Edexcel IGCSE History: The USA, 1918–41 — Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs — examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available free from your board. Sources marked “invented” are written for this exercise and are not real historical documents. The one genuine source is attributed in full.

Related: A3 revision notes | A3 study guide

These questions practise the three Historical Investigation skills of Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History 4HI1 Paper 2, Section A — features (6), cross-referencing (8) and interpretation (16) — across the five key topics of Investigation A3.

---

Enquiry 1 — the 1920s

1(a) Describe two features of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. [6]

Source A (invented). From an advertisement in a popular magazine, 1926.

“Why wait? With our easy-payment plan, the newest electric washing machine can be in your home this week — for just a few dollars a month. Every modern family deserves the best.”

Source B (invented). From a letter by a farmer in Iowa to his congressman, 1927.

“Corn fetches less than it cost to grow, and the bank wants its money for the tractor. My neighbours in town talk of radios and motor cars. Out here we talk of who will lose the farm next.”

1(b) How far does Source A support the evidence of Source B about prosperity in the 1920s? [8]

Extract C (invented interpretation).

“The boom of the 1920s was built on easy credit and the hopes of the middle class, and it left much of America behind.”

1(c) How far do you agree with the interpretation in Extract C? Use Extract C, Sources A and B and your own knowledge. [16]

Enquiry 2 — Depression and New Deal, 1929–41

2(a) Describe two features of the Bonus Marchers’ protest (1932). [6]

Source D (genuine). From Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inaugural address, 4 March 1933.

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Source E (invented). From a speech by a businessman to a meeting of opponents of the New Deal, 1935.

“Washington now tells the factory owner what to pay, the farmer what to plant and the banker how to lend. This is not recovery; it is the road to a planned economy.”

2(b) How far does Source D support the evidence of Source E about attitudes to government action in the Depression? [8]

Extract F (invented interpretation).

“The New Deal failed to bring recovery: it was the Second World War, not Roosevelt, that ended the Depression.”

2(c) How far do you agree with the interpretation in Extract F? Use Extract F, Sources D and E and your own knowledge. [16]

---

Answers and mark guidance

1(a) [6]

Two developed features: rapid growth to millions of members by the mid-1920s, strongest in the South and Midwest; its targets — black Americans, Catholics, Jews and immigrants; its methods — rallies, cross burnings, lynchings and political influence in states such as Indiana; its decline after the scandal surrounding its Indiana leader in 1925.

1(b) [8]

Support: limited. A implies widespread prosperity and access to modern goods; B acknowledges that townspeople enjoy “radios and motor cars”, so it agrees that consumer goods were spreading. Challenge: B shows farmers in debt and losing their land; A’s “easy-payment plan” hints that buying depended on credit rather than wealth. Provenance: A is an advertisement designed to sell; B is a private appeal for help, likely to stress hardship. Judgement: they describe different groups, so A supports B only on the spread of consumer goods in towns.

1(c) [16]

Supporting: hire purchase and margin buying; middle-class consumers of cars and electrical goods; those left behind — farmers, coal and textile workers, black Americans, many immigrants; unequal wealth (Source B). Challenging: real causes of growth — mass production (Ford), new industries, war gains, Republican tax and tariff policies; rising real wages for many urban workers; the boom’s cultural reach through cinema, radio and sport. Judgement: the boom was real but narrow and dependent on credit, which helps explain the Crash.

2(a) [6]

Two features: about 20,000 unemployed First World War veterans marched to Washington in 1932 to demand early payment of a bonus due in 1945; they camped in a shanty town; the army under General MacArthur drove them out using tear gas and burned the camp, damaging Hoover’s reputation.

2(b) [8]

Agreement: both accept that government action in the Depression was a major issue. Disagreement: Roosevelt seeks to rebuild confidence and implies strong action is coming; E attacks government interference in business, farming and banking. Provenance: D is a new president’s inaugural address meant to reassure the nation; E is a business opponent in 1935, after the Hundred Days and as the Second New Deal began — like the Liberty League. Judgement: little support; they reflect opposite views.

2(c) [16]

Supporting: unemployment stayed high (above 14% through the 1930s); the 1937–38 recession after spending cuts; full employment came only with rearmament and war production from 1940–41; business opposition (Source E) and Supreme Court rulings limited reform. Challenging: the banking crisis was ended by the Emergency Banking Act; millions were employed by the CCC, PWA and WPA; the TVA and REA modernised poor regions; Social Security and the Wagner Act brought lasting reform; confidence returned (Source D). Judgement: the New Deal brought relief and reform but not full recovery; the extract is partly right about recovery but ignores relief and reform.

Where marks are usually lost

• Treating an advertisement or speech as neutral evidence.
• Using Source D as a policy statement — it is about confidence, not specific measures.
• Discussing only the 1930s in (2c) without considering the war years to 1941.

Source: question patterns modelled on the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History (4HI1) specification, Issue 5, February 2026, Paper 2, Section A.

Frequently asked questions

How is the Paper 2 historical investigation question structured? Part (a) asks you to describe two features (6 marks), part (b) asks how far one source supports another (8 marks) and part (c) is a 16-mark judgement that uses the sources and your own knowledge.

How should an advertisement or a speech be treated as evidence? As a source with a purpose, to sell or to reassure, not as neutral evidence; its provenance affects how far it can be trusted.

Which periods do the two enquiries cover? The 1920s, including the Ku Klux Klan, and the Depression and New Deal, 1929–41.

Are these real Edexcel past-paper questions? No. They are original questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History 4HI1; use them alongside the official past papers and mark schemes.