The USA went through some very difficult times in the 1920s and 1930s.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2021). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1-4] e.g. 'It was an optimistic campaign that gave people hope for the future.'
2. [1-4] 'It promised people hope and a 'new deal'.'
3. [1-4] 'He travelled around the country so that people felt they knew him.'
4. [1-4] 'He gave people the impression that he wanted to help the poor and the elderly.'
5. [1-4] 'He travelled the country criticising Hoover.'
6. [1-4] 'His campaign song was 'Happy Days Are Here Again'.'
7. [1-4] 'He promised to get rid of Prohibition.'
8. [1-4] 'He planned to get people back to work.'
9. [1-4] 'He wanted to protect their savings and property.'
10. [1-4] 'He wanted to reinvigorate agriculture.'
11. [4-5] e.g. 'The main reason why Hoover got blamed for the hardship was because he did not do enough to help people who were struggling from the Depression. He did do some things but it was too little too late. One of the things he did that made people blame him was to get the army to clear the camp of the Bonus Army near the White House. This was made up of veterans who wanted help. Hoover had the camp destroyed using tanks, machine guns and tear gas. This showed people that he did not care for the people who were suffering.'
12. [2-3] e.g. 'He had the camp of the Bonus Army violently destroyed.'
13. [2-3] 'He was against giving people welfare because he thought they should stand on their own feet.'
14. [2-3] 'He gave the appearance of being unsympathetic to people's sufferings.'
15. [2-3] 'He seemed to have no new ideas about how to tackle the problems.'
16. [2-3] 'At the beginning of the Depression, he did not understand how bad it was and for a time did nothing.'
17. [2-3] 'Hoover thought ‘prosperity was just around the corner'.'
18. [2-3] 'Hoover was blamed for the conditions in the Hoovervilles.'
19. [4-6] e.g. 'I agree with this. Problems had been building up for a long time. American industry was producing more consumer goods than were needed because people had bought their cars and fridges and did not want any more. This led to people losing their jobs as demand fell.'
20. [4-6] e.g. 'Another problem was that American businesses could not export goods. Europe was too poor to buy them and was starting to set up tariffs against American goods in return for American tariffs. All this made people start to sell their shares. The Wall Street Crash was not simply caused by speculators.'
21. [4-6] OR e.g. 'The Wall Street Crash was caused by speculators who thought they could make some quick money. They borrowed money from banks to buy shares and then sold them for a profit. This was fine while prices of shares went up. But this could not go on forever, and in 1929 there was a crash when people started to sell their shares.'
22. [2-3] e.g. 'Long term factors like overproduction by industry caused it.'
23. [2-3] 'The economy had been slowing down for some time and people were keen to sell their shares at the first sign of trouble.'
24. [2-3] 'The US banks were unregulated and willingly gave out loans.'
25. [2-3] 'Long term problems made people nervous about holding shares.'
26. [2-3] 'Speculators were to blame.'
27. [2-3] 'Buying shares 'on the margin' was to blame.'
28. [2-3] 'The increase in share prices was built on shaky foundations.'