How did the Wall Street Crash cause the Depression, and how did the New Deal respond?
The causes and impact of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the experience of the Great Depression and the failures of Hoover, the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the alphabet agencies, and the debate over how successful the New Deal was.
A focused answer to the Depression and the New Deal in the Eduqas period study, covering the Wall Street Crash, the impact of the Great Depression, Hoover's failures, Roosevelt's New Deal and alphabet agencies, and the debate over the New Deal's success.
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What this dot point is asking
This is the opening period of Eduqas's Component 2 period study, The Development of the USA 1929 to 2000. You need to explain the causes and impact of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the experience of the Great Depression and the failures of Hoover, the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the alphabet agencies, and the debate over how successful the New Deal was. As a period study, the focus is on change and development over time, so learn this as the starting point of the American century.
The Wall Street Crash and its causes
The impact of the Great Depression
Hoover's failure and Roosevelt's victory
The New Deal and the alphabet agencies
How successful was the New Deal?
Try this
Q1. What were the "three Rs" of the New Deal? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. Relief (immediate help for the suffering), recovery (rebuilding the economy) and reform (long-term changes such as Social Security to prevent it happening again).
Q2. Explain why Roosevelt won the 1932 election so decisively. [Short explanation]
- Cue. The Depression had caused mass unemployment and despair, and Hoover's limited-government approach had failed; Roosevelt offered active federal intervention through a "New Deal", which gave desperate voters hope, so he won a landslide.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas C100 20194 marksDescribe two effects of the Great Depression on the people of the USA.Show worked answer →
The period-study describe question (4 marks, AO1). Reward two distinct, developed effects, each with one supporting detail. Keep it short.
Effect one. Mass unemployment: by 1933 around 13 to 15 million Americans were out of work (about a quarter of the workforce), with no national welfare to support them.
Effect two. Homelessness and poverty: many lost their homes and savings as banks failed, and shanty towns of the homeless, mockingly called "Hoovervilles", sprang up in cities.
Top marks. Two separate effects, each developed with precise detail.
Eduqas C100 20218 marksExplain why Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the New Deal.Show worked answer →
The period-study "explain why" question (8 marks, AO1 and AO2). Reward a developed analysis of two or three reasons, each with precise support.
Reason one. The Depression had caused mass unemployment, bank failures and despair, and Hoover's belief in "rugged individualism" and limited government had failed to fix it, so bold federal action was needed.
Reason two. Roosevelt had promised a "New Deal for the American people" in the 1932 election and won a landslide, so he had a mandate to use the federal government actively to provide relief, recovery and reform.
Reason three. He needed to restore confidence in the banks and the economy quickly, which is why he acted at once in the "Hundred Days" with measures such as the Emergency Banking Act and the alphabet agencies.
Top band. Connect each reason explicitly to why the New Deal was launched, and finish with the most important factor.
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Sources & how we know this
- WJEC Eduqas GCSE History (C100) specification — WJEC Eduqas (2016)