Edexcel IGCSE History: America, From New Nation to Divided Union, 1783–1877 — Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs — examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available free from your board.

Related: B1 revision notes | B1 study guide

These questions practise the three Breadth Study question types of Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History 4HI1 Paper 2, Section B: explaining two differences between two points in time (6), explaining two causes (8) and a 16-mark essay on change across at least 25 years, guided by two bullet points. No sources are used in this section.

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Set 1

1(a) Explain two ways in which the power of the federal government in 1789 was different from its power under the Articles of Confederation in 1786. [6]

1(b) Explain two causes of the secession of the Southern states in 1860–61. [8]

1(c) “The problem of slavery was the main reason for divisions within the United States in the years 1820–61.” How far do you agree? [16]

You may use the following in your answer:

• the Missouri Compromise (1820)
• the Kansas–Nebraska Act (1854)

You must also use information of your own.

Set 2

2(a) Explain two ways in which the size of the United States in 1850 was different from its size in 1800. [6]

2(b) Explain two causes of the Union’s victory in the Civil War. [8]

2(c) “Government policy brought about more change for Native Americans than for African Americans in the years 1830–77.” How far do you agree? [16]

You may use the following in your answer:

• the Indian Removal Act (1830)
• the 14th and 15th Amendments

You must also use information of your own.

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Answers and mark guidance

1(a) [6]

• Taxation and finance: under the Articles Congress could not tax and relied on requests to states; the Constitution gave Congress power to levy taxes.
• Executive and enforcement: in 1786 there was no president and the government could not raise an army to deal with Shays’ Rebellion; in 1789 an elected president led an executive able to enforce federal law.

About 3 marks per developed difference with precise detail.

1(b) [8]

• Lincoln’s election (1860): Southern states saw the Republican victory, without a single Southern electoral vote, as a threat to the expansion and future of slavery.
• Fear for slavery after years of conflict: Bleeding Kansas and John Brown’s raid (1859) convinced many Southerners that the North intended to destroy slavery; states’ rights arguments justified leaving.

Credit also: economic differences between the cotton South and industrial North; South Carolina’s lead in December 1860.

1(c) [16]

Agree: each major crisis — Missouri (1820), the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act, Kansas–Nebraska (1854) and Bleeding Kansas, Dred Scott (1857), John Brown (1859) — turned on slavery’s expansion; the new Republican Party was built on opposing it. Other factors: states’ rights (rooted in Jefferson’s ideas and nullification arguments); economic differences and tariffs; westward expansion, which kept reopening the question; political breakdown, with the collapse of the Whig Party. Judgement: most divisions were connected to slavery, because expansion and states’ rights mattered mainly in relation to it. Top answers cover the whole period and show how the problem intensified.

2(a) [6]

• Territory: in 1800 the USA ended at the Mississippi; by 1850 it included the Louisiana Purchase, Florida, Texas, Oregon and the lands taken from Mexico, reaching the Pacific.
• Population and states: by 1850 settlement and the Gold Rush had pushed people west, with new states such as Texas (1845) and California (1850).

2(b) [8]

• Economic and military resources: greater population, industry and railways let the Union supply larger armies, while the naval blockade cut Southern trade.
• Military and political leadership: Grant and Sherman pursued total war (Vicksburg, the March through Georgia), and Lincoln’s leadership and the Emancipation Proclamation kept Europe out and added black soldiers to the Union armies.

2(c) [16]

For Native Americans: the Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears forced eastern nations west; expansion after 1845 and the Gold Rush brought settlers onto their lands; Grant’s Peace Policy and the reservation system; after Little Bighorn (1876) the Sioux lost the Black Hills. Policy transformed their lives, mostly for the worse. For African Americans: emancipation (1863) and the 13th Amendment (1865) ended slavery; the Freedmen’s Bureau, the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1875, the 14th and 15th Amendments gave citizenship and votes. Limits: Black Codes, the Klan and the end of Reconstruction in 1877 reversed many gains. Judgement: both experienced profound change; for African Americans legal change was greater, while for Native Americans the loss of land was more complete. Reward a reasoned comparison over the full period.

Set 3 — extra practice

3(a) Explain two ways in which the South in 1860 was different from the South in 1866. [6]

3(b) Explain two causes of the Missouri Compromise (1820). [8]

3(a) [6]

• Slavery: in 1860 about four million people were enslaved; by 1866 the 13th Amendment had freed them, though Black Codes tried to keep them as cheap, controlled labour.
• Economy and politics: in 1860 the cotton economy was prosperous and Southern states controlled their own affairs; by 1866 railways, farms and cities such as Atlanta lay in ruins and the states’ return to the Union was being decided by Washington.

3(b) [8]

• Balance in the Senate: admitting Missouri as a slave state would have given slave states a majority in the Senate, so Maine was admitted as a free state to keep the balance.
• Westward expansion: the Louisiana Purchase had created vast territories, and Congress needed a rule for slavery in them — the 36°30’ line.

Where marks are usually lost

• In (a), describing one date only instead of comparing two.
• In (b), listing causes without explaining how each led to the outcome.
• In (c), covering only one key topic; the question spans at least 25 years.

Source: question patterns modelled on the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History (4HI1) specification, Issue 5, February 2026, Paper 2, Section B.

Frequently asked questions

How is the Paper 2 breadth study question structured? Part (a) asks you to explain two ways something was different at two dates (6 marks), part (b) to explain two causes (8 marks) and part (c) is a 16-mark essay on change, continuity or significance across the period.

How did federal power change between 1786 and 1789? Under the Articles of Confederation Congress could not tax and relied on requests to the states; the Constitution gave Congress the power to levy taxes.

What is a common mistake in part (a)? Describing one date only instead of comparing the two dates in the question.

Are these real Edexcel past-paper questions? No. They are original questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History 4HI1; use them alongside the official past papers and mark schemes.