Exam Connection

🎯 Exam Connection

Frequency: This topic appeared in 4 out of 5 recent sittings (HIGH). It often appears alongside questions about the Depression's effects or as background context for New Deal questions. Understanding why Hoover failed is essential for explaining why Americans supported the New Deal.

Typical questions:

• "Describe two features of the Bonus Army" (4 marks)
• "Explain why Franklin Roosevelt won the 1932 presidential election" (8 marks)
• "Describe two features of the effects of the Depression on the American people" (4 marks)
• "How far do you agree that Roosevelt's personal qualities were the main reason he won the 1932 election?" (12+4 marks)
• "How far do you agree that Hoover's response to the Depression was the main reason FDR won in 1932?" (12+4 marks)

For Level 3+ (7-8 marks on explain questions): Use both the "push" and "pull" framework. Don't just list Hoover's failures — explain HOW each failure damaged him and HOW each of FDR's qualities attracted support. The Bonus Army is a perfect specific example: "The image of tanks being used against WW1 veterans who just wanted money they had been promised showed voters that Hoover had lost touch with ordinary Americans' suffering."

For Level 4 (10-12 marks on essays): The best essays will make a clear argument about which factor was MOST important — either arguing that the Depression made Hoover's defeat inevitable regardless of FDR's qualities, or arguing that FDR's personal appeal and clear programme were crucial because another candidate might not have won so convincingly or gained such a mandate for change.