What caused the Great Depression, and how did it affect Americans?
Explain the causes of the Great Depression, including the stock market crash of 1929, and its economic and social effects on the American people (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.10).
A SOL-level answer on the Great Depression for the VUS exam: the causes (the 1929 stock market crash, overproduction, bank failures, buying on credit, uneven wealth), and the human effects (mass unemployment, bank and business failures, the Dust Bowl, and widespread hardship).
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What this topic is asking
Standard VUS.10 asks for the causes of the Great Depression (the worst economic crisis in American history) and its effects on the American people. The exam pairs the famous trigger, the 1929 stock market crash, with the deeper structural causes and the human cost: mass unemployment, bank failures, and the Dust Bowl.
The causes of the Depression
The crash did not by itself cause the Depression; it exposed and accelerated weaknesses already in the economy.
The human effects
The Depression's toll on ordinary people is the test's emphasis:
- Mass unemployment. At the worst, roughly one in four workers was jobless.
- Bank and business failures. Thousands of banks closed, erasing people's savings; businesses shut down.
- Homelessness and hunger. Families lost homes; shantytowns called "Hoovervilles" (mocking President Hoover) appeared, and breadlines and soup kitchens spread.
The Dust Bowl
On the Great Plains, years of drought combined with over-farming that had stripped the soil produced enormous dust storms, the Dust Bowl. Crops failed, farms were ruined, and hundreds of thousands of farm families (the "Okies") abandoned their land and migrated, often to California, in search of work. The Dust Bowl is the test's environmental symbol of the Depression.
Hoover's failed response
President Herbert Hoover believed the economy would recover on its own and that direct federal relief would harm self-reliance. His limited measures failed to stem the collapse, and public anger at his perceived inaction (the "Hoovervilles") set the stage for Franklin Roosevelt's election and the New Deal.
Try this
Q1. State the event most associated with the start of the Great Depression. [1]
- Cue. The stock market crash of October 1929.
Q2. Give one cause besides the crash and one effect on ordinary Americans. [2]
- Cue. Cause: overproduction, buying on credit, bank failures, uneven wealth, or high tariffs. Effect: mass unemployment, lost savings, Hoovervilles, or the Dust Bowl.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of VDOE exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
VA VUS SOL (released item style)1 marksWhich event is most associated with the start of the Great Depression?
(A) The bombing of Pearl Harbor
(B) The stock market crash of October 1929
(C) The sinking of the Lusitania
(D) The Boston Tea Party
Show worked answer →
A single-select item on the start of the Depression (VUS.10).
Correct answer: (B). The stock market crash of October 1929 is the event most associated with the onset of the Great Depression, though deeper causes (overproduction, bank weaknesses, uneven wealth) were also at work.
A is World War II; C is World War I; D is the Revolution. The test rewards the 1929 crash.
VA VUS SOL (released item style)2 marksThe Great Depression caused widespread suffering.
(a) Give one cause of the Great Depression besides the stock market crash. (b) Describe one effect of the Depression on ordinary Americans.
Show worked answer →
A two-part constructed response (VUS.10), 2 points (1 per part).
(a) 1 point: any valid cause, such as overproduction and underconsumption, widespread buying on credit and stock speculation, bank failures, uneven distribution of wealth, or high tariffs reducing trade.
(b) 1 point: any valid effect, such as mass unemployment (about a quarter of workers), bank and business failures wiping out savings, homelessness ("Hoovervilles"), and hunger; the Dust Bowl ruined farms and displaced families.
Markers reward one underlying cause and one human effect.
Related dot points
- Describe the political, social, and economic changes of the 1920s, including prosperity and consumerism, the Harlem Renaissance, Prohibition, and the cultural conflicts over immigration, race, and values (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.10).
A SOL-level answer on the 1920s for the VUS exam: the postwar economic boom and consumer culture, the cultural ferment of the Harlem Renaissance and jazz, Prohibition and its effects, and the era's deep conflicts over immigration, race, religion, and the role of women.
- Explain the New Deal: its goals of relief, recovery, and reform, key programs, the expansion of the federal government's role, and the debate over the New Deal (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.10).
A SOL-level answer on the New Deal for the VUS exam: Franklin Roosevelt's relief, recovery, and reform response to the Depression, key programs like the CCC, Social Security, and the FDIC, the lasting expansion of the federal government's role, and the debate over the New Deal.
- Explain the causes of World War II, the rise of totalitarian and fascist powers, American isolationism, and the events that drew the United States into the war, including Pearl Harbor (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.10).
A SOL-level answer on the road to World War II for the VUS exam: the rise of totalitarian and fascist dictators, the failures that led to war, American isolationism and the shift to aiding the Allies, and the attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the United States into the war.
- Describe the World War I home front (mobilization, propaganda, limits on civil liberties, the Great Migration) and the peace, including Wilson's Fourteen Points, the Treaty of Versailles, and the Senate's rejection of the League of Nations (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.9).
A SOL-level answer on the World War I home front and peace for the VUS exam: war mobilization and propaganda, the Espionage and Sedition Acts and Schenck v. United States, the Great Migration, Wilson's Fourteen Points, the Treaty of Versailles, and why the Senate rejected the League of Nations.
- Explain the goals and achievements of the Progressive movement, including the muckrakers, regulation of business, political reforms, and the constitutional amendments of the era (16th, 17th, 18th, 19th) (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.8).
A SOL-level answer on the Progressive Era for the VUS exam: the muckrakers who exposed abuses, the regulation of business and food and drugs, political reforms expanding democracy, the conservation movement, and the Progressive amendments (16th income tax, 17th direct senators, 18th prohibition, 19th woman suffrage).
Sources & how we know this
- Standards of Learning Documents for History and Social Science, Adopted 2015 — Virginia Department of Education (2015)
- SOL Practice Items (All Subjects) — Virginia Department of Education (2024)