12: The Great Depression and the Americas (mid 1920s – 1939)
This section focuses on the causes and nature of the Great 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 three 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; impact of the New Deal on US political and economic systems - Nature and efficacy of solutions in Canada: Mackenzie King and RB Bennett - Impact of the Great Depression on Latin America; political instability and challenges to democracy; economic and social challenges - Latin American responses to the Great Depression: import substitution industrialization (ISI); social and economic policies; popular mobilization and repression - Impact of the Great Depression on society: specifically the impact on women and minorities; impact of the Great Depression on the arts and culture