Sample AP Free-Response Essay

(1)Decades before the Civil War began, sectional tensions between the North and the South were quite high, usually to the point where secession was seriously discussed. (2)Some compromises, such as the tariff compromises and the Missouri Compromise of 1820 did show that both sides could be consoled. (3)However, as time passes on and the slavery issue became more and more serious, the compromises showed that, at best, they could postpone conflict up to a point and at worst, lead to war.

(4)Compromises such as the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Compromise of 1850 demonstrated the ineffectiveness of consoling both the North and the South. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, (5)designed to use popular sovereignty (or letting the people of a territory decide) to determine the slavery status of the Kansas and Nebraska Territories, only increases already growing tensions over the slavery issue. A major cause was the fact that, in order for the compromise to work, the Missouri Compromise would have to be repealed. (6)The Missouri Compromise stated that slavery north of the 36-03 line was prohibited. Kansas and Nebraska were above that line. This act made the North upset because they viewed the Missouri Compromise as sacred as the Constitution itself. In addition, the Republican Party was formed, (7)whose main platform was a fierce opposition to slavery in the western territories. (8)So instead to trying to reduce conflict by determining a way to possibly end slavery, the Kansas-Nebraska Act did the exact opposite. The Compromise of 1850 was the major boiling point between the North and the South. Due to the increasing number of runaway slaves, the South wanted a new and stricter fugitive slave law to be enacted by Congress. (9)The new Fugitive Slave law proclaimed that runaways were to be denied a jury trial and could not testify in court. This upset the North greatly because they feared it would start a dangerous precedent. But nothing was as outrageous as what happened to abolitionists who supported the undergrounds railroad. (10)They would be jailed, fined or even forced to act as slave catchers. The North despised this “manstealing law” so much that they enacted state personal liberty laws (11)to nullify the fugitive slave law. (12)As time passed on, compromise between the North and the South was almost nonexistent. Acts such as Kansas-Nebraska showed the frailty of the Union and it became clear that something else would have to be done in order to deal with the slavery issue.

(13)While most compromises tended to shatter the Union more than help it, the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and even the tariff compromises showed that both sides of the Union could be satisfied, even if only temporarily. The Missouri Compromise came about when Missouri wanted to enter the Union as a slave state. (14)Many in the North were opposed to this because it would disturb the balance of free states and slave states in the Senate. Henry Clay, “The Great Compromiser,” came up with an idea to resolve this issue. Luckily, Maine also wanted statehood, but as a free state. (15)The Missouri Compromise made it so that any state below the 36-30 line was allowed to have slaves (the exception being Missouri of course) while any where above that line slavery would be prohibited. Until the Clay Compromise of 1850, for every slave state admitted, a free state was also admitted and vice versa. The tariff crisis began in 1828 with what the South called the “Tariff of Abomination,” which put a high tax on imported goods. (16)For about five years, South Carolina rebelled against the offending tariff, and even talked of secession. With the Compromise Tariff of 1833 things pretty much calmed down (though slavery would still become a hot topic of debate. (17)In the earlier parts of the 19th century, there were no explosive events like the Mexican War, or even Manifest Destiny, where Americans believed they were fated to expand westward, to cause such conflict as with what went on in the middle part of that century. For this reason, compromises such as Missouri and the tariff compromises were so successful, even if they barely held the union together.
Elaine Nichols (2006)

SFI (Specific Factual Information)

1. Kansas-Nebraska Act used popular sovereignty to determine the slavery status
2. Missouri Compromise would have to be repealed
3. Missouri Compromise stated that slavery north of the 36-03 line was prohibited
4. Kansas and Nebraska were above that line
5. Republican Party opposed slavery in the western territories.
6. Compromise of 1850
7. South wanted a stricter fugitive slave law to be enacted by Congress.
8. Fugitive Slave law proclaimed that runaways were to be denied a jury trial and could not testify in court.
9. “manstealing law”
10. personal liberty laws
11. Missouri Compromise came about when Missouri wanted to enter the Union as a slave state.
12. North opposed Missouri because of the balance of free and slave states in the Senate.
13. Henry Clay, “The Great Compromiser,”
14. Maine also wanted statehood, but as a free state.
15. The Missouri Compromise made it so that any state below the 36-30 line was allowed to have slaves (the exception being Missouri of course) while any where above that line slavery would be prohibited.
16. Until the Clay Compromise of 1850, for every slave state admitted, a free state was also admitted and vice versa.
17. The tariff crisis began in 1828 with what the South called the “Tariff of Abomination,”
Compromise Tariff of 1833

Explanation of Numbers

1. Sentence to introduce the essay topic or historical setting of the essay
2. Connecting Sentence or bridge to the thesis statement
3. Thesis Statement
4. Topic Sentence
5. Explanation of SFI
6. Explanation of SFI
7. Explanation of SFI
8. Analysis
9. Explanation of SFI
10. Explanation of SFI
11. Explanation of SFI
12. Analysis
13. Topic Sentence
14. Explanation of SFI
15. Explanation of SFI
16. Explanation of SFI
17. Analysis

Link to Practice AP Exam Questions

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