Boom, the 1929 Crash, and the New Deal
Three phases. The 1920s boom — mass production, credit (hire purchase), low taxes and laissez-faire — was uneven and rested on speculation. In October 1929 the Wall Street Crash triggered the Great Depression: unemployment hit a quarter of the workforce by 1933, and Republican Hoover was blamed. In 1932 Roosevelt won, promising a New Deal — relief, recovery and reform, then a Second New Deal (1935).
Was the New Deal a success? Both sides
Weigh both sides. Successes: the alphabet agencies gave millions relief; Fireside Chats restored trust; the 1935 Wagner and Social Security Acts gave rights and welfare. Limits/opposition: the Supreme Court struck down the NRA and AAA (1935-36); critics attacked from right and left; the 1937-38 recession followed; unemployment stayed high, ending only with rearmament and WWII. Judge, do not list.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
1932 election: use 1932 material only
A question on support for Roosevelt in 1932 is about the 1932 campaign and the choice between him and Hoover — not what he later did in office. New Deal agencies and Fireside Chats came after March 1933, so they cannot be rewarded. Use 1932 material: anger at Hoover, the Bonus Marchers, Hoovervilles, mass unemployment, his New Deal promise.
Digest (## A3): the (C) question was about support for Roosevelt in 1932, so knowledge of New Deal measures and Fireside Chats (post-1932) could NOT be rewarded. (June 2024 Paper 2)
Sources: show difference, not just agreement
On the (b) source question, do not stop at agreement. Answers on Hoover and Roosevelt worked when they contrasted the two men's philosophies (Hoover's self-help and limited government vs Roosevelt's active federal intervention) while agreeing on real "suffering and hardship". Show agreement AND difference, use provenance, and judge the extent.
Digest (## A3): the (B) question was well answered when candidates contrasted Roosevelt's vs Hoover's philosophies while noting agreement on "suffering and hardship". (June 2024 Paper 2)
Second feature beyond the Monkey Trial
On the describe-two-features part, have a strong second topic ready. Most candidates wrote well on the Monkey Trial (Scopes, 1925), but the Father Coughlin / Social Justice material was less known, so some struggled for a developed second feature. Prepare two developed features, not one.
Digest (## A3): most wrote on the Monkey Trial with strong knowledge; Father Coughlin / Social Justice was less common. (June 2024 Paper 2)
First vs Second New Deal
Do not blur the two New Deals. The First New Deal (1933) was emergency relief and recovery — the Emergency Banking Act, Fireside Chats and the alphabet agencies. The Second New Deal (1935) was mainly reform — the Wagner Act (union rights) and the Social Security Act (pensions and unemployment insurance). Match each measure to the right stage.
Prohibition belonged to the boom
Do not link Prohibition to the Depression. Prohibition (the 1920-33 ban on making and selling alcohol under the 18th Amendment) belonged to the boom years, not the Crash. It was widely broken — speakeasies, bootleggers, gangsters like Al Capone — and was repealed in 1933. Keep it separate from the causes of the Depression.
Do not swap Hoover and Roosevelt
Do not swap the two presidents. Herbert Hoover was the Republican president 1929-33, believed in "rugged individualism" and limited government, and was blamed for reacting too slowly. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the Democrat, president from 1933, who launched the New Deal. Attaching the wrong policy or party to either undermines the answer.
Crash was not instant mass unemployment
Two linked errors. The Wall Street Crash (October 1929) did not by itself cause mass unemployment overnight; the Great Depression deepened over years as banks failed, reaching about a quarter of the workforce by 1933. And the New Deal did not fully end the Depression: unemployment stayed high and full employment returned only with rearmament and WWII.
Digest (## A3): the New Deal's effectiveness to 1941 is the assessed debate. (June 2024 Paper 2)
New Deal opposition came from both sides
Not all critics thought the New Deal went too far. From the right, business, the Liberty League and the Supreme Court (which struck down the NRA and AAA, 1935-36) said it gave government too much power. From the left, Huey Long ("Share Our Wealth"), Father Coughlin and Dr Townsend said it did too little. A balanced answer covers both.
Digest (## A3): Father Coughlin / Social Justice was a less common choice, so the left-wing opposition is under-known. (June 2024 Paper 2)
The (c) interpretation: three ingredients
The 16-mark (c) uses the earlier sources, the extract and your own contextual knowledge together, then judges the interpretation's validity. Keep everything inside 1918-41 — wrong-date knowledge earns nothing — and weigh both sides before deciding.
Describe two features: detail each
The (a) describe-two-features part is point-marked: name a feature, add supporting detail, then do the same for a second feature. Signpost "one feature... a second feature". Naming without detail, or developing only one feature, caps the marks.
Source (b): compare content and provenance
The (b) source question rewards a structured comparison. Show agreement and difference in content, use contrast words ("whereas", "but"), bring in provenance (who/when/why), and judge the extent of support — never stopping at agreement.
Match the command word
Read the command word. Describe wants features plus detail; explain wants a cause, consequence or significance made explicit, not a narrated event; how far wants a two-sided judged answer. Do not narrate an event when asked to explain its cause or significance.
Between 1918 and 1941 the USA moved through three phases: the 1920s boom that made it the richest nation on Earth, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed, and Franklin D. Roosevelt''s New Deal from 1933. The central historical debate is how far the New Deal actually solved the Depression before the Second World War.
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