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The Making of America, 1789 to 1900

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

Why did conflict grow between settlers and the Plains Indians, and how did the Indian Wars unfold?

The growing conflict over land and the buffalo, the broken treaties and reservation policy, key events including the Fort Laramie treaties, Little Bighorn in 1876 and Wounded Knee in 1890, and the reasons the US government defeated the Plains Indians.
A focused answer to the Plains Wars in OCR's Making of America period study, covering the growing conflict over land and the buffalo, broken treaties and the reservation policy, key events such as the Fort Laramie treaties, Little Bighorn in 1876 and Wounded Knee in 1890, and why the US defeated the Plains Indians.
14 min answer →

Why did settlers move west, and what challenges did they face on the frontier?

The reasons settlers moved west including Manifest Destiny, the experiences of the early pioneers and the Mormons, the gold rushes, the Homestead Act and the building of the railroads, and the challenges of frontier life.
A focused answer to westward expansion in OCR's Making of America period study, covering the reasons settlers moved west including Manifest Destiny, the early pioneers, the Mormon migration, the gold rushes, the Homestead Act of 1862 and the railroads, and the challenges of frontier life.
14 min answer →

Why did slavery divide America and lead to the Civil War?

Slavery in the American South, the growing divide between North and South over slavery and its expansion, abolitionism, key events such as the Missouri Compromise and Bleeding Kansas, the 1860 election of Lincoln and the secession of the South.
A focused answer to the slavery crisis in OCR's Making of America period study, covering slavery in the South, the deepening North-South divide over slavery and its expansion into new territory, abolitionism, the Missouri Compromise, Bleeding Kansas, the 1860 election of Lincoln, and the secession that led to civil war.
14 min answer →

How was the Civil War won, and what did Reconstruction achieve for African Americans?

The course and outcome of the American Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, the reasons for Union victory, the abolition of slavery, the aims and limits of Reconstruction, and the position of African Americans by 1900.
A focused answer to the Civil War and Reconstruction in OCR's Making of America period study, covering the course and outcome of the war, the Emancipation Proclamation, the reasons for Union victory, the abolition of slavery, the aims and limits of Reconstruction, and the position of African Americans by 1900.
14 min answer →

How and why was the Plains Indians' way of life destroyed by 1900?

The destruction of the buffalo, the reservation system and forced assimilation, the Dawes Act of 1887, the role of the railroads and the army, the suppression of Native culture, and the position of the Plains Indians by 1900.
A focused answer to the destruction of the Plains Indians' way of life in OCR's Making of America period study, covering the slaughter of the buffalo, the reservation system, forced assimilation and the Dawes Act of 1887, the role of the railroads and army, the suppression of Native culture, and the Plains Indians' position by 1900.
13 min answer →

What was the way of life of the Plains Indians, and how was it suited to the Great Plains?

The way of life of the Plains Indians, their dependence on the buffalo, their social and tribal organisation, their beliefs and attitudes to land and war, and how their culture was adapted to survival on the Great Plains.
A focused answer to the Plains Indians in OCR's Making of America period study, covering their nomadic way of life, dependence on the buffalo, tribal and social organisation, beliefs about land, nature and war, and how their culture was adapted to survival on the Great Plains.
13 min answer →