AQA A Level History Depth Study: America: A Nation Divided, c1845-1877 November 2020 question paper 7042/2J

With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying Reconstruction.

‘The main issue dividing North and South, c1845, was disagreement about the balance of power between the Federal Government and the States.’

Assess the validity of this view.

To what extent did William Seward promote abolitionism in the years 1850 to 1860?

‘The leadership of Lincoln was the Union’s greatest advantage in the Civil War.’

Assess the validity of this view.