AQA GCSE History: America, 1920–1973: Opportunity and inequality

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AD America, 1920–1973: Opportunity and Inequality

In this module, the development of the United States in the wake of WWII and the turbulent half-century of change that accompanied it. As both a period of opportunity and inequality, the 1920s through to the 1970s offers in-depth insight and examples of the ability to live the American Dream for some, while many others including immigrants, racial minorities and the poor experienced the nightmare of entrenched poverty, discrimination and prejudice. Themes spanning three modules encompass political, economic, social and cultural shifts after WWII, as well as key individuals who were instrumental in bringing about change.

Details of this period study can be found below.

Part one: American people and the 'Boom'

Themes explored include:

  • The ‘Boom’: benefits, advertising and the consumer society; hire purchase; mass production, including Ford and the motor industry; inequalities of wealth; Republican government policies; stock market boom.
  • Social and cultural developments: entertainment, including cinema and jazz; the position of women in society, including flappers.
  • Divided society: organised crime, Prohibition and their impact on society; the causes of racial tension, the experiences of immigrants and the impact of immigration; the Ku Klux Klan; the Red Scare and the significance of the Sacco and Vanzetti case.

Part two: Bust – Americans' experiences of the Depression and New Deal

Themes explored include:

  • American society during the Depression: unemployment; farmers; businessmen; Hoover’s responses and unpopularity; Roosevelt's election as president.
  • The effectiveness of the New Deal on different groups in society: successes and limitations including opposition towards the New Deal from Supreme Court, Republicans and Radical politicians; Roosevelt's contribution as president; popular culture.
  • The impact of the Second World War: America’s economic recovery; Lend Lease; exports; social developments, including experiences of African-Americans and women.

Part three: Post-war America

Themes explored include:

  • Post-war American society and economy: consumerism and the causes of prosperity; the American Dream; McCarthyism; popular culture, including Rock and Roll and television.
  • Racial tension and developments in the Civil Rights campaigns in the 1950s and 1960s: Segregation laws; Martin Luther King and peaceful protests; Malcolm X and the Black Power Movement; Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968.
  • America and the ‘Great Society': the social policies of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson relating to poverty, education and health; the development and impact of feminist movements in the 1960s and early 1970s, including the fight for equal pay; the National Organisation for Women, Roe vs. Wade (1973), the Supreme Court ruling on equal rights (1972) and opposition to Equal Rights Amendment.

Resource Examples

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This module download also includes the following teaching resources:

  • L8 Stock Market Crash Of 1929 Rebecca Black S Friday Parody (mp4)
  • L5 Corruption (pdf)
  • L9 Great Depression Grease S Summer Nights Parody Mrbettsclass (mp4)
  • L5 Speakeasies (pdf)
  • L9 Great Depression Rap Smart Songs (mp4)
  • L7 Kkk Chart (pdf)
  • L5 Bootleggers And Moonshine (pdf)
  • L7 Billie Holiday-Strange Fruit- Hd (mp4)
  • L5 Gangsters (pdf)
  • L5 Lack Of Enforcement (pdf)
  • L8 The Wall Street Crash And The Great Depression (mp4)
  • L7 Kkk Information Sheet (pdf)
  • L2 Henry Ford Clip (mp4)
  • L12 Franklin Roosevelt Fireside Chat 1 On The Banking Crisis 1933 (mp4)
  • L5 Why Prohibition Failed Mind Map (pdf)
  • L4 Women Of The 1920 S (mp4)
  • L10 Bonus March On Washington Dc- 1932 (mp4)
  • L14 New Deal (pdf)
  • L13 Opposition To The New Deal Information Sheet (pdf)
  • L8 -The Stock Market Crash Of 1929 Causes And Effects (mp4)
  • L17 The Story Of Emmett Till (mp4)
  • L4 Women In The 1920s Wall Information (pdf)
  • L17 Mlk Chart (pdf)
  • L9 The Great Depression Explained In One Minute (mp4)
  • L6 Birth Of A Nation Clip 6 (mp4)
  • L5 Speakeasies (docx)
  • L4 Women In The 1920s Wall Information (ppt)
  • L5 Lack Of Enforcement (docx)
  • L4 Georgia May Foote Giovanni Pernice Charleston To Hot Honey Rag Strictly Come Dancing- 2015 (mp4)
  • L3- Early 1920 S Jazz (mp4)
  • L12 Alphabet Agencies Chart (pdf)
  • L11 Roosevelt Campaigns For President 1932 (mp4)
  • L5 Gangsters (docx)
  • L5 Corruption (docx)
  • L16 Post War Boom (pdf)
  • L5 Why Prohibition Failed Mind Map (docx)
  • L3 1920 S Sports And Recreation (mp4)
  • L11 Herbert Hoover (mp4)
  • L17 Malcom X Info Hunt (pdf)
  • L7 Kkk Information Sheet (doc)
  • L13 Opposition To The New Deal Information Sheet (pptx)
  • L7 Kkk Chart (pptx)
  • L17 Mlk Chart (pptx)
  • L5 America Goes Dry- Prohibition In The 1920 S (mp4)
  • L12 New Deal Uptown Funk Parody Mrbettsclass (mp4)
  • L9 Impact Of Wall Street Crash On America (pptx)
  • L16 Post War Boom (docx)
  • L14 New Deal (docx)
  • L13 Opposition To The New Deal (pptx)
  • L7 Kkk Red Scare And Sacco And Vanzetti (pptx)
  • L5 Bootleggers And Moonshine (docx)
  • L12 Alphabet Agencies Chart (pptx)
  • L8 Causes Of The Wall Street Crash (pptx)
  • L4 Women In The 1920s (pptx)
  • L1 Gatsby Movie Montage 2 (mp4)
  • L15 Success And Failure Of The New Deal (pptx)
  • L5 Prohibition (pptx)
  • L1 Diamond Nine -Causes Of The American Boom In The 1920s (docx)
  • L2 Henry Ford (pptx)
  • L3 Entertainment In 1920s America (pptx)
  • L10 Social Consequences Of The Crash (pptx)
  • L6 Intolerance In The Usa (pptx)
  • L11 Why Did Roosevelt Win The Election (pptx)
  • L17 Post War America (pptx)
  • L12 What Was The New Deal (pptx)
  • L1 Diamond Nine -Causes Of The American Boom In The 1920s (pdf)
  • L1 Gcse History Economic Boom 1920s America (mp4)
  • L1 American Boom (pptx)
  • AQA GCSE History Exam Booklets (2020 & 2021 Syllabus) (zip)