History — American (US) 0409

Choose your paper route

• Core Option A · Emergence of a Nation 1754–1890Six Core Key Questions · choose this option or Option B for Paper 1

  All six Option A syllabus questions are mapped. Candidates study all six questions within this option. StudyForA's explanations, examples and practice are original study materials, not Cambridge questions, source documents, mark schemes or grades. The syllabus is withdrawn after the June 2027 assessment. Confirm your entry, zone, exam series and school-selected Core option and Depth Study with your centre. Paper 2's examined Depth Study and sources can vary by series; use the material prescribed for your exact entry. The Personal Study is authentic individual coursework that the centre supervises and marks for Cambridge moderation. This site can teach research and historical reasoning, but cannot authenticate the learner's work, submit the component or award a Cambridge mark.

• Core Option B · Consolidating the Nation 1890–2000Six Core Key Questions · choose this option or Option A for Paper 1

  All six Option B syllabus questions are mapped. Candidates study all six questions within this option. StudyForA's explanations, examples and practice are original study materials, not Cambridge questions, source documents, mark schemes or grades. The syllabus is withdrawn after the June 2027 assessment. Confirm your entry, zone, exam series and school-selected Core option and Depth Study with your centre. Paper 2's examined Depth Study and sources can vary by series; use the material prescribed for your exact entry. The Personal Study is authentic individual coursework that the centre supervises and marks for Cambridge moderation. This site can teach research and historical reasoning, but cannot authenticate the learner's work, submit the component or award a Cambridge mark.

• Depth Studies A–DChoose at least one of four Depth Studies for Paper 2

  Each option has a mapped learning route. Candidates answer all five questions within one prescribed Depth Study; source materials vary by exam series and must come from the centre or Cambridge. StudyForA's explanations, examples and practice are original study materials, not Cambridge questions, source documents, mark schemes or grades. The syllabus is withdrawn after the June 2027 assessment. Confirm your entry, zone, exam series and school-selected Core option and Depth Study with your centre. Paper 2's examined Depth Study and sources can vary by series; use the material prescribed for your exact entry. The Personal Study is authentic individual coursework that the centre supervises and marks for Cambridge moderation. This site can teach research and historical reasoning, but cannot authenticate the learner's work, submit the component or award a Cambridge mark.

No tier is specified. Cambridge's syllabus begins in 1754; no question assumes knowledge before 1754. Assessment Objectives are AO1 knowledge (31%), AO2 explanation and analysis (38%), AO3 source evaluation (19%), and AO4 the Personal Study interpretation (12%). Paper 1 weights AO1/AO2 equally; Paper 2 assesses AO3; Component 3 assesses AO2/AO4. Private candidates cannot enter. The centre must confirm the candidate's entry, one chosen Core option and the prescribed Depth Study and series.

Practice the papers

• 2 hours · 60 marks · 46% · externally assessedPaper 1 · Making of a Nation · 13 lessons
  Independence, the Constitution and democracyTerritorial expansion to 1853Native American nations and westward expansionThe Civil War and ReconstructionIndustrialisation, railroads and protestImmigration and changing citiesCities, labour and ProgressivismThe 1920s boom and unequal prosperityThe Wall Street Crash, Depression and New DealAfrican American life and the Civil Rights movementUS foreign relations and the Cold WarDomestic change after 1945Plan structured Paper 1 history essays

  Candidates answer three structured essay questions, choosing all three from either Section A (Emergence of a Nation) or Section B (Consolidating the Nation). They study all six Core questions in their chosen option; the options are alternatives. The paper has no stimulus material. Original StudyForA practice is not a Cambridge question or official mark scheme.

• 1 hour 45 minutes · 45 marks · 35% · externally assessedPaper 2 · Depth Study · 5 lessons
  Manifest Destiny, migration and western societyOrganising for women's suffrageUS foreign policy and expansion, 1880–1917Popular culture and social change, 1920–1970Evaluate written and pictorial sources for Paper 2

  Candidates answer all five source-based questions within one Depth Study. Cambridge supplies written and pictorial sources (up to seven); practise the prescribed study and source skills for the exam series. StudyForA uses original practice claims, not reproduced historical documents or official mark schemes.

• 25 marks · 19% · 1,400–1,600 words · internally assessed and externally moderatedComponent 3 · Personal Study · 1 lessons
  Plan a personal historical study

  Each candidate individually researches the event, person, site or object that the teacher selects for the class, then submits a 1,400–1,600-word essay (bibliography and references excluded) describing it, assessing significance, evaluating limitations and identifying further research. The centre requires an authentication cover sheet, supervises and marks coursework, then submits it for Cambridge moderation. StudyForA supports planning only; it must not create, authenticate or grade the candidate's assessed work.