Exam Connection

🎯 Exam Connection

Frequency: Opposition to the New Deal appeared in 3 out of 5 recent AQA sittings (MEDIUM-HIGH). It often appears as part of broader New Deal essay questions, or as a source/interpretation question about whether the New Deal succeeded.

Typical questions you will face:

• "Describe two features of opposition to the New Deal" (4 marks, AO1) — Pick two DIFFERENT types of opposition (e.g., Republican/business opposition AND Supreme Court ruling, OR Long's Share Our Wealth AND Coughlin's radio campaign). Each needs specific evidence: not just "Long opposed FDR" but "Long's Share Our Wealth scheme demanded a minimum income of $2,000 per year for every family and attracted 7.5 million supporters."
• "Explain why some Americans opposed the New Deal" (8 marks, AO1+AO2) — Show BOTH right-wing and left-wing opposition with different reasons. Level 3 requires explaining why the reasons differ: "Republicans opposed the New Deal because they believed in laissez-faire and feared the expansion of federal power would damage free enterprise and raise taxes on the wealthy. By contrast, Huey Long and his followers opposed it for the opposite reason — they felt it did too little to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor."
• "How far do you agree that the Supreme Court was the biggest threat to the New Deal?" (12+4 SPaG marks) — Argue FOR (struck down NRA and AAA, forced FDR into embarrassing court packing plan), argue AGAINST (Long had 7.5 million supporters and might have split the Democratic vote; Republican opposition in Congress limited funding), then judge which was most threatening and why.

Key exam technique: Always show you know opposition came from BOTH left and right. An answer that only mentions Republican opposition will be capped at Level 2 on an 8-mark question.