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USA 1918-1941 Overview

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USA 1918-1941 Overview

Use the timeline, the short source extracts and your own historical knowledge. Give specific evidence in longer answers. The Hooverville description is an interpretation, not a record of a particular place.

A changing nation

From the end of the First World War to the eve of the Second, the USA experienced economic boom, severe depression and a growing federal government.

1.The timeline shows key years from 1917 to 1941. Write the correct event beside each year: the Wall Street Crash, the USA enters the First World War, the USA enters the Second World War, the First World War ends, and Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes president.

2.Which statement best describes much of the 1920s in the USA? Choose one answer.

Most Americans experienced continuous economic decline.
Mass production and consumer spending expanded, although prosperity was uneven.
The federal government took control of most factories.
The USA entered the Second World War.

3.A family buys a car on credit while a farmer struggles to sell crops at a profitable price. Explain how these two details show that prosperity in the 1920s was uneven and potentially fragile.

Crash, depression and response

The 1929 crash helped trigger a crisis, but the Depression had several causes and developed over time.

4.Read this description of an imagined Hooverville: Makeshift shacks stand close together, some built from scrap materials. People carry their belongings as they look for somewhere to stay. Identify two details that suggest hardship, then explain one limitation of using an imagined description as historical evidence.

5.Choose the three factors most commonly linked to the start and deepening of the Great Depression.

Speculative share buying and the Wall Street Crash
Overproduction and falling demand
Weaknesses in banks and widespread bank failures
A sudden shortage of American factories
The New Deal ending all unemployment in 1929

6.A student writes: “The Wall Street Crash alone caused the Great Depression.” Give one reason this claim is incomplete, using a different cause of the Depression in your answer.

7.Complete both parts: Franklin D. Roosevelt became president in . His New Deal aimed to provide relief, promote economic recovery and introduce reforms.

8.Match each New Deal aim in the left column to the best description in the right column. Write each matching pair.

Relief
Recovery
Reform

Immediate help for people facing hardship
Changes intended to reduce the chance of future crises
Measures intended to restart economic activity

9.True or false? The New Deal ended the Great Depression completely before the USA entered the Second World War. Correct the statement if it is false.

TrueFalse

10.Write a balanced judgement on the claim: “The New Deal was successful in solving the problems caused by the Great Depression.” Include one achievement, one limitation and a supported overall conclusion.