This exam tips covers Exam Tips for the New Deal within The New Deal for GCSE History. Revise The New Deal in America 1920-1973 for GCSE History with 10 exam-style questions and 5 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 12 of 13 in this topic. Treat this as a marking guide for what examiners are looking for, not just a fact list.
Topic position
Section 12 of 13
Practice
10 questions
Recall
5 flashcards
💡 Exam Tips for the New Deal
🎯 Question Types for This Topic:
- Describe two features (4 marks, ~8 minutes) — Two distinct features with specific evidence each. The Three Rs framework helps: pick one Relief feature and one Reform feature, for example.
- Explain why FDR introduced the New Deal (8 marks, ~15 minutes) — Developed causation: Wall Street Crash → bank failures → unemployment → Hoover's failure → FDR's election → New Deal response. Each link needs evidence.
- How far do you agree that the New Deal was a success? (12+4 SPaG marks, ~25 minutes) — Argue for (CCC, WPA, Social Security, restored confidence), argue against (didn't end Depression, excluded Black Americans, court strikes), conclude with a clear judgement on which side is stronger and why.
📈 How to Move Up Levels — This Topic Specifically:
- Level 1 (1–2 marks): "FDR created agencies to help unemployed Americans." — No evidence, no explanation of what the agencies did.
- Level 2 (3–4 marks): "The CCC gave 2.5 million young men jobs in conservation work." — Good: one piece of specific evidence. But still just describing, not explaining WHY or HOW it was significant.
- Level 3 (5–6 marks): "The CCC was successful at providing relief because it gave 2.5 million unemployed young men immediate work — the men received food, accommodation, and $30/month, of which $25 was sent home to support families. This meant that not just 2.5 million workers but their entire families were helped, reducing the risk of starvation during the worst years of the Depression." — Specific evidence, explanation of mechanism, broader significance.
- Level 4 (7–8 marks on explain): Add links between factors: "However, the CCC could only work because FDR had also stabilised the banking system with the Emergency Banking Act — without bank reform, businesses couldn't have paid workers or supplied the CCC. The Three Rs were interdependent: Relief required Recovery to make money available; Reform was needed to make sure the crisis didn't happen again."
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid:
- Saying the New Deal ended the Depression. It didn't. Unemployment was still 14% in 1937. Only WW2 production (1941-45) ended it. Always acknowledge this limitation.
- Listing agencies without explaining what they did. "FDR created the CCC, AAA, TVA, NRA, and WPA" is Level 1. You need to explain what one or two of these actually achieved.
- Ignoring who was excluded. Black Americans, women, sharecroppers, and domestic workers were often excluded from or disadvantaged by New Deal programmes. Higher-level answers mention this.
- Confusing First and Second New Deal. The Social Security Act and Wagner Act are Second New Deal (1935), not First (1933). If asked about workers' rights specifically, the Second New Deal is more relevant.
- Not making a clear judgement in the 12-mark essay. "The New Deal had both successes and failures" is not a judgement — it's sitting on the fence. A real judgement says: "On balance, the New Deal was a success because its REFORM aspect permanently changed government's role, even if its RECOVERY aspect failed to end the Depression."
Quick Check: What do the Three Rs of the New Deal stand for, and which agency represents each one? Give one example of each.
Relief — immediate help for the suffering. Example: CCC (2.5 million young men employed in conservation work). Recovery — getting the economy working again. Example: AAA (paid farmers to produce less, raising crop prices). Reform — preventing future disasters. Example: Social Security Act 1935 (pensions for the elderly and unemployment insurance — still exists today).
Quick Check: Why did the New Deal NOT end the Great Depression, and what finally did?
The New Deal provided relief and reformed banking, but unemployment was still 14% in 1937 after four years of New Deal programmes. When FDR cut government spending in 1937 (worried about the national debt), unemployment shot back up to 19% — the "Roosevelt Recession." It was World War II that finally ended the Depression: war production created 17 million new jobs and dropped unemployment to just 1.2% by 1944, as factories ran 24/7 producing weapons, aircraft, and supplies.