The Wall Street Crash
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the causes and significance of the Wall Street Crash.
Key learning points
- Speculation led to increases in private debt and shares became overvalued.
- American goods were overproduced in the US but tariffs made them too expensive for European markets.
- Share prices collapsed during the Wall Street Crash, ruining many speculators and shareholders.
- 659 banks collapsed in 1929.
- Bank failures hurt millions of Americans, including those who had not traded in shares.
Keywords
Stock market - a stock market is the place where investors can buy and sell shares in companies
Speculation - speculation is when investors purchase shares, often with borrowed money, in the hope of selling them off in future for a profit
Tariff - a tariff is a government tax on foreign-produced goods sold in a country
Shares - some companies sell shares in order to raise money; people who own shares in a company receive part of the company’s profits
Export - an export is a good which a country sells abroad
Common misconception
Only shareholders and speculators lost out from the Wall Street Crash.
Once speculators went bankrupt, they were unable to repay their debts to banks causing them to fail. Bank failures wiped out the savings of millions of Americans.
Teacher tip
Encourage students to consider the role of laissez-faire politics in contributing to the collapse. You could ask pupils how the government could have tries to stop speculation. Alternatively, ask students why savers (like those with the Bank of America) might blame the government for their problems.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Write the missing word. A is a government tax on foreign-produced goods sold in a country
Q2.What were the Jim Crows laws?
Q3.What was traded on Wall Street?
Q4.Write the missing word. were attacks by mobs which involved killing a person they considered guilty of committing an offence, even though they hadn't been put on trial.
Q5.How did average American wages change during the 1920s?
Q6.Which statement is most accurate?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match each keyword with its correct definition.
when investors bought shares but borrowed money to pay 90% of the cost
buying shares in the hope their value rises and re-selling them
the place where investors can buy and sell shares in companies
Q2.Write the missing word. 13 000 00 shares were sold on Wall Street on Thursday.
Q3.How did the number of Americans playing the stock market change between 1920 and 1929?
Q4.Why were bank failures a problem for ordinary Americans?
Q5.Which statement is most accurate?
Q6.Starting with the earliest, sort the following events from the Wall Street Crash into chronological order.
To help you plan your 11 history lesson on: The Wall Street Crash, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 history lesson on: The Wall Street Crash, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 history lessons from the America 1920–1973, Opportunity and inequality unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.