The issue of slavery caused many problems for the USA.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2023). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1-4] (a) e.g. 'Dred Scott was a slave.'
2. '(a) He went to court to gain his freedom.'
3. '(a) He claimed he should be free because he had lived in Illinois where slavery was illegal.'
4. '(a) He lost his case at the Supreme Court in 1857.'
5. '(a) His case deepened divisions in the USA over slavery.'
6. '(a) After the case he was given his freedom.'
7. [4-5] (b) It was passed to try and stop slaves fleeing north to gain their freedom. Some of the Northern states were allowing slaves to escape north and were not letting them be returned to the slave owners. Some banned their officials from arresting the slaves. They maintained that a slave who had managed to get to the north became free. Southern states were angered by this and claimed that thousands of slaves, whom they regarded as their property, were escaping this way. The Law was passed to stop all of this.
8. [2-3] (b) e.g. 'It was passed as a compromise between North and South.'
9. '(b) This was because the original Fugitive Slave Act was not working.'
10. '(b) It was passed because Northern states were allowing slaves to flee from the South.'
11. '(b) It was passed because Northern states were allowing slaves to flee and become free.'
12. '(b) It was passed because Southern states wanted to stop slaves fleeing north.'
13. '(b) It was passed to force officials in the North to arrest escaped slaves.'
14. '(b) It was passed to stop people helping the escaped slaves.'
15. [4-6] (c) 'I agree with this. Johnson was a Southerner and an ex-slave owner. He wanted to return normality to the South as soon as possible. He believed in states' rights and he held racist beliefs. This meant his policies were very lenient. He gave a general amnesty to most Southerners and did not force Southern states to give ex-slaves the vote. He also ordered that confiscated land be returned. This meant thousands of freedmen were evicted from land they had been granted. Black Americans continued to be treated like second-class citizens, especially after 'black codes' were introduced. In fact, the old order was restored and this meant that there was no useful 'reconstruction' of the South and problems were going to continue.'
16. OR
17. '(c) I disagree. The people responsible for this were the Radicals who tried to impose a Radical Reconstruction and caused much opposition in the South. Most states in the South were put under military rule and they had made the necessary changes to let them back into the Union. In some states black politicians were able to gain some power, while Northern carpetbaggers profited at the South's expense. This was hated by white Southerners and led to much opposition and violence from groups like the KKK but also from ordinary Southerners. This destroyed Reconstruction.'
18. [2-3] (c) e.g. 'The racist attitudes of many in the South were responsible for the failure.'
19. '(c) Johnson's Reconstruction was too lenient on the South and meant that few real changes were made.'
20. '(c) Opposition from groups like the KKK was responsible for the failure.'
21. '(c) It was the fault of Southern politicians who were determined to take things back to how they were before the Civil War.'
22. '(c) Reconstruction did not fail. Slavery was abolished and the USA was being put back together.'
23. '(c) Under Johnson, attacks on black Americans started again.'
24. '(c) The politicians responsible for the Radical Reconstruction were responsible.'
25. '(c) Carpetbaggers were to blame.'
26. '(c) The military rule by the North was counter-productive and turned people in the South against Reconstruction.'