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OhioUS History

Prosperity, Depression and the New Deal (1919 to 1941)

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

Why did the 1920s produce sharp cultural conflicts over religion, alcohol, immigration, and the role of women?

Explain the cultural conflicts of the 1920s, including Prohibition, the Scopes trial, nativism and the revived Ku Klux Klan, and changing roles for women (Ohio's Learning Standards for Social Studies, American History, Prosperity, Depression and the New Deal).
A standard-level answer on 1920s cultural conflict for Ohio's American History EOC: Prohibition and bootlegging, the Scopes trial and fundamentalism versus modernism, nativism and the revived Ku Klux Klan, and the new roles of women and flappers, with the tension between rural and urban America.
14 min answer →

What economic weaknesses of the 1920s caused the Great Depression?

Explain the causes of the Great Depression, including the stock market crash, overproduction, uneven distribution of wealth, excessive credit, and bank failures (Ohio's Learning Standards for Social Studies, American History, Prosperity, Depression and the New Deal).
A standard-level answer on the causes of the Great Depression for Ohio's American History EOC: the 1929 stock market crash, buying on margin and speculation, overproduction and underconsumption, the uneven distribution of wealth, excessive credit and debt, and the wave of bank failures.
14 min answer →

How did the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl affect ordinary Americans in different regions?

Explain the human impact of the Great Depression, including mass unemployment, Hoovervilles, the failure of Hoover's response, and the Dust Bowl on the Great Plains (Ohio's Learning Standards for Social Studies, American History, Prosperity, Depression and the New Deal).
A standard-level answer on the human impact of the Great Depression for Ohio's American History EOC: mass unemployment, breadlines and Hoovervilles, President Hoover's limited response, and the Dust Bowl that drove farm families from the Great Plains, with the regional differences the standards stress.
14 min answer →

How did the Great Migration reshape American cities, and what was the Harlem Renaissance?

Explain the causes and effects of the Great Migration of African Americans to northern cities and the cultural achievements of the Harlem Renaissance (Ohio's Learning Standards for Social Studies, American History, Prosperity, Depression and the New Deal).
A standard-level answer on the Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance for Ohio's American History EOC: the push and pull factors that drew African Americans north, the growth of Black urban communities, the literary and musical flowering of the Harlem Renaissance, and the rise of jazz, with the migration to Ohio cities.
14 min answer →

How did the New Deal try to end the Great Depression, and how did it change the role of the federal government?

Explain the New Deal, including relief, recovery, and reform programs, the expanded role of the federal government, and the debate over the New Deal (Ohio's Learning Standards for Social Studies, American History, Prosperity, Depression and the New Deal).
A standard-level answer on the New Deal for Ohio's American History EOC: Franklin Roosevelt's relief, recovery, and reform programs, the alphabet agencies, Social Security, the expanded role of the federal government, and the debate for and against the New Deal.
15 min answer →

Why were the 1920s called the Roaring Twenties, and how did prosperity and new technology change American life?

Explain how the prosperity of the 1920s, mass production, consumer credit, the automobile, and new mass culture transformed American society (Ohio's Learning Standards for Social Studies, American History, Prosperity, Depression and the New Deal).
A standard-level answer on the Roaring Twenties for Ohio's American History EOC: the postwar economic boom, mass production and the assembly line, the automobile, consumer credit and advertising, radio and movies, and the new mass culture, with the Ohio rubber and auto-parts economy.
14 min answer →