Not everyone in America benefited from the boom of the 1920s.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2025). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] Coal suffered from overproduction.
2. [1] The traditional textile industries of cotton and woollen textiles suffered because of the development of synthetic materials.
3. [1] Farming struggled at this time.
4. [1] Leather and shoemaking industries struggled.
5. [6] Level 4: Explains two reasons.
6. [4-5] Level 3: Explains one reason.
7. [5] One development was the competition from farmers in Canada and Argentina who exported grain around the world. The Canadian farmers were very efficient and took markets away from American farmers.
8. [2-3] Level 2: Identifies or describes valid reason(s); addresses the question but does not explain.
9. [1] Canadian farmers were efficient.
10. [1] The end of the First World War impacted it.
11. [1] Europe imported less food from the US.
12. [1] US farming was hit by reciprocal tariffs.
13. [1] Level 1: Writes about the topic but does not address the question.
14. [1] American farming was having a difficult time because of external developments.
15. [10] Level 5: Explains both sides and supports a valid judgement on 'how far'.
16. [10] Although Republican policies were important, it was more important that the American people could afford to buy the new consumer goods that were being made, such as cars and fridges. Credit helped people buy enormous numbers of goods which stimulated industry. It would not have been any good making all these goods if nobody could buy them.
17. [7-9] Level 4: Explains both sides.
18. [4-6] Level 3: Explains one side.
19. [6] Credit was very important in causing the boom. Being able to borrow money to buy things and pay back in instalments meant that people spent much more money. They could buy cars, fridges and radios. This meant that industry was able to sell more goods and provide more jobs with good wages.
20. [6] OR Republican policy was the main factor. The Republicans believed in the laissez-faire policy, which meant no government intervention with lots of regulations. This gave industry and business the freedom to progress and especially helped the big trusts. Also, tariffs helped protect American industry from outside competition.
21. [2-3] Level 2: Identifies or describes valid points; addresses the question but does not explain.
22. [1] People could afford to buy more on credit.
23. [1] People bought more consumer goods.
24. [1] People could afford to buy shares.
25. [1] Without it they would not have been able to buy cars.
26. [1] The laissez-faire policy gave business more freedom to grow.
27. [1] Low taxation allowed more investment.
28. [1] Tariffs protected American business from outside competition.
29. [1] Republican policies led to the formation of trusts.
30. [1] Level 1: Writes about the topic but does not address the question.
31. [1] The boom was caused by many factors, and the American people did very well. Their standard of living went up.