battles. European attitudes and diplomatic initiatives. The Emancipation Proclamation and its effects. Weaknesses of the Confederate political system. Wartime politics in the union: civil liberties, the 1864 election. Grant and Lee as generals. Why did the South lose? . . .

· Reading Assignment: America, Past and Present, Chapter #15, Secession and the Civil War, pages 419-447

· Assignment: Using the above reading assignment, the student will prepare to answer the following essay questions. (One question will be chosen randomly the day of the exam.) The essay should encompass all pertinent syllabus topics.

· Essay Questions:

1. ‘The victory of the Union in the Civil War was inevitable.’ How far do you agree with this view?

2. Evaluate the factors that secured the victory of the Union in the Civil War.

3. How close did the Confederacy come to ‘winning’ the Civil War?

4. Why did the South lose the Civil War?