PART B: DBQ ESSAY

The Civil War began with the Confederate Attack on Fort Sumter on April 14, 1861.

DIRECTIONS:  

• Write a well organized essay that includes a strong introduction, body (topic and closing sentence for each paragraph), and conclusion that analyzes and interprets the assigned task

• Use the information from the documents and the answers to the questions in Part A to support your response

• Do not simply repeat the contents of the documents

• Include details, examples or reasons to develop your ideas

• Utilize specific related outside information (your knowledge of social studies)

HISTORICAL CONTEXT:

After the Constitution was adopted by all of the States in 1789, uniting the States into one nation, differences between the States had been worked out through compromises. For more than 30 years arguments between the North and South had been growing. By 1861 these differences between the Northern States (which included the Mid-Western and Western States) and the Southern States had become so great that compromise would no longer work. Thus, a conflict started within our nation that was called the Civil War (1861-1865).

TASK:

Most historians agree that the Civil War was caused by series of events and growing differences between the States. Write an essay explaining three reasons the Southern states seceded (withdrew) from the Union which lead to the American Civil War.