The Depression affected both the rich and the poor.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2023). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1-4] (a) e.g. 'This was when banks went bankrupt.'
2. '(a) Banks were owed money which could not be repaid.'
3. '(a) People who saved with banks lost their savings.'
4. '(a) People quickly withdrew their money from banks.'
5. '(a) Many banks had no money left.'
6. '(a) It was due to the Wall Street Crash of 1929.'
7. [4-5] (b) This was because he did not believe in the government helping people. He did not like the idea of welfare support for the unemployed because he believed in rugged individualism and self-help. He thought that people should sort their own problems out and that this was good for them. If they were supported by the government, they would never be able to stand on their own two feet.
8. [2-3] (b) e.g. 'He believed in self-help.'
9. '(b) He believed in rugged individualism.'
10. '(b) He followed traditional Republican policies.'
11. '(b) He did not believe that the government should help people.'
12. '(b) He believed that prosperity would soon return.'
13. '(b) He did not think there was anything basically wrong with the US economy.'
14. '(b) He thought that welfare should be provided by charities or local government.'
15. '(b) He believed in cycles of boom and bust.'
16. [4-6] (c) 'I agree with this. It was terrible in the countryside and farmers and farm labourers suffered badly. Food prices were down and farmers had little income. They could not pay their mortgages and had to sell up. They were then homeless and they had nothing to feed their children with. There was then a drought in the south and this created the Dust Bowl where nothing could grow and nobody could live.’
17. OR
18. '(c) I disagree. I think it was worse in towns. This is where many factories were and these had to close. This left millions of people losing their jobs in cities like Cleveland where there was a big steel industry. People could not pay their rents and thousands ended up living in parks and shanty towns. They resorted to trying to find food in rubbish tips.'
19. [2-3] (c) e.g. 'The price of food produced by farmers went right down.'
20. '(c) Farmers were not able to pay their mortgages.'
21. '(c) Many farmers had to pack up and move to California looking for work.'
22. '(c) The dust bowl made farming impossible.'
23. '(c) There were many people laid off by industries in cities.'
24. '(c) Parks were full of homeless people.'
25. '(c) People in cities ended up living in shanty towns.'
26. '(c) Many people in cities were left with nothing to eat.'