What mistakes do students make with The New Deal and the economy: the impact of New Deal…?

Claiming the New Deal ended the Great Depression by 1940. Unemployment remained high and full recovery came with wartime production. Stating that women benefited equally from New Deal jobs. Many programmes discriminated against women, and Eleanor Roosevelt worked to improve their position. Saying the New Deal only helped farmers. It also created urban infrastructure and employment through agencies like the WPA and PWA.

What are the exam tips for The New Deal and the economy: the impact of New Deal… in History Pearson Edexcel A-Level?

Use specific figures, such as unemployment percentages, to support your arguments. Link each New Deal agency to its impact on unemployment or infrastructure. When discussing women, refer to both limitations and Eleanor Roosevelt's role.

Pearson Edexcel · A-Level · History

Course version: 9HI0 · Version from Sept 2015

The USA, c1920–55: boom, bust and recovery - 3 Impact of the New Deal and…

Full specification wording

Paper 2, Option 2H.1: The USA, c1920–55: boom, bust and recovery - 3 Impact of the New Deal and the Second World War on the USA to 1945: The New Deal and the economy: the impact of New Deal policies on unemployment and national infrastructure; women and the New Deal, including the role of Eleanor Roosevelt; the state of the US economy in 1940.

The New Deal aimed to tackle unemployment and rebuild infrastructure.

Checked against the Pearson Edexcel 9HI0 specification (opens in a new tab) on 23 September 2026.

Point 1 of 4

Study notes

From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.

The idea

What earns the marks

Unemployment fell from about 25% in 1933 to about 15% in 1937, but rose again in the 1937–38 recession.
The WPA and PWA built roads, bridges, schools and hospitals, improving national infrastructure.
Women were often excluded from New Deal work relief or given lower-paid roles; Eleanor Roosevelt advocated for women's inclusion and rights.
By 1940, unemployment was still around 15% and national income had not returned to 1929 levels, showing incomplete recovery.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

Claiming the New Deal ended the Great Depression by 1940.
Put it right: Unemployment remained high and full recovery came with wartime production.
Stating that women benefited equally from New Deal jobs.
Put it right: Many programmes discriminated against women, and Eleanor Roosevelt worked to improve their position.
Saying the New Deal only helped farmers.
Put it right: It also created urban infrastructure and employment through agencies like the WPA and PWA.

Exam tips

Use specific figures, such as unemployment percentages, to support your arguments.
Link each New Deal agency to its impact on unemployment or infrastructure.
When discussing women, refer to both limitations and Eleanor Roosevelt's role.

Try the lesson

The start of the Paper 2, Option 2H.1: The USA, c1920–55: boom, bust and recovery - 3 Impact of the New Deal and the Second World War on the USA to 1945: The New Deal and the economy: the impact of New Deal policies on unemployment and national infrastructure; women and the New Deal, including the role of Eleanor Roosevelt; the state of the US economy in 1940. lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.

Have a go first

Which New Deal agency was created in 1933 to build dams and generate electricity in the Tennessee Valley?

Tip: press 1 to 4 to choose

Listen

The New Deal aimed to tackle unemployment and rebuild infrastructure. Alphabet agencies like the WPA and PWA created jobs, reducing unemployment from roughly 25% in 1933 to about 15% by 1937, though a recession in 1937–38 pushed it up again. By 1940, unemployment remained around 15%, and the economy was still recovering, with national income below 1929 levels. Women benefited less: many New Deal programmes excluded women or paid them less. Eleanor Roosevelt championed women's and civil rights, pressing for female appointments and better conditions. The economy in 1940 was still not fully recovered, but war production soon transformed it. A strong answer earns marks for these points. Unemployment fell from about 25% in 1933 to about 15% in 1937, but rose again in the 1937–38 recession. The WPA and PWA built roads, bridges, schools and hospitals, improving national infrastructure. Women were often excluded from New Deal work relief or given lower-paid roles; Eleanor Roosevelt advocated for women's inclusion and rights. By 1940, unemployment was still around 15% and national income had not returned to 1929 levels, showing incomplete recovery. A common slip: claiming the New Deal ended the Great Depression by 1940. Instead, unemployment remained high and full recovery came with wartime production. Exam tip: Use specific figures, such as unemployment percentages, to support your arguments.

See it

A flowchart running from top to bottom. The top node, New Deal policies, splits into two branches. The first branch goes to Alphabet agencies: WPA and PWA, which splits into Jobs created and Roads, bridges, schools and hospitals built. Jobs created leads to Unemployment falls from about 25% in 1933 to about 15% in 1937, which leads to the 1937–38 recession, then to Unemployment rises again, then to By 1940 unemployment still around 15%, and finally to National income below 1929 levels: recovery incomplete. The second branch from New Deal policies goes to Women often excluded from work relief or given lower-paid roles, which leads to Eleanor Roosevelt advocates for women's inclusion and rights. — Shows how New Deal agencies affected unemployment and infrastructure, how the 1937–38 recession reversed progress, and how women and Eleanor Roosevelt fit into the picture.

Put the events in order

Put these events in the order they happened, earliest first.

1. Unemployment at roughly twenty-five per cent
2. Unemployment still around fifteen per cent
3. Unemployment fell to about fifteen per cent

Label the diagram

Some boxes have lost their names. Pick the right name for each number.

The diagram again, with 3 boxes numbered instead of named. A flowchart running from top to bottom. The top node, New Deal policies, splits into two branches. The first branch goes to Alphabet agencies: WPA and PWA, which splits into Jobs created and Roads, bridges, schools and hospitals built. Jobs created leads to Unemployment falls from about 25% in 1933 to about 15% in 1937, which leads to the 1937–38 recession, then to Unemployment rises again, then to By 1940 unemployment still around 15%, and finally to National income below 1929 levels: recovery incomplete. The second branch from New Deal policies goes to Women often excluded from work relief or given lower-paid roles, which leads to Eleanor Roosevelt advocates for women's inclusion and rights.

1Box 1
2Box 2
3Box 3

0 of 3 labelled

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