Download Question 1 (Document-Based Question): 55 minutes Suggested

Question 1 (Document-Based Question): 55 minutes
Suggested Reading period: 10-15 minutes
Suggested Writing period: 40-45 minutes
Directions: Question 1 is based on the accompanying documents. The documents have been edited for
the purpose of this exercise. You are advised to spend 15 minutes reading and planning and 45 minutes
writing your answer.
Write your responses on the lined pages that follow the question.
In your response you should do the following:
 State a relevant thesis that directly addresses all parts of the question.
 Support the thesis or a relevant argument with evidence from all, or all but one, of the
documents.
 Incorporate analysis of all, or all but one, of the documents into your argument.
 Focus your analysis of each document on at least one of the following: intended audience,
purpose, historical context, and/or point of view.
 Support your argument with analysis of historical examples outside the documents
 Connect historical phenomena relevant to your argument to broader events or processes.
 Synthesize the elements above into a persuasive essay that extends your argument, connects it
to a different historical context, or accounts for contradictory evidence on the topic.
1. Determine how the economics of the North and South impacted the Civil War.
Document 1
Source: Benjamin T. Arrington, “Industry and Economy during the Civil War”
“In 1860, the South was still predominantly agricultural, highly dependent upon the sale of staples to a
world market. By 1815, cotton was the most valuable export in the United States; by 1840, it was worth
more than all other exports combined. But while the southern states produced two-thirds of the
world's supply of cotton, the South had little manufacturing capability, about 29 percent of the railroad
tracks, and only 13 percent of the nation's banks. The South did experiment with using slave labor in
manufacturing, but for the most part it was well satisfied with its agricultural economy.
The North, by contrast, was well on its way toward a commercial and manufacturing economy, which
would have a direct impact on its war making ability. By 1860, 90 percent of the nation's manufacturing
output came from northern states. The North produced 17 times more cotton and woolen textiles than
the South, 30 times more leather goods, 20 times more pig iron, and 32 times more firearms. The North
produced 3,200 firearms to every 100 produced in the South. Only about 40 percent of the Northern
population was still engaged in agriculture by 1860, as compared to 84 percent of the South.”
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
Document 2
Source: Roger L. Ransom, “The Economics of the Civil War”
“Following the opening of the Erie Canal in 1823, there was growing support in the North and the
Northwest for government support of improvement in transportation facilities — what were termed in
those days “internal improvements”. The need for government- sponsored improvements was
particularly urgent in the Great Lakes region (Egnal 2001: 45-50). The appearance of the railroad in the
1840s gave added support for those advocating government subsidies to promote transportation.
Southerners required far fewer internal improvements than people in the Northwest, and they tended
to view federal subsidies for such projects to be part of a “deal” between western and eastern interests
that held no obvious gains for the South. The bill that best illustrates the regional disputes on
transportation was the Pacific Railway Bill of 1860, which proposed a transcontinental railway link to the
West Coast. The bill failed to pass the House, receiving no votes from congressmen representing districts
of the South where there was a significant slave population (Bensel 1990: 70-71).”
Document 3
Source: Senate and House of Representatives, Pacific Railway Act, 1862
An Act to aid in the Construction of a Railroad and Telegraph Line from the Missouri River to the Pacific
Ocean, and to secure to the Government the Use of the same for Postal, Military, and Other
Purposes. ...and they said corporation is hereby authorized and empowered to layout, locate,
construct, furnish, maintain, and enjoy a continuous railroad and telegraph, with the appurtenances,
from a point on the one hundredth meridian of longitude west from Greenwich, between the south
margin of the valley of the Republican River and the north margin of the valley of the Platte River, in
the Territory of Nebraska, to the western boundary of Nevada Territory, upon the route and terms
hereinafter provided, and is hereby vested with all the powers, privileges, and immunities necessary to
carry into effect the purposes of this act as herein set forth.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
Document 4
Source: unknown, “North and South: Different Cultures, Same Country”, 1861
Document 5
Source: Columbus Sun, "The Class That Suffer", February 17, 1865
Non producers alone feel the war. Others can meet high rates with the same— those who speculate
not, must shift as best they can. What matters life or death so avarice can be gratified? What is honor
unattended by wealth? What is liberty, unless money can be hoarded by millions? What, if the country
be ruined, its women ravished, its homes desolated, its altars violated and freedom forever perish—
what matters all so the almighty dollar may be amassed in piles? What care men of the present day
whether their country sinks so property may be secured, and the price at which liberty is bought rests
as light as possible upon their patriotic shoulders?
That is right. Pile up wealth—no matter whether bread be drawn from the mouth of the soldiers
orphan or the one-armed, one limbed hero who hungry walks your streets—take every dollar you can,
pay out as little as possible, deprive your noble warriors of every comfort and luxury, increase in every
way the necessaries of life, make everybody but yourself and non producers bear the taxes of the war;
but be very careful to parade everything you give before the public—talk boldly on the street corners of
your love of country, be a grand home general—and, when the war is over, point to your princely
palace and its magnificent surroundings and exclaim with pompous swell "These are the results of my
patriotism."
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
Document 6
Source: Hinton Helper, The Impending Crisis of the South: How to Meet It, Burdick Brothers, New York:
1857
It is a fact well known to every intelligent Southerner that we are compelled to go to the North for
almost every article of utility and adornment, from matches, shoe pegs and paintings up to cottonmills, steamships and statuary; that we have no foreign trade, no princely merchants, nor respectable
artists; that, in comparison with the free states, we contribute nothing to the literature, polite arts and
inventions of the age; that, for want of profitable employment at home,... productions of Southern
industry; that, owing to the absence of a proper system of business amongst us, the North becomes, in
one way or another, the proprietor and dispenser of all our floating wealth, and that we are dependent
on Northern capitalists for the means necessary to build our railroads, canals and other public
improvements
Document 7
Source: Frank Beard, Vent, Star & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, 1861
END OF DOCUMENTS FOR QUESTION 1
DBQ Notes
Prompt: Compare and contrast the economic tendencies of the North and the South and how that
impacted the Civil War.
SCORING NOTES
Thesis: Possible thesis statements could include the following.
 Stating that the North had an industrial-based economy while the South had an agricultural-based
economy.
 Negative effects of the lack of diversity in the Southern Economy
 Compare the methods by which both governments tried to raise money for the war.
 Arguments about how the North had a better developed economy, and could therefore outlast the
South, economically, during the war
 Arguments about the manufacturing power of the North due to its high population compared with
the South
Analysis of Documents
 As explained in the scoring notes, to earn full credit for analyzing documents, responses must
include at least one of the following for all or all but one of the documents: intended audience,
purpose, historical context, author’s point of view. Although examples of these elements are
listed below, these examples of analysis must explicitly be used in support of a stated thesis or a
relevant argument.
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Document 1
Benjamin T. Arrington, “Industry and Economy during the Civil War”
Intended audience: American Public
Purpose: Describe the economies of the North and the South
Historical context: During the Civil War, the North was more powerful economically than the
South
The author’s point of view: Written by a contemporary scholar, the article has no clear bias.
Document 2
Roger L. Ransom, “The Economics of the Civil War”
Intended audience: American Public
Purpose: To explain the North’s economic superiority
Historical context: Union victory in the Civil War was partly due to the North’s larger and
modern economy. The North, for example, had more railroad mileage and was able to
manufacture more guns and ammunition for their armies.
The author’s point of view: Contemporary economist
Document 3
Source: Senate and House of Representatives, Pacific Railway Act, 1862
Intended audience: general American public
Purpose: to explain the purpose and layout of the Pacific Railway Act
Historical context: implemented a year after the Civil War begins, first railroad connecting both
coasts
The author’s point of view: stated by the Union federal government, signed by President
Lincoln, who would receive money through government bonds and would ensure California to
stay in Union by connecting the state to the rest of the country through railroads
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Document 4
Source: unknown, “North and South: Different Cultures, Same Country”, 1861
Intended audience: general American public
Purpose: to show the economic differences between the North and South during the Civil War
Historical context: before the war, the North was already more industrial, while the South was
more agricultural; North had much more resources than South did before and during war
The author’s point of view: unbiased chart; straight facts shown
Document 5
Source: Columbus Sun, "The Class That Suffer", February 17, 1865
Intended audience: an excerpt from an article published in the Columbus Sun, a newspaper
whose audience is presumably the American reading public
Purpose: to comment on the social standings of the wealthy or upper class and how although
they do not pay war taxes, they take on a sense of pride and nationality in doing their part to aid
war efforts while the lower class, or the class that suffers pay war taxes and live in poverty.
Historical context: published a few weeks after congress approved the Thirteenth Amendment to
the United States Constitution to abolish slavery and after a peace conference occurs on February
3rd wherein President Lincoln met with Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens at
Hampton Roads in Virginia. The meeting is a failure, with the war continued.
The author’s point of view: a critical analysis on the lifestyle and mannerisms of the upper class
in relation to the war in comparison to those who are part of the lower class.
Document 6
Source: Hinton Helper, The Impending Crisis of the South: How to Meet It, Burdick Brothers,
New York:
1857
Audience: an excerpt from a book Helper dedicated to the "non slaveholding whites" of the
South
Purpose: to explain the differences between the north and south are growing more prominent and
the south’s dependence on all of the north’s resources will be an irreconcilable difference.
Historical context: written four years before the conflict, tensions were rising to new heights and
the statistics showed the import and export and overall wealth was in the north, which would lead
to the downfall of the south if the conflict were to happen
The author’s point of view: written by an abolitionist, he supported the north and condemned
the south to the economic crisis that it was in, and he was very critical of slavery.
Document 7
Source: Frank Beard, Vent, Star & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, 1861
 Audience: The northern people in America who think they are going to win the war
 Purpose: Explain, through an image, the differences between the north and south, and to show
the economic backing of both, while showing the relative strength through the different dogs.
 Historical context: The war has started and the north is confident they will win, but the clear
winner has not yet been decided, so to empower the northerners, this political cartoonist depicts
the differences between the two sides.
 The author’s point of view: a northerner who was very supportive of the war, he thought there
was no way that the south could win, and he expressed his opinion through cartoons in magazines.
Analysis of outside examples to support thesis/argument: Possible examples of information not found
in the documents that could be used to support the stated thesis or a relevant argument could include the
following.
 North’s advantages in manpower and industry
 African American population on both sides and their roles during the war
 Emancipation Proclamation of 1863
 Homestead Act of 1862
 Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862
 National Bank Acts of 1863-64
 how each side financed the war
 women’s role in war
 centralization of power in South (“food draft”, seizing power of railroads, impressing slaves,
regulations on industry)
 how the war was fought mostly on Southern territory
 South’s economic focus on cotton and export crops, not food for its people
 South’s food shortages and inflation (led to riots, resistance, demonstrations)
 King Cotton diplomacy
 Improved technology (railroads, telegraphs, etc.)
Contextualization: Students can earn a point for contextualization by accurately and explicitly
connecting historical phenomena relevant to the argument to broader historical events and/or processes.
These historical phenomena may include, but are not limited to, the following.
 The differences between the north and south before the Civil war economically, politically, and
socially
 Views on slavery, racism, and equality
 Effects of Europe’s influence on America, and their support
 America’s Isolationist views and how it affected either support or neutrality
 How the transportation of the north and south effected the mobilization of food, troops, and ideas
 The relative strength of the two different cultures and its effect on the outcome of the civil war
 The opinions on the necessity of the Civil War
Synthesis: Essays can earn the point for synthesis by crafting a persuasive and coherent essay. This can
be accomplished providing a conclusion that extends or modifies the analysis in the essay, by using
disparate and sometimes contradictory evidence from primary and/or secondary sources to craft a
coherent argument, or by connecting to another historical period or context. Examples could include, but
are not limited to, the following.
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Linking the argument to pre-war cotton output from the South, and the industrialization of the North,
and its relation to urbanization and immigration.
Linking the argument to other prosperous slave labor economies in Hawaii and Jamaica
Linking the argument to the post-war Southern economy, with several impacts including The
Emancipation Proclamation
Linking the argument to the founding of the Republican party and others before that
Linking the argument to 1920’s industrialized cities and how the northern cities didn’t become
leading populations cities until the 1920’s
Linking the argument to the first textile mill built in 1790’s New England that created an independent
economy not reliant on slaves
Sample
During the Civil War (1861-1865), the North and South had vastly different economies that,
eventually, led to a Union Victory. The South had an agrarian economy primarily based on cotton, and
lacked diversity. The North, in contrast, had strong industrial strength that led to a diverse economy.
Furthermore, the North had a larger free population, while the South had a smaller population with slaves
making one-third of it. The blacks in the south were enslaved and suppressed through the Fugitive Slave
Act from the 1850 compromise. The North and South were separated by ideals and economic differences,
which led to the secession of the South and Union victory.
From the start of the war, the North was at a clear industrial advantage with its large, established
metropolitan cities and abundance of natural resources. By 1861, the North had significantly more
resources, such as manpower, factories, railroads and iron and steel (Doc 4). Their great industries alone
were able to produce a majority of their supplies by 1862. The South went into the war knowing the
disadvantage it had. One of the main factors that won the war was transportation. Prior to the war, the
opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 and railroads in the 1840s helped the North grow economically (Doc 2).
The Union’s more modern transportation system allowed crucial supplies to reach troops when necessary.
One government decision that assisted economically was the Pacific Railway Act, allowing the
construction of railroads and telegraphs from coast to coast (Doc 3). Signed by President Lincoln, it
allowed the unions to carry supplies and transport troops faster than the South and gave the Union a
military advantage over the Confederacy. In addition, the North’s people prospered with the creation of
the Homestead Act and the Morill Land Grant Act. These acts provided new opportunities out West and
raised money for public education, respectively. The Class That Suffer, an article from Columbus Sun,
criticizes the upper class’ lack of assistance to the war while also taking pride in the little they do to aid
the battle, as opposed to the lower class that actually make a difference in their efforts (Doc 5). The North
held most of the wealth in the country; however, that was tied to the fact that it was also more industrial
and had more money to fund factories and other wartime necessities. With all the resources and tools
available, the Union outlasted the Confederates and won the war.
Proving to be more agricultural-based, the South was a playground for large scale farms with its
warm climate and fertile soil. Because its primary product was cotton, it could not keep up with its
opponent’s big factories that produced weapons and ammunition. Benjamin T. Arrington explained that
although its cotton was more valuable than all of the US’s exports combined, it had little other industrial
worth (Doc 1). The South relied on receiving the support of foreign countries through “King Cotton
Diplomacy.” Under this diplomatic method, the South would coerce nations into supporting the
Confederacy by setting up a cotton embargo on a specific country. This method failed, largely because
countries were able to find new sources of cotton. Prior to the war, Hinton Helper expressed the South’s
dependence on the North for more industrial-based materials and public works (Doc 6). With the known
economic status of both sides, Helper foreshadowed reasons for the South’s loss. A political cartoon by a
Northerner demonstrated through dogs representing each side that the North was in a better position, with
more useful items (Doc 7). The author, Frank Beard, was clearly a proponent of the Union, drawing the
Northern dog as sturdy and strong, while the Southern one was scrawny and small. He did not believe that
the Confederacy could win, and made fun of it through an illustration. The South’s lack of a diverse
economy led to their eventual downfall.
The Union was victorious because of their economic advantages. Large supplies of resources,
transportation systems, and labor were held in abundance, while the South struggled to get economic
footing domestically and internationally with only King Cotton to rely on. The economic differences of
the Civil War can be paralleled to the American Revolution. For instance, the South, like the American
patriots, had fewer resources than their enemy. The North, like England, had a bigger army and an
abundance of resources compared to the South. However, unlike the American Patriots, the South lost
because they were unable to carry out the war long enough for the North to stop their military campaigns.