Deck 13: Economic Effects of the Civil War

Question 1

There is clear evidence that the Civil War (1861-1865)aided industrialization in the U.S.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The Mokyr-DeCanio thesis states that real wages of Northern workers lagged behind price increases during the Civil War (1861-1865),thus shifting to the workers themselves a major part of the war's cost.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The United States gained significant strength globally in manufacturing production during the ?Civil War (1861-1865).

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The absence of the Southern economy's ability to earn foreign exchange and its markets severely impacted all non-local trade in the U.S.after the Civil War.

Question 5

In all areas but property,the measurable costs of the Civil War (1861-1865)were highest in the North.

Question 6

Stanley Engerman's (1971)work on the economic impact of the Civil War (1861-1865)refuted?a view sometimes called the Beard-Hacker thesis.This thesis holds that

A) the Civil War (1861-1865) held back the ongoing processes of industrialization.
B) the Civil War (1861-1865) accelerated the ongoing processes of industrialization.
C) the Civil War (1861-1865)'s demands for manufactured goods increased American long-term dependency on foreign trade.
D) the Civil War (1861-1865) was more disruptive of the "westward movement" than it was of ongoing processes of industrialization.

Question 7

By the time the Civil War (1861-1865)ended,hyperinflation was a problem in both the North and the South.

Question 8

The arguments of Kessel and Alchien (1959)on the terms of trade and the question of "who paid for the Civil War (1861-1865)" conclude that 40 percent of the war's burden fell on

A) those who exported manufactures.
B) those who purchased imports.
C) farmers alone.
D) the economy as a whole.

Question 9

Physical destruction of property during the Civil War (1861-1865)occurred on a wide scale in both the North and the South.

Question 10

The roots of the Civil War (1861-1865)can be traced to the colonial period of U.S.history.The ratification of the 10th amendment of the U.S.Constitution brings all issues connected to the Civil War to an end.

Question 11

As a result of emancipation,

A) black labor force participation increased by 1/3.
B) black labor force participation declined by 1/3.
C) amazingly, black labor force participation remained essentially unchanged.
D) average wages of black workers rose well above those of their immigrant counterparts.

Question 12

Sharecropping successfully replaced the slavery system.

Question 13

Unlike previous and future wars,the United States' federal government did not need to impose an income tax to finance the Civil War (1861-1865).

Question 14

The decline of the greenback against gold made imports more expensive.

Question 15

Since wages fell by more than prices,Civil War laborers were better off.

Question 16

Engerman's (1971)studies of the Civil War (1861-1865)'s impact on industrialization

A) support the previous work of Hacker and Beard.
B) showed that the War sped up the ongoing processes of industrialization.
C) showed that the War effort slowed down industrialization.
D) restricted the real cost of the War to the South.

Question 17

Printing money was the main method the Union government used to finance the Civil War?(1861-1865),and as a result the money supply in the North rose by a factor of 4.

Question 18

The Confederate government

A) failed to increase its external debt and thus produced domestic inflation.
B) did not make the Confederate currency legal tender.
C) failed to raise sufficient resources because of unwillingness to increase ?the supply of paper money.
D) did none of the above.

Question 19

The Civil War's (1861-1865)impact on the growth and development of the U.S.economy was negative.

Question 20

Sharecropping after the Civil War (1861-1865)was the land tenure of black and white non-landowning farmers in about equal proportions.

Question 21

In answering the question "Did the Civil War help promote economic growth and industrialization?" Hughes and Cain (2011)conclude that

A) the war, rather than being a major stimulus to industry, was actually a great drain that slowed U.S. economic development for a time.
B) the war was indeed a major stimulus to industry because it promoted the building of wartime factories and new technology, which then provided a basis for rapidly growing production levels when peace came.
C) the war was a setback for the South but a great stimulus for the North.
D) the war seemed to have had no overall impact on the economic growth of the nation.

Question 22

In the years immediately following the Civil War (1861-1865),a "unique" pattern of social and economic life formed in the South.It included:

A) High productivity
B) An increase in wealth among all groups
C) Social advancement among former slaves and whites
D) Racism

Question 23

Even though reliable data is lacking,the Beard-Hacker Thesis maintains that the Civil War ?(1861-1865)

A) was more costly to the South than to the North.
B) ended Southern prosperity through the abolition of slavery.
C) increased immigration to the U.S.
D) sped up the industrialization of the U.S.

Question 24

During the Civil War (1861-1865),hyperinflation occurred in

A) the North.
B) the South.
C) both the North and South.
D) neither the North nor the South.

Question 25

Economic developments after the Civil War (1861-1865)in the South include all of the following except

A) A decline in cotton prices with the result that poverty associated with cotton became a fixed feature of the South
B) The relatively widespread land ownership among the freed slaves
C) The widespread adoption of the sharecropping system
D) The widespread debt peonage for the freed slaves

Question 26

The South suffered from a labor shortage immediately after the Civil War (1861-1865)mostly because

A) freed slaves worked fewer hours.
B) freed slaves moved North.
C) Southern agriculture became mechanized.
D) Southern industry attracted workers away from agriculture.

Question 27

With regard to the cost of the Civil War (1861-1865),Hughes and Cain (2011)argue all of the following except

A) It mobilized idle men and other resources on a vast scale.
B) The cost of the lives lost can be measured using the concept of "human capital."
C) The war's cost could have purchased all the slaves from their owners at 1860 prices, given each slave family 40 acres and a mule, and still had $3.5 billion left over for "reparations"-back wages to the freed slaves.
D) The real burden was widely felt by those individuals who owned Confederate financial assets, those whose crops and farm animals were sequestered, those whose homes and farm buildings were destroyed, and the dead.

Question 28

After the Civil War (1861-1865),the cotton South

A) continued to experience prosperity.
B) was no longer the main contributor to the agricultural sector, as wheat production elsewhere began to prosper.
C) experienced prosperity in some Southern states but not in all.
D) was no longer the major source of income for the South; Southerners quickly supplemented their cotton incomes with income generated by the manufacturing sector.

Question 29

Which of the following groups benefited from the Civil War (1861-1865)?

A) Wage earners who suffered declining real earnings as wages lagged behind the inflation
B) Those groups issuing bonds during the war
C) Those farmers whose crops and farm animals were destroyed
D) Slave owners who parted with their property without compensation

Question 30

According to Hughes and Cain (2011),after the Civil War (1861-1865)the freed slaves were

A) left to fend for themselves without property, money or skills.
B) provided with 40 acres and a mule to get a start in life as free people.
C) provided with some monetary compensation for the centuries-long oppression ?and exploitation they and their ancestors had faced.
D) able to quickly become successful farmers and craftsmen.

Question 31

With regard to education of freed slaves after the Civil War (1861-1865),

A) there was a rapid rise of literacy.
B) Southern public schools were "separate, but equal."
C) most had received no education under slavery and were illiterate.
D) all of the above are true.

Question 32

The system of sharecropping that emerged after the Civil War (1861-1865)

A) gave neither the owners of land nor the sharecroppers strong incentives to make improvements?in agricultural production.
B) gave both the owners of land and the sharecroppers strong incentives to make improvements?in agricultural production.
C) gave the owners of land but not the sharecroppers strong incentives to make improvements?in agricultural production.
D) gave the sharecroppers but not the owners of land strong incentives to make improvements?in agricultural production.

Question 33

By almost every measure of social and economic well-being,for how long after the Civil War?(1861-1865)did the South lag behind the rest of the country?

A) For almost a century
B) For almost a decade before it adapted to life without slavery
C) For only two decades
D) Right down to the present day

Question 34

Which of the following methods was NOT used to help the North finance the Civil War ?(1861-1865)?

A) Selling large amounts of bonds
B) Issuing fiat Federal paper money
C) Raising taxes
D) Selling confiscated property

Question 35

Which of the following was NOT used to finance the Civil War (1861-1865)?

A) Taxation
B) Borrowing
C) Printing money
D) Large voluntary contributions from individuals opposed to slavery

Question 36

With regard to the question "What were the lives of those who died in the Civil War (1861-1865)worth?" Hughes and Cain (2011)conclude that

A) there is no way to answer this question because people have infinite worth.
B) an estimate can be made by calculating the value of the loss of "human capital."
C) the worth was close to zero because of the surplus of population that existed at the time.
D) the worth of Northern lives lost was greater because the Northerners were fighting against?the evils of slavery.

Question 37

The inflation that occurred during the Civil War (1861-1865)

A) was a means of expropriating resources to fight the war.
B) was a form of taxation to provide resources to fight the war.
C) represented a decrease in the purchasing power of money.
D) was true for all of the above.

Question 38

Greenbacks were first issued

A) by the Federal government to help the economy out of a recession in the 1850s.
B) by the States to pay for the construction of canals.
C) by the Federal government to help pay for the Civil War (1861-1865).
D) by banks during the Free Banking Era.

Question 39

All of the following methods were used to raise funds to finance the Civil War (1861-1865)except

A) An income tax
B) The printing of paper money
C) Taxes on prostitution
D) Taxes on whiskey and beer

Question 40

The inflation that occurred during the Civil War (1861-1865)can be described as all of the?following except

A) A means of expropriating resources to fight the war
B) A form of taxation to provide resources to fight the war
C) A representation of a decrease in the purchasing power of money
D) A less expensive way of paying for the war than taxation

Question 41

What were the Jim Crow laws? How did they impact the efficient and effective flow of economic resources,final goods and final services?

Question 42

Explain why relative wages matter by highlighting the move of the Chinese immigrants from sugarcane plantations to the West Coast.

Question 43

Discuss the controversy surrounding emancipation without compensation from the perspectives of both the slaves and slave owners.

Question 44

The South's post-Civil War (1861-1865)backwardness was due to all of the following,according?to Hughes and Cain (2011),except

A) Extensive wartime destruction of life and wealth
B) The fiscal disaster of the Confederacy, whereby nine-tenths of the state banks of the South vanished
C) The price of cotton, which did not fall, but did fail to increase as it had prior to the Civil War (1861-1865), thus turning cotton into a less profitable crop
D) The sharecropping system's failure to provide incentives for innovation in agriculture

Question 45

The Civil War (1861-1865)was the root of which modern-day belief(s)?

A) The Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude in the U.S.
B) The belief that wars can stimulate industrialization.
C) The belief that wars can effectively mobilize resources, boost employment and heighten production without inflationary consequences.
D) All of the above.

Question 46

The United States' first income tax was imposed during

A) the American Revolutionary War (1763-1789).
B) the Civil War (1861-1865).
C) the 1930's Great Depression.
D) World War II (1939-1945).

Question 47

Discuss the labor "shortage" of the post-bellum period.Explain how the incentives linked to the system of sharecropping contributed to it.

Question 48

Describe the emerging patterns of the Southern economy in the post-bellum period.Which patterns largely lingered into the 1930s? On what grounds were the Southern plantation owners not compensated for their loss of slave capital?

Question 49

Discuss the economic and political impacts of the Civil War (1861-1865)on today's economy.

Question 50

Discuss the growth and development of manufacturing in the South after the Civil War (1861-1865).

Question 51

Did the Civil War (1861-1865)promote or retard industrialization? Discuss the debate.

Question 52

Compare and contrast the financial systems in the cotton South before and after the Civil War ?(1861-1865).

Question 53

Describe the short- and long-run consequences of the Civil War (1861-1865).

Question 54

Identify the sources of funding for the Civil War (1861-1865).Discuss their inflationary consequences.

Question 55

During and after the Civil War (1861-1865),what changes took place in the financial system servicing the antebellum South? How did these changes hinder growth and development in the cotton economy of the post-bellum period?

Question 56

Identify the forces that placed downward pressures on wages in the South during the post-bellum period.

Question 57

Discuss the controversy centering on Ransom and Sutch's (1977)claim that country storekeepers possessed monopoly power.To what do they attribute this monopoly power? How do they back ?their claim? Why do other economic historians disagree?