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DSE History | The Great Depression and the New Deal Lesson-Prep Guide (Tutor Edition) — Crash Arithmetic, Unemployment Data and Assessing the New Deal
Students recite the crash and the dole queues but cannot say how a share price became a bank failure, nor how much the New Deal actually fixed. Three percentages lock the causal chain.
Objectives — Students can: (1) compute the fall in the Dow and explain the transmission chain from share prices through banks, credit and output to jobs; (2) use unemployment, output and price data to show how deflation raised real debt; (3) sort New Deal measures into relief, recovery and reform, give one example of each and assess the results with their limits.
01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)
If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.
| Skill | Quick check | Pass mark |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage change | What is the fall from 381.17 to 41.22 | (new – old) / old |
| Deflation | What does falling prices do to a borrower | Real debt rises |
| Causal chains | How does one event cause the next | Name every link |
02 Lesson flow (60 minutes)
| Time | Stage | Tutor does | Student does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-10 min | Size of the crash | Subtract the low from the high and divide by the high | Reach -89.2% |
| 10-24 min | Transmission chain | Shares, banks, credit, output, jobs | Five links in turn |
| 24-36 min | Unemployment and deflation | From 3.2% to 24.9% | A multiple of 7.8 |
| 36-48 min | Three kinds of measure | Relief, recovery, reform | One example each |
| 48-56 min | Results and limits | Recovery to 1937, then a relapse | Argue both sides |
| 56-60 min | Exit check | Three questions marked on the spot | All three right |
03 Teaching script (read it out)
Scene 1: The crash is a percentage, the depression is a chain
The Dow fell from 381.17 in September 1929 to 41.22 in July 1932, a fall of -89.2%; getting back to the old level would need a rise of 825%, which is why losing nine tenths is so destructive.
The chain has five links: falling shares made share-backed loans fail, banks faced runs and collapsed (about 9,000 of 25,000, or 36%), credit contracted and firms could not roll over debts, output and investment fell (nominal output dropped from 104.4 to 57.2 billion dollars, -45.2%), and workers were laid off as unemployment went from 3.2% to 24.9%, a multiple of 7.8.
Writing that shares fell so people lost jobs earns one mark; the three middle links earn the rest.
The chain has five links: falling shares made share-backed loans fail, banks faced runs and collapsed (about 9,000 of 25,000, or 36%), credit contracted and firms could not roll over debts, output and investment fell (nominal output dropped from 104.4 to 57.2 billion dollars, -45.2%), and workers were laid off as unemployment went from 3.2% to 24.9%, a multiple of 7.8.
Writing that shares fell so people lost jobs earns one mark; the three middle links earn the rest.
Ask students: why banks failed after share prices fell (collateral lost value and depositors ran).
Scene 2: Deflation makes borrowers poorer
Prices fell about 25% between 1929 and 1933, so a debt of 100 dollars became 33.3% heavier in real terms (1 / 0.75 – 1).
If wages fell only 10% over the same years, the real wage actually rose 20%, but only for those still employed; the unemployed earned nothing, so averages hide the suffering.
Farmers suffered most because crop prices fell faster than manufactured goods: farm income dropped from 12.2 to 5.3 billion dollars (-56.6%), and debt forced many off the land.
Trade shrank too: the 1930 tariff raised duties on about 20,000 imported goods to an average near 40%, imports fell from 4.4 to 1.7 billion dollars (-61.4%), and retaliation shrank world trade further.
If wages fell only 10% over the same years, the real wage actually rose 20%, but only for those still employed; the unemployed earned nothing, so averages hide the suffering.
Farmers suffered most because crop prices fell faster than manufactured goods: farm income dropped from 12.2 to 5.3 billion dollars (-56.6%), and debt forced many off the land.
Trade shrank too: the 1930 tariff raised duties on about 20,000 imported goods to an average near 40%, imports fell from 4.4 to 1.7 billion dollars (-61.4%), and retaliation shrank world trade further.
Ask students: why deflation is brutal for an indebted farmer (income falls while the debt stays at face value).
Scene 3: Three kinds of measure, two sides to the verdict
The New Deal sorts into three groups: relief (work and money given directly, such as the conservation corps employing 250,000 young men), recovery (restarting production, such as the Tennessee Valley dams and power), and reform (preventing a repeat, such as deposit insurance and securities regulation).
Results: output and industrial production rose clearly from 1933 to 1937 and unemployment fell from its peak; the works administration employed about 8.5 million people over eight years, roughly 1.06 million a year.
Limits: spending was cut too early in 1937 and unemployment rebounded to about 19%; the Supreme Court struck down several measures; critics say federal power grew and structural unemployment remained, with wartime production doing the decisive work.
A judgment sentence needs three parts: when, how much, and what happened next.
Results: output and industrial production rose clearly from 1933 to 1937 and unemployment fell from its peak; the works administration employed about 8.5 million people over eight years, roughly 1.06 million a year.
Limits: spending was cut too early in 1937 and unemployment rebounded to about 19%; the Supreme Court struck down several measures; critics say federal power grew and structural unemployment remained, with wartime production doing the decisive work.
A judgment sentence needs three parts: when, how much, and what happened next.
Ask students: why unemployment rebounded in 1937 (spending was cut and the stimulus withdrawn).
04 Question types and worked steps
| Type | Example | Steps | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calculation | Fall in a share index | (new – old) / old x 100% | -89.2% |
| Explanation | Transmission chain | Five links, one mechanism each | Bank failure is the hinge |
| Data | Unemployment and output | Compare base year with trough, absolute and percentage | 24.9% and -45.2% |
| Essay | Assessing the New Deal | Measure, short-term effect, long-term limit | Use the 1937 relapse |
Sanity check (teach this): The denominator is the old value, 381.17, not the new one; a fall of 89.2% needs a rise of 825% to recover.
A rise from 3.2% to 24.9% is 7.8 times, not 7.8 percentage points, which would be 21.7.
Deflation raises real debt by 1 / (1 – fall), not by adding 25%.
Assess the New Deal in two periods, 1933-37 and 1937-38, never with one verdict.
A rise from 3.2% to 24.9% is 7.8 times, not 7.8 percentage points, which would be 21.7.
Deflation raises real debt by 1 / (1 – fall), not by adding 25%.
Assess the New Deal in two periods, 1933-37 and 1937-38, never with one verdict.
05 Independent practice (3 questions)
| Question | Answer | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Fall from 381.17 to 41.22 | -89.2% | (41.22 – 381.17) / 381.17 |
| Multiple from 3.2% to 24.9% | 7.8 times | 24.9 / 3.2 |
| Real debt after a 25% price fall | Up 33.3% | 1 / 0.75 – 1 |
06 Common mistakes and what to say
| Mistake | Student writes | Say this |
|---|---|---|
| Writing only crash then unemployment | Answering that shares fell so many lost jobs | Add bank failure and the credit squeeze in between. |
| Confusing multiples with points | Answering a rise of 7.8 percentage points | 7.8 is a multiple; the points figure is 21.7. |
| Using the wrong denominator | Answering a fall of 47% | The denominator is 381.17, the original figure. |
| One-line verdict on the New Deal | Answering that the New Deal saved America | Add the 1937 relapse and the role of wartime production. |
07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)
- Secondary history chapter index — All chapters and practice
- All lesson-prep guides — Compare other subjects
08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)
| Question | Answer | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Fall in the Dow | -89.2% | All three right: move to the Second World War |
| Unemployment multiple | 7.8 times | One wrong: reteach the denominator |
| Real debt after a 25% price fall | Up 33.3% | Two wrong: return to act two |
09 Tutor FAQ
Must students memorise every New Deal agency?
No. One example per category with a result and a limit is enough.
Was the crash the only cause?
No. Weak banks, a long farm depression, tariff retaliation and the gold standard all contributed.
Did the New Deal end the depression?
It produced partial recovery, the 1937 relapse showed it was incomplete, and wartime production finished the job.
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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.
