Practice a College Board-style short-answer question on Period 5: Civil War & Reconstruction. Write your response, then reveal the model answer to see exactly what earns each point.
"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved, I do not expect the house to fall, but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other."
— Abraham Lincoln, "House Divided" speech, 1858
A
Briefly describe ONE argument Lincoln makes about the future of the United States in the passage.
✓ Model answer (earns the point)
Lincoln argues that the nation cannot remain permanently half slave and half free — it must resolve the contradiction one way or the other. He explicitly states the Union won't be dissolved, but predicts that slavery will either be put on the path to extinction or expanded everywhere; the status quo is unsustainable.
Why it scores: Identifies a specific argument drawn directly from the passage (the irreconcilability of slave and free states) with concrete language. "Lincoln talked about slavery" would be too vague to earn the point.
B
Explain ONE cultural or social effect of European perceptions of Native Americans on Native peoples during 1844–1877.
✓ Model answer (earns the point)
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 destroyed the Whig Party and led to the founding of the Republican Party, fundamentally reshaping the party system. By repealing the Missouri Compromise and allowing popular sovereignty in new territories, the Act split Northern Whigs from Southern ones; Northern Whigs, Free Soilers, and anti-slavery Democrats formed the new Republican Party, dedicated to halting slavery's expansion — setting up the sectional 1860 election that triggered secession.
Why it scores: Names a specific political effect (collapse of Whigs, rise of Republicans) with clear causal reasoning explaining how slavery's expansion debate transformed national politics.
C
Explain ONE economic effect of early Spanish colonization on Native societies in the period 1844–1877.
✓ Model answer (earns the point)
The Dred Scott v. Sandford decision (1857) intensified sectional conflict by ruling that Congress could not ban slavery in any territory and that Black people could never be U.S. citizens. The decision enraged Northerners — even those who didn't oppose existing slavery — because it destroyed the basis for any compromise on slavery's expansion. Northerners now believed the Supreme Court was conspiring with the South to spread slavery nationwide, validating Lincoln's "House Divided" warning that the nation must choose one path or the other.
Why it scores: Names a specific development (Dred Scott decision) with clear causal reasoning explaining how it intensified sectional conflict.
How to score points on SAQs
Be specific. "Tensions rose over slavery" doesn't score. "The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 destroyed the Whig Party" does.
Name names and places. Graders look for concrete proper nouns — empires, rulers, religions, regions.
Stay in the time period. Unit 5 is 1844–1877. Don't use Genghis Khan's grandchildren conquering Baghdad in 1258 if the prompt asks about Unit 2.
Answer the actual question. If it asks "identify," give an example. If it asks "explain," give an example PLUS a sentence connecting it to the prompt.
Keep it tight. 1–3 sentences per part is plenty. Long answers don't score higher; they just waste exam time.