Deck 8: The Emergence of a Market Economy, 1815-1850

Question 1

A market-based economy frequently produces boom-and-bust cycles.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

By the 1830s, most western products reached New Orleans by:

A) steamboat
B) flatboat
C) mule train
D) wagon
E) railroad

Answer 2

flatboat

Question 3

Church attendance and temperance were enforced among early workers at Lowell.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The Erie Canal did all of the following EXCEPT:

A) stretch from Albany to Buffalo
B) dramatically reduce freight rates
C) inspire more canal construction
D) increase shipping through the port of New York
E) bankrupt New York State with its huge cost

Question 5

By the 1850s, trains traveled an average of forty miles an hour.

Question 6

All of the following were true of the trains in use by the 1850s EXCEPT:

A) they were much faster than stagecoaches and steamboats
B) they spurred iron production
C) they reduced transportation costs
D) they encouraged further expansion of farming
E) they could only operate on flat terrain

Question 7

Irish immigrants to the United States tended to join the Republican party.

Question 8

Chinese immigrants to the United States often did the heavy work of construction.

Question 9

By the 1830s, the fastest way to travel from New Orleans to Pittsburgh was by:

A) steamboat
B) stagecoach
C) railroad
D) flatboat
E) horseback

Question 10

Despite the rapid progress in education and professional activities, women failed to gain a significant foothold in the public sphere.

Question 11

The United States had caught up with Britain's textile production by 1815.

Question 12

The American party was based on nativism.

Question 13

The greatest proportional influx of immigrants in the history of the United States came in the 1820s.

Question 14

Before 1845, steamboats were used more for transportation on the ocean than on internal waterways.

Question 15

Theatergoers in the antebellum period often hurled insults and objects at performers.

Question 16

Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin on a plantation in Georgia.

Question 17

Steamboats:

A) were commercially profitable by the 1790s
B) generally had at least twelve-foot drafts
C) brought cheaper and faster two-way traffic to the Mississippi Valley
D) were usually built of steel
E) soon made railroads obsolete

Question 18

Because they, too, had suffered discrimination, Irish immigrants tended to be sympathetic to blacks.

Question 19

One advantage of New England for manufacturing was a river system that provided power and transportation.

Question 20

Most of the growth of the Catholic Church in America in the mid-nineteenth century can be attributed to immigration from Ireland.

Question 21

Which of the following is NOT true of boxing in the antebellum era?

A) Fighters used bare knuckles.
B) The sport was imported from Britain.
C) Some bouts resulted in fatalities.
D) It was strictly entertainment for the lower classes.
E) Fighters were often from Ireland or England.

Question 22

By the 1850s, a communications revolution had been triggered by the development of the:

A) telephone
B) telegraph
C) Pony Express
D) railroad
E) post office

Question 23

The textile plant established in Waltham, Massachusetts, in 1813:

A) manufactured finished cloth
B) was owned by the state government
C) was destroyed by the British in the War of 1812
D) closed because of the Panic of 1819
E) manufactured thread, which it then sold to weavers

Question 24

The "penny press":

A) was a tool of labor unions to highlight the low pay and mistreatment of workers
B) was named for the low cost of newspapers
C) had significant influence in eastern cities
D) enabled the Treasury Department to inexpensively coin more money
E) was a derisive name for the lower-class newspapers sold on the streets

Question 25

One striking aspect of the Lowell factories was:

A) the happiness of their workers
B) their employment of young single women
C) the superior quality of their products
D) their minimal impact on natural surroundings
E) that they paid workers in stocks

Question 26

In a stable and structured environment like Lowell mills provided, what became a major problem by the middle 1830s?

A) criminal behavior of young women
B) retaining good workers
C) atheism
D) labor unrest
E) unwanted pregnancy

Question 27

The New England textile industry's use of water power:

A) dramatically altered the region's ecology
B) made its products more expensive
C) was never a source of controversy
D) largely ended by 1850 as factories switched to steam power
E) dried up some rivers completely

Question 28

Cyrus McCormick's grain reapers:

A) transformed the economy of the South
B) guaranteed that farmers would be successful
C) were powered by gasoline engines
D) were manufactured at his factory in Chicago
E) had to be assembled by farmers

Question 29

The advantage clipper ships had over traditional merchant vessels was their:

A) greater cargo space
B) speed
C) ability to sail up rivers
D) comfort for passengers
E) durability

Question 30

By 1860, what had become the largest city, as its population surpassed 1 million?

A) Boston
B) Philadelphia
C) Baltimore
D) New Orleans
E) New York

Question 31

The settlement of the West was accelerated by Cyrus McCormick's invention of the:

A) steel plow
B) grain elevator
C) mechanical reaper
D) chainsaw
E) tractor

Question 32

The first American factories produced:

A) cotton textiles
B) leather goods
C) tobacco products
D) glass products
E) muskets

Question 33

By the early 1800s, the largest American cities were all major:

A) military centers
B) seaports
C) iron-producing centers
D) cotton exporters
E) state capitals

Question 34

The cotton gin:

A) made possible efficient separation of seeds from fiber
B) was an engine that manufactured cloth
C) made the South the wealthiest part of the country
D) had no significant effect on the North's economy
E) resulted from a government bounty paid to its inventor

Question 35

Jefferson's embargo in 1807 and the War of 1812:

A) almost destroyed American manufacturing
B) had little effect on the growth of textile manufacturing in America
C) encouraged rapid growth in American manufacturing
D) restricted exports and thereby hurt the growth of American manufacturing
E) encouraged Americans to live more simply because consumer goods were scarce

Question 36

The cotton gin's invention:

A) meant that fewer slaves were needed
B) made cotton a major export item
C) spurred immigration to the South
D) caused slavery to spread to Ohio and Illinois
E) increased imports from Britain

Question 37

All of the following encouraged migration to the West EXCEPT:

A) cheaper prices for federal lands
B) fertile soil
C) advances in agricultural technology
D) easy credit from state banks
E) construction of numerous frontier forts

Question 38

Samuel Slater's contribution to the economy was that he:

A) invented the steam engine
B) was the first to employ child labor
C) opened a successful textile mill in Rhode Island
D) started the Industrial Revolution in England before he moved to the United States
E) convinced President Jefferson of the benefits of manufacturing

Question 39

The cotton gin was invented:

A) by John Deere
B) by John Oliver
C) in England
D) in the 1830s
E) by Eli Whitney

Question 40

By the 1850s, railroads had begun to receive encouragement from the federal government in the form of:

A) military protection
B) monetary backing
C) a ban on further canal construction
D) advertising
E) land grants

Question 41

In the antebellum era, prizefights lasted:

A) a set number of rounds
B) as long as the crowd demanded
C) until one fighter could not continue
D) a set number of minutes
E) until one fighter drew blood on the other

Question 42

In the case of Commonwealth v. Hunt, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that:

A) immigration quotas established in the late 1830s were constitutional
B) immigration quotas established in the late 1830s were unconstitutional
C) forming a trade union was illegal
D) forming a trade union was not illegal
E) employers could not hire strikebreakers

Question 43

Anti-Irish prejudice was especially based upon:

A) fear of growing Catholic influence
B) Irish sympathy for black equality
C) Irish support for trade unions
D) jealousy over the fact that so many Irish were well educated
E) competition for housing in industrial cities

Question 44

Which of the following was NOT true of early labor organizations?

A) They were not popular among immigrant groups.
B) Women organized their own unions.
C) They grew out of local trade unions.
D) They were primarily for skilled workers.
E) They sometimes formed political organizations to carry their concerns forward.

Question 45

The Know-Nothings campaigned primarily to:

A) cut taxes
B) establish public schools
C) promote Christianity
D) prohibit drinking
E) limit immigrant influence

Question 46

The German migration to the United States:

A) included few educated professionals or skilled workers
B) peaked in 1831
C) was in most respects similar to that of the Irish
D) was sometimes temporary as nearly 15 percent returned to their native land
E) provoked race riots in several cities

Question 47

Minstrel shows:

A) were usually performed in saloons
B) appealed primarily to elite audiences
C) featured professional productions of Shakespeare
D) helped whites become more racially tolerant
E) employed familiar stereotypes of African Americans

Question 48

Antebellum minstrel shows:

A) featured the songs of Stephen Foster
B) featured black performers made up as whites
C) were similar to operatic shows
D) portrayed black characters positively
E) were embraced by elite and educated audiences

Question 49

The major impetus for the huge Irish immigration to the United States after 1845 was:

A) religious freedom in the United States
B) an abundance of cheap land
C) high wages in factories
D) a deadly potato famine
E) hatred of British rule in Ireland

Question 50

Of all the immigrant groups that came to the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century, which was least tolerant of enslaved African Americans?

A) Chinese
B) Free blacks
C) Irish
D) Mexicans
E) Germans

Question 51

By 1860, one would most likely encounter Norwegian and Swedish immigrants in:

A) New York and New Jersey
B) Ohio and Pennsylvania
C) California and Oregon
D) Wisconsin and Minnesota
E) Texas and Louisiana

Question 52

German immigrants in the 1850s:

A) were mostly poor and nonreligious
B) almost never returned to their native country
C) tended to come as groups and families
D) usually spoke English already
E) were not a target of the nativists

Question 53

Trade associations, or guilds, formed by artisans in the early 1800s attempted to do all the following EXCEPT:

A) recruit unskilled workers
B) improve working conditions
C) influence politicians to support protective tariffs
D) uphold standards of quality production
E) maintain decent wage levels

Question 54

The Know-Nothings proposed to:

A) send immigrants back to Europe
B) ban the use of all languages except English
C) lengthen the time required to become a citizen
D) stop all immigration
E) build a fence along U.S. borders

Question 55

The most popular form of indoor entertainment in the first half of the nineteenth century was:

A) theater
B) cockfighting
C) prizefighting
D) dog fighting
E) ballet

Question 56

In antebellum theaters, audiences:

A) quietly watched performances
B) were an equal mix of men and women
C) preferred patriotic dramas to comedies
D) were not capable of judging the quality of the acting
E) responded vocally to the quality of performances

Question 57

The largest group of immigrants living in America in 1860 was:

A) British
B) Chinese
C) Irish
D) Scandinavian
E) German

Question 58

The Know-Nothing party:

A) was strongest in the 1850s
B) was weakest in New England
C) was based on prejudice against blacks
D) opposed the spread of public education
E) elected two presidents in its brief history

Question 59

The Germans who came to the United States:

A) were overwhelmingly Catholic
B) were poor and uneducated
C) settled mainly in rural areas
D) were highly individualistic
E) for religious reasons, did not drink beer

Question 60

In terms of political behavior, the Irish:

A) seldom voted
B) generally supported Democrats
C) idolized John Quincy Adams
D) started a new party for immigrants
E) were easily manipulated into voting against their interests

Question 61

During the first half of the nineteenth century, professionalization increased with the development of education, law, medicine, and engineering. Examine this development.

Question 62

Discuss the unique role Catholicism played in the resistance to immigration.

Question 63

Trace the impact that industrialization had on the environment.

Question 64

The largest professional occupation for men in the United States by 1860 was:

A) teaching
B) medicine
C) the law
D) nursing
E) engineering

Question 65

Trace the development of organized labor in early America. Be sure to include both the early union movement and the development of labor politics.

Question 66

Compare the growth of roads, river transportation, and railroads through 1860. What were the advantages and disadvantages of each means of transport?

Question 67

Discuss the transportation revolution that followed the opening of the Erie Canal.

Question 68

Examine the movement westward that took place in the early nineteenth century, making note of the various pieces of legislation that played a role in the process.

Question 69

The various Workingmen's parties wanted:

A) higher taxes for the wealthy
B) less government oversight
C) a more radical management philosophy
D) laws regulating banks
E) support from management

Question 70

Discuss the communications revolution and its impact on advancing the nation.

Question 71

Commonwealth v. Hunt:

A) ruled that it was legal to force members of labor unions to work unpaid overtime
B) declared that forming a trade union was not illegal
C) failed to win Supreme Court approval for mandatory union membership
D) applied to labor organizing on the factory floor
E) made the sabotage of equipment by striking workers a federal offense

Question 72

In what way did women NOT remain within the home?

A) working in professional occupations
B) teaching in schools
C) organizing community clubs and entertainments
D) working in religious and social service realms
E) playing leadership roles in municipal organizations

Question 73

Discuss the various aspects of popular culture in antebellum America.

Question 74

What factors account for the tremendous growth in cotton cultivation from 1790 to 1860?

Question 75

Examine the impact the War of 1812 had on American industrial development.

Question 76

Describe the Lowell system and both its short-term and long-term effects on American industry.

Question 77

Describe the general immigration trends of the period. What forms did the nativist response to this immigration take?

Question 78

Why is the "age of the so-called common man" or the "age of Jacksonian democracy" an ironic name for this period?

Question 79

Physicians in the early 1800s:

A) were required to go to medical school
B) were closely regulated by the government
C) were mostly self-taught or apprenticed with an experienced doctor
D) were experts in modern medical science
E) provided roughly the same services as nurses

Question 80

Explain the unique character of American technological development in the first half of the nineteenth century.