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Year 11
AQA

The Great Depression

I can explain the consequences of the Great Depression.

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New
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Year 11
AQA

The Great Depression

I can explain the consequences of the Great Depression.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. By 1932, one in four workers was unemployed in the USA.
  2. Living standards fell as many Americans lost their homes and were forced to rely on charity.
  3. Thousands of houseless Americans moved into camps known as Hoovervilles.
  4. One in 20 farmers had been evicted from their land by 1932.
  5. Farmers suffered from natural disasters and millions living in the Dust Bowl were forced to move.

Keywords

  • Breadline - a breadline was a long queue formed at charitable soup kitchens during the Great Depression

  • Evicted - if a person is legally forced to leave the property they live in, they have been evicted

  • Mortgage - a mortgage is money that you borrow from the bank to buy a home

  • Hobo - during the Great Depression someone who travelled around the country looking for work was known as a hobo

  • Welfare - help provided by the state and government organisations to those in need is referred to as welfare

Common misconception

All Americans were affected in the same way by the Great Depression.

Some issues experienced during the Great Depression differed between rural and urban areas. African Americans also tended to suffer more, with higher rates of unemployment than average.


To help you plan your year 11 history lesson on: The Great Depression, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Encourage students to analyse the image shown on slide 18. Students should describe the quality of the housing they can see (some students may even contrast the Hooverville in the foreground with skyline in the background). Push students further to hypothesis why people might live in this housing.
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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
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Supervision

Adult supervision required

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Write the missing word. is when investors purchase shares, often with borrowed money, in the hope of selling them off in future for a profit.
Correct Answer: Speculation, speculation, speculating, Speculating
Q2.
Which statement is accurate?
By the late 1920s, overproduction was only a problem in agriculture.
By the late 1920s, overproduction was only a problem in industry.
Correct answer: By the late 1920s, overproduction was a problem in agriculture and industry.
Q3.
How much did the share price of the Radio Corporation of America change by between September and November 1929?
Correct answer: It decreased by 94%.
It decreased by 44%.
It stayed the same.
It increased by 44%.
It increased by 94%.
Q4.
What was buying on the margin?
Purchasing cars using large bank loans to cover 90% of the price.
Purchasing houses using large bank loans to cover 90% of the price.
Purchasing radios using large bank loans to cover 90% of the price.
Correct answer: Purchasing shares using large bank loans to cover 90% of the price.
Q5.
Why were foreign tariffs an economic problem for the USA?
American companies earned more abroad than at home.
Correct answer: American companies struggled to sell off their surplus products.
American companies were encouraged to overproduce.
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events of the Wall Street Crash into chronological order.
1 - Company profits begin to decline.
2 - Cautious investors start selling off shares.
3 - Black Thursday and Black Tuesday.
4 - Many speculators and shareholders are bankrupted.
5 - 659 banks fail across the USA.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match each of the keywords to their correct definition.
Correct Answer:breadline,a long queue formed at charity-run soup kitchens
tick

a long queue formed at charity-run soup kitchens

Correct Answer:evicted,when a person is forced to leave the property they live in
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when a person is forced to leave the property they live in

Correct Answer:hobo,someone who has no job or house and who moves from place to place
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someone who has no job or house and who moves from place to place

Correct Answer:welfare,help provided by the state to help those in need
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help provided by the state to help those in need

Q2.
Why was the period of economic hardship in the USA beginning in 1929 called the Great Depression?
Depression because so many were unhappy; Great because worse than any others
Correct answer: Depression because of the decline in economic activity; Great because very large
Depression because economic output shrank; Great because it was over quickly
Q3.
How did African American unemployment compare to the national unemployment rate?
Correct answer: It was double the national rate.
It was slightly higher than the national rate.
It was the same as the national rate.
It was slightly lower than the national rate.
It was half the national rate.
Q4.
Write the missing word. Jesse Jackson described the men of the Hooverville in Seattle as the " men".
Correct Answer: forgotten, Forgotten
Q5.
Hoovervilles were created in many American cities. Based on this, which conclusion is most valid?
Government welfare support was not needed by many people.
Private charity was more important than government welfare for supporting people
Correct answer: Government welfare support was too limited to help many people.
Q6.
Why could millions of Americans living in the Dust Bowl be called refugees?
They moved as they wanted to find better paying work elsewhere.
The Great Depression led to widespread conflict in these areas.
Correct answer: Environmental change destroyed their farming land, forcing them to move

Additional material

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