The Great Depression around the world

Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D. Card A, a table in our words from Barry Eichengreen and Tim Hatton (1988), who drew on earlier historians' estimates; unemployment in industry, percent, 1929 and 1932: Canada 4.2 and 26.0; France 1.0 and 15.4; Germany 13.3 and 43.8; United Kingdom 10.4 and 22.1; United States 5.3 and 36.3. The rates count workers in industry, from trade union and insurance records; rates for the whole economy were lower. Card B, a summary in our words, written today: The Depression began in the United States, with a stock market crash in October 1929. For 1933, one museum page gives nearly 13 million unemployed Americans and approximately 15 million; the page shows both figures. Card C, a summary in our words, written today: Under the gold standard, nations tied their money to gold, which linked their economies. The Federal Reserve's history says US policy triggered recessions around the globe. Banking panics hit the United States in 1930 and 1931. Card D, a summary in our words, written today: The United States had no national unemployment insurance until 1935. For countries without such insurance, historians estimated the 1929 and 1932 rates from other records.

2. 1.

   Card A counts industrial workers from union and insurance records. Ari wants the share of all German workers who were jobless in 1932. What can card A say?

   • Only the rate for industrial workers, 43.8 percent; the whole economy's rate was lower
   • That 43.8 percent was Germany's average across 1929 to 1932, since the table sets two years side by side
   • That 43.8 percent of German workers overall were jobless, since the table gives one rate for Germany in 1932
   • Nothing useful, since union and insurance records miss jobless people who had not joined, so no number holds
3. 2.

   Bo compares the United States' 1929 rate (5.3) with Britain's (10.4) and calls Britain's economy twice as weak. What does card D add?

   • It shows the United States had fewer jobless workers because, with no insurance, fewer people could afford to stop work
   • The two rates rest on different kinds of records, so part of the gap may be how jobless people were counted
   • Both are industry rates, so the gap is a fair measure of how weak each economy was before the crash
   • American rates are estimates, so the 5.3 should be dropped and Britain compared just with countries with insurance
4. 3.

   Jun asks which country added the most jobless workers per 100 industrial workers from 1929 to 1932. Which comparison of card A answers that?

   • Subtract each 1929 rate from its 1932 rate: the United States rose 31.0 points, Germany 30.5
   • No country can be named, because card A counts just industry and so cannot show how any group's jobless share changed
   • Look at the 1932 rates alone; Germany, which also held the highest rate in 1929, added the most
   • Divide each 1932 rate by its 1929 rate; France, at more than fifteen times its 1929 rate, added the most
5. 4.

   Kira says France was hit least because its rates were lowest in both years. Which reading of card A is best supported?

   • France was hit least on each measure in the table, since its 1929 and 1932 rates were both the lowest
   • France had the lowest rates in both years, but Britain's rise of 11.7 points was smaller than France's 14.4
   • No ranking is fair, since the countries kept records differently, so the table cannot compare them
   • France was hit hardest, since its rate went from 1.0 to 15.4, the biggest change in proportion
6. 5.

   Luz notes Germany's 1929 rate (13.3) already topped the United States' (5.3), and says the gap grew by 1932. What does card A show?

   • Germany's higher 1929 rate shows its Depression began before the crash, since the gap was already there
   • The gap was 8.0 points in 1929 and 7.5 in 1932, so it narrowed slightly while Germany stayed higher
   • The gap grew, since Germany's own rise of 30.5 points was large and it kept the highest rate
   • The gap cannot be found, since the two countries counted their jobless by different records
7. 6.

   Cards A and C. Milo asks why a banking panic in the United States could matter for jobs in Britain or Germany. Which link do the cards support?

   • Nations on gold were linked, so US policy triggered recessions abroad, as card A's rising rates fit
   • The crash of October 1929 itself, which reached each country the same month and set the 1932 rates
   • Similar insurance rules everywhere, which lifted unemployment in the five countries alike
   • Just the panics: they closed factories in each country, which alone explains the rates and rises in card A
8. 7.

   Noah writes, "The gold standard explains why Canada's rate rose from 4.2 to 26.0." What is the strongest reply using cards A and C?

   • Card C fits that story, but card A shows the rise without its cause, so gold is one possible link
   • Cards A and C together settle it, since both describe the early 1930s and both include Canada's experience
   • Gold was the sole link, since card C names no other way the downturn could spread to Canada or anywhere
   • Card C talks about the United States, so it has no bearing on Canada, whatever the gold standard did
9. 8.

   Card B gives nearly 13 million and about 15 million unemployed Americans for 1933. Ren must give one count in a report. What is the best move?

   • Use neither, since sources that disagree cannot be trusted on this point
   • Average them to 14 million and call that the count, since an average removes the error
   • Report the range, nearly 13 to about 15 million, and say that sources differ
   • Use 15 million, since the larger figure is likelier once jobless people who were left uncounted are added
10. 9.

    Tala sees 36.3 percent for US industry in 1932 (card A) and 13 to 15 million jobless in 1933 (card B). Which statement fits both?

    • Unemployment fell from 1932 to 1933, since 13 to 15 million is a smaller number than 36.3 percent
    • The 36.3 percent was the 1933 share of all Americans out of work, so card B's totals should simply match it
    • Unemployment was severe, but one figure is an industry rate and the other a count of all jobless people
    • The cards conflict, so one must be wrong and neither can be used to describe the early 1930s fairly
11. 10.

    Card D says the United States had no national unemployment insurance until 1935. Zee says 36.3 percent is an exact count of people claiming benefits. What does card D support?

    • That the figure was made up, since no insurance means no records of any kind
    • That the figure was built from other records, so it is best read as an estimate
    • That few Americans were jobless, since without insurance fewer people could claim to be out of work
    • That the figure is exact, since the table prints it to one decimal place