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VICModern HistoryQuick questions
Unit 1: Change and conflict (Ideologies and conflict 1918-1945)
Quick questions on The Great Depression and interwar politics (VCE Modern History Unit 1)
12short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is wall Street Crash?Show answer
US stock market lost approximately % of value in a month. By 1932 the Dow Jones was about % of its 1929 peak.
What is international transmission?Show answer
The Crash was an American shock that became global because the world economy depended on US loans. Germany's debt-funded recovery (after 1924) collapsed when US loans were called in.
What is tariffs and trade collapse?Show answer
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (US, June 1930) raised duties on imports. Retaliatory tariffs followed. World trade fell % between 1929 and 1934.
What is united States: the New Deal?Show answer
Roosevelt's victory in November 1932 brought a Keynesian intervention. Bank holiday (March 1933). Glass-Steagall Act separating commercial and investment banking.
What is germany: democratic collapse?Show answer
Brüning's deflationary policies deepened the depression. Nazi vote rose from % to %. Hitler appointed Chancellor January 1933.
What is britain: orthodox response?Show answer
Ramsay MacDonald's National Government (1931 onward) abandoned the gold standard (September 1931) and tariff-protected the empire. Recovery slow but real by 1934-1936. Democracy preserved.
What is australia: the Premiers' Plan?Show answer
Wages cut, government spending reduced, pensions reduced. Politically divisive (Lang government in NSW resisted; dismissed 1932). Recovery began 1932-1933 helped by depreciation of the Australian pound against sterling.
What are france: delayed effects?Show answer
France was less integrated into US-dependent capital flows. Depression hit later (1932-1936). Popular Front government (Blum, 1936-1938) introduced paid holidays, -hour week.
What is soviet Union: Five-Year Plans accelerated?Show answer
The USSR was outside the world capitalist system; rapid Stalinist industrialisation made it appear immune. Soviet prestige rose in the West.
What is q1?Show answer
"Economic shock alone explains the political collapse of democracy in interwar Europe." To what extent do you agree? [10 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Explain how the Wall Street Crash of 1929 became a global depression. [6 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Compare the British and Australian responses to the Depression. [6 marks]