This memory aid covers Memory Aid: OSIAS — The 5 Causes of the Depression within Causes of the Depression for GCSE History. Revise Causes of the Depression in America 1920-1973 for GCSE History with 12 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 11 of 14 in this topic. Use it for quick recall, then test yourself straight afterwards so the memory aid becomes usable in an answer.
🧠 Memory Aid: OSIAS — The 5 Causes of the Depression
Remember the underlying causes with OSIAS:
- O — Overproduction (factories made more than people could buy)
- S — Speculation (millions borrowed to buy shares on the stock market)
- I — Inequality (60% below poverty line; most couldn't sustain consumer demand)
- A — Agriculture in crisis (farmers struggling since early 1920s; 6 million left land)
- S — Spending on credit (60% of cars, 80% of radios bought on hire purchase)
Then add the TRIGGER: Wall Street Crash — Black Thursday (24 Oct 1929) and Black Tuesday (29 Oct 1929) — $30 billion lost.
Key numbers to know:
- 25% — unemployment by 1933 (1 in 4 workers)
- 5,000 — banks that failed by 1932
- $30 billion — share value wiped out in Crash
- 60% — proportion of American families below poverty line
- 60% — proportion of cars bought on credit
Practice questions for Causes of the Depression
On which date did 'Black Tuesday' occur, marking the worst day of the Wall Street Crash?
By 1933, approximately what percentage of the American workforce was unemployed?