IB History HL Paper 3 Great Depression Revision Guide - Essay Structures

Paper 3: Great Depression Review Guide


Syllabus........................................................................................................................................................................................................................1
Context - prosperity of the 1920’s................................................................................................................................................................................2
Causes of the Great Depression....................................................................................................................................................................................3
USA.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................4
Canada (for comparative essay)...............................................................................................................................................................................4
Brazil......................................................................................................................................................................................................................11
Nature and efficacy of solutions in the United States: Hoover; Franklin D Roosevelt and the New Deal................................................................14
Hoover: (1929-33).................................................................................................................................................................................................14
FDR (1933-45).......................................................................................................................................................................................................17
Hoover vs FDR......................................................................................................................................................................................................20
May 2017: “The New Deal had a greater impact on the political system than on the economic system in the United States.” Discuss.............20
Response to FDR’s New Deal....................................................................................................................................................................................23
To what extent was Franklin D Roosevelt’s response to the Great Depression conservative rather than radical?....................................................27
Nature and efficacy of solutions in Canada: Mackenzie King and RB Bennett.........................................................................................................33
Mackenzie King (1925-30, 1935-48).....................................................................................................................................................................33
R.B. Bennett...........................................................................................................................................................................................................35
Latin American responses to the Great depression: Vargas - Brazil..........................................................................................................................39
Impact of the Depression on Latin America...............................................................................................................................................................43
Impact of the Depression............................................................................................................................................................................................48
Women in the US...................................................................................................................................................................................................48
Minorities in the US...............................................................................................................................................................................................50
Impact on women in Canada.................................................................................................................................................................................52
Impact on minorities in Canada.............................................................................................................................................................................53
Impact on culture and the arts in the US................................................................................................................................................................53

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Impact on Arts and Culture- Argentina.................................................................................................................................................................55


Dates
● Wall Street Crash, October 29th 1929 (Black Tuesday)
● Great Depression lasted from 1929-1939



Syllabus
● The Great Depression: political and economic causes in the Americas
● Nature and efficacy of solutions in the United States: Hoover; Franklin D Roosevelt and the New Deal
● Critics of the New Deal; impact of the New Deal on US political and economic systems
● Nature and efficacy of solutions in Canada: Mackenzie King and RB Bennett
● Impact of the Great Depression on Latin America; political instability and challenges to democracy; economic and social challenges
● Latin American responses to the Great Depression: import substitution industrialization (ISI); social and economic policies; popular
mobilization and repression
● Impact of the Great Depression on society: specifically the impact on women and minorities; impact of the Great Depression on the arts
and culture

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Context - prosperity of the 1920’s
Context USA CANADA BRAZIL
before Emerged victorious from the war during the 20’s  Wheat- the dominant crop, and part of Political Problems
Depression- and was very prosperous in many aspects (world Canada’s industry (exports)
1920’s leader) ● Economic prosperity in the 1920s (pg.  Dominated by provinces of Sao Paula
● The “real wages” of employees involved with 147-148) and Minas Gerais
industrial work increased by 14% between ○ New Industrial Development  Law participation in elections
the years 1914-1929. These wages were 2-3x ○ Urbanisation  Growth of military involvement, for
higher than European wages. ○ Stock Market example tenentes rebellions of 1922 and
● Inflation never rose above 1% ■ Speculation 1924
● Unemployment never rose above 3.7% from ■ Lots of money is being  Growing opposition to political
1922-29 made dominance by landowners, for example
● There was a significantly large economic ■ Borrowing money to coffee magnates
growth: production of industrial products invest  Catholic Church concerned with social
rose by 50% between 1922-1929. For ○ Motor vehicles and roads problems
example, the GNP increased by almost $30 ■ Bought cars produced in  Communist party offering radical change
billion dollars from 1920-1929. Canada, but from
● Technological advances: American companies-
○ 23 mil cars on the road by end of shows the dependence on Economic problems
decade the US economy  Concentration on primary products for
○ Increased consumerism export
 Dominance of coffee
 Lack of industrial development
 Amount of national debt

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1930 Vargas became head of government after
military coup - created new constitution

“The prosperity of the 1920s in the Americas was more apparent than real.” Using examples from two countries in the region, evaluate the
validity of this statement.


USA Line of argument:
● (Structuralist) Approach- There were some things fundamentally wrong with the economy which the bankers, businessmen and
politicians failed to understand, the prosperity was illusory and unreal
● (Intentionalist argument- Role of government) Other schools of thought- the prosperity was real, but mistakes made before and after
the crash prevented a full recovery, prolonging the pain and arguably caused the Depression to be in fact Great.
● Prosperity did not affect everyone


Causes of the Great Depression
● Analyse the causes of the Great Depression in one country in the Americas.
● With reference to at least one country of the region, to what extent was the Wall Street Crash of 1929 a cause of the Great
Depression? (2013)
● Compare and contrast the causes of the Great Depression in two countries in the Americas.
● Discuss the causes of the Great Depression in one country of the Americas.

http://ibhistory.wikidot.com/paper314

If Only asked for causes of Depression in USA:
Line of argument: The Wall Street crash shaped and accelerated the depression, however it was not the cause of the Great Depression.
Arguably, a combination of the following factors contributed to the breakout of the great depression.
1. Long-standing structural problems or weaknesses → show that Wall Street Crash was just a trigger