American Civil War!

[katiehunt12]

Hi
I was wondering if someone could give me any ideas - I am writing my IA on the civil war, specifically causes and was wondering if anyone could help me put together a question! (I am on a 2 week break from school and I want to have my draft close to completed before I go back)
I was thinking I could ask "Was the election of Abraham Lincoln the primary cause of the Secession of southern states" but my history teacher has said something about me needing to be able to argue against this, and was just wondering if anybody knew of any other angles or aspects of the causes I could look into!
thankyou dearies

[amazoness]

I'm also writing mine on the American Civil War, and my question is: How did the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 aid in causing the American Civil War?

[Sarah1]

I don't see what's wrong with the question you've already gotten. You could explain your position that it was or wasn't (I would make your question state your position. So, if you think it was, I would say "To what extent was the election of Abraham Lincoln the primary cause of the secession of the southern states?"), and then mention the fact that some may disagree, with evidence. It shouldn't be too hard, with the multitude of other factors that led to secession and the war. Especially consider John C. Calhoun's possible role in encouraging secession and how that might be another possible reason.

[Arrowhead]

There's so much that can be said in opposition to your general proposition. There's the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the economics and psychology of slavery in the South; Cass' and Calhoun's roles, the question of California, the list goes on.

I actually have some old notes on the American Civil War. Feel free to use them.

Garraty 341-348.doc

[alefal]

The problem I see with your current question is that it is merely requires a yes/no answer, and is thus not very appropriate for a historical investigation. Sarah's suggestion to improve it,

"To what extent was the election of Abraham Lincoln the primary cause of the secession of the southern states?"

seems like the way to go, as you will need to answer the RQ by more than one sentence ('In conclusion, the election of Lincoln was to a great extent the cause of the secession. This is because X and Y, which culminated in Z...').

... with the multitude of other factors that led to secession and the war.

If it is true that there are many other factors, I would perhaps limit your question even further. For instance, 'To what extent was the election of Lincoln more important than [another cause] in causing the secession of the southern states?' Keep in mind that for the IA, you only have approximately 700 words to analyse the topic itself, everything else is used on analysis of sources, listing facts and all that.

Good luck!

[Ahmad Shami]

Hi! I chose to do my IA on almost exactly the same topic. I was wondering how yours ended up? What direction did you decide to take? Any help would be appreciated!

[andrew0319]

Hi i needed help in forming my RQ: so far I have to what extent is  the resistance strategies used by slaves effective in .... i don't know what to put after that . Please someone help me.