The Great Depression

7. The Great Depression and the Americas 1929-39
This section focuses on the nature of the Depression as well as the different solutions adopted by
governments in the region and the impact on these societies. The Great Depression produced the most
serious economic collapse in the history of the Americas. It affected every country in the region and brought
about the need to rethink economic and political systems. The alternatives that were offered and the
adaptations that took place marked a watershed in political and economic development in many countries
in the region.
With respect to the last two bullets, a case study approach should be adopted, using one country from
the region as an example. The chosen country should be identified in the introduction to the examination
answers.
• The Great Depression: political and economic causes in the Americas
• Nature and efficacy of solutions in the United States: Hoover; Franklin D Roosevelt and the New Deal;
critics of the New Deal
• Canada: Mackenzie King and RB Bennett
• Latin America’s responses to the Depression: either G Vargas or the Concordancia in Argentina; Import
Substitution Industrialization (ISI) or any relevant case study of a Latin American country
• Impact of the Great Depression on society: African Americans, women, minorities
• The Great Depression and the arts: photography, the movie industry, the radio, literary currents