Deck 9: Transportation and Market Growth

Question 1

DeWitt Clinton is most recognized for

A) inventing the wheat combine.
B) being one of the primary advocates of the abolition movement.
C) developing the technology to power railroad engines.
D) overseeing the building of the Erie Canal.

Answer 1

overseeing the building of the Erie Canal.

Question 2

Between 1820 and 1840 freight rates on western rivers declined drastically. The main reason for this drop in prices was _________.

A) the decline in the price level.
B)  tolls and other barriers to trade decreased.
C) the decline in monopoly power.
D) the steamboat was used more frequently.

Answer 2

the steamboat was used more frequently.

Question 3

Which did not cause significant navigation problems on inland waterways?

A) ice
B) variations in the heights of rivers
C) sand bars
D) sunken ships
E) inland piracy

Answer 3

inland piracy

Question 4

The Erie Canal, the most important canal (in terms of the number and dollar value of shipments), was in

A) Georgia .
B) New York .
C) Pennsylvania .
D) Maryland .

Question 5

Inland passage times were reduced primarily through

A) increasing the speeds of the boats themselves.
B) shorter layover times.
C) the government activity to clear the rivers of natural obstructions.
D) learning to operate the boats at night.

Question 6

The antebellum transportation revolution

A) was driven by a few firms that gained monopoly control of the major transportation routes.
B) increased the prices of many consumer goods.
C) discouraged urban growth.
D) caused political and economic tension between the East and the West.
E) None of the above.

Question 7

The introduction of steamboats

A) led to dramatic declines in the price of upstream transport.
B) led to moderate declines in the price of downstream transport.
C) is the primary reason for falling transportation costs in the early 1800s.
D) led to an initial decrease in transport costs that continued to fall due to learning by doing and the construction of lighter boats with increased capacity.
E) All of the above.

Question 8

Until the 1840s, the leading transport route in the US (in terms of volume of freight from the West) was

A) the Northern Gateway.
B) the Northeastern Gateway.
C) the Southern Gateway.
D) the Erie Canal.

Question 9

Which statement best describes the relationship between steamboats, keelboats and flatboats on the Mississippi River in the antebellum period?

A) Steamboats were substitutes for both keelboats and flatboats.
B) Steamboats were complements for both keelboats and flatboats.
C) Steamboats were substitutes for keelboats and complements for flatboats.
D) Steamboats were substitutes for flatboats and complements for keelboats.

Question 10

Compared to the Erie Canal, the primary disadvantage of Pennsylvania canals was

A) state government resistance to providing funds for canal building.
B) the steep, mountainous terrain of Pennsylvania.
C) a pre-existing network of railroads in Pennsylvania.
D) lack of adequate rainfall in Pennsylvania.

Question 11

Public initiatives to expand canals and railroads

A) featured a large percentage of government investment.
B) featured a small percentage of government investment.
C) were dominated by private investment.
D) were exclusively private due to "strict constructionism."

Question 12

The term "transportation revolution" implies

A) binding the East and West politically.
B) binding the East and West economically.
C) rapidly introduced technological innovations.
D) All of the above are implied.

Question 13

In the early 1800s, ______________ developed a plan for the federal government's involvement in building transportation infrastructure such as canals and roads.

A) Albert Gallatin
B) Robert Fulton
C) Thomas Jefferson
D) Alexander Hamilton

Question 14

In the 19^th century, the federal government

A) allocated funds to help build steamboats.
B) passed laws requiring steamboat boiler inspections.
C) required steamboat captains to undergo training in order to receive an operating license.
D) regulated the fees that steamboats could charge for carrying freight.
E) All of the above.

Question 15

Strict constructionism of the Constitution in the antebellum period

A) made federal funding of any project passing through several states illegal.
B) held the federal government to only a few transportation projects.
C) opened the door to federal domination of transportation projects.
D) caused earlier federal plans of transportation expansion to be completed by a mix of state, local and private enterprise.
E) Both b and d are correct.

Question 16

The sharp decline in domestic freight costs during the antebellum period was primarily due to the introduction of

A) railroads.
B) paved roads.
C) clipper ships.
D) canals and steamboats.

Question 17

19^th-century cost-saving innovations in steamboat transportation included all of the following except

A) the replacement of steam-powered boilers by coal-burning engines.
B) the adoption of lighter-weight boats.
C) increases in the amount of cargo carried per vessel.
D) learning to operate the boats at night.

Question 18

All of the following statements present accurate information about the major antebellum transport routes except

A) The Northeastern Gateway connected Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and Wheeling to Baltimore.
B) The Southern Gateway was primarily a water-based route.
C) The Mid-Atlantic Gateway connected Savannah and Charleston to Washington, DC via roads and railroads.
D) The Northern Gateway included the Erie Canal.

Question 19

Falling transportation costs in the 19^th century

A) fostered regional specialization according to comparative advantage.
B) created increasing lags for price declines along the Mississippi.
C) propelled the process of western expansion.
D) All of the above.
E) Both a and c are correct.

Question 20

Robert Fulton is most recognized for

A) inventing of the cotton gin.
B) building the first steamboat.
C) being one of the primary advocates of the abolition movement.
D) developing the technology to power railroad engines.

Question 21

By 1850, the predominant port in the U.S. was

A) Charleston .
B) New Orleans .
C) Savannah .
D) New York .

Question 22

Clipper ships

A) allowed for profitable shipping on both short and long journeys.
B) dominated Atlantic trade by 1850.
C) were among the first ships to have iron hulls.
D) earned huge profits transporting passengers and cargo during the gold rushes to California and Australia.
E) All of the above.

Question 23

The _____________ received funding from the federal government and two states.

A) The _____________ received funding from the federal government and two states.
B) Erie Canal
C) Pennsylvania Mainline Canal
D) Cumberland and Oxford Canal

Question 24

Which of the following regions tended to support federal construction of a system of roads in the 19^th century?

A) the South
B) New England
C) Mid-Atlantic states, including New York and Pennsylvania
D) the West
E) All of the above.

Question 25

Total factor productivity in railroads _____________ in the 20 years prior to the Civil War.

A) decreased slightly
B) remained largely unchanged
C) increased by about 25 percent
D) more than doubled

Question 26

The total factor productivity of railroads increase dramatically in the antebellum period.  All of the following factors are responsible for the increase in productivity except:

A) standardization of the gauge of railroad tracks.
B) the introduction of refrigerated railroad cars.
C) increased size of railroad cars.
D) increased use of existing capital.

Question 27

Which of the following best describes public attitudes toward the railroad in the early 1830s.

A) People were excited and eager for the new technology.
B) Americans dismissed the new mode of transportation as a British peculiarity.
C) Americans embraced railroad heartily since they had long demanded their construction.
D) People feared the railroads for their impact on passenger health and communities.

Question 28

According to Walton and Rockoff, the primary reason for the demise of the canal system was

A) excessive reliance on individual entrepreneurs so that a system of canals was never created.
B) excessive government regulation that kept canal rates and profits too low.
C) environmental damage from deforestation that left canals flooded at some times and dry at others.
D) competition from the railroads.

Question 29

Which of the following antebellum transportation innovations earned the greatest rate of return?

A) corporate-owned turnpikes
B) the National Road
C) the Erie Canal
D) the Mainline Canal

Question 30

What is not a benefit from the lower costs of transportation that were achieved through advances in railroads, canals and steamboats?

A) Free rider problems were reduced.
B) Farmers gained larger shares of the selling price of their crops.
C) Consumers paid decreasing shares of the purchase price for transportation and marketing costs.
D) New unsettled areas could be cleared more profitably and added to the nation's economic activity.

Question 31

The majority of funding for 19^th century American canal building came from

A) the federal government.
B) state governments.
C) local governments.
D) private investors.

Question 32

Between 1830 and 1860, the number of miles of railroad in operation increased by

A) roughly 100 percent.
B) roughly 500 percent.
C) roughly 750 percent.
D) over 1000 percent.

Question 33

"Antebellum transportation improvements encouraged the South to specialize in cotton, while depending on the West for food and the Northeast for manufactured goods."  This statement

A) describes Rostow's stages of growth model.
B) describes North's interregional growth hypothesis.
C) describes Thomas Jefferson's vision of the US economy.
D) is supported by most contemporary economic historians.

Question 34

Which of the following antebellum transportation innovations was financed primarily by government funds?

A) the Erie Canal
B) the New Orleans steamboat
C) the Lancaster Turnpike
D) the Ann McKim clipper ship

Question 35

When considering the price lags of the West behind the East, by the eve of the Civil War the lag was

A) roughly one year.
B) six months.
C) three months.
D) virtually eliminated.

Question 36

Despite dramatic increases in trackage during the antebellum period, the U.S. was slow to develop an integrated railroad system.  This was primarily due to

A) the opposition of municipal governments to railroads.
B) the opposition of the federal government to railroads.
C) the failure to adopt a standard gauge for track.
D) heavy taxes on railroad companies.

Question 37

Most private turnpikes failed to earn profits because

A) tolls were easily avoided.
B) it was too costly to carry freight by land carriage.
C) they faced extensive competition from steamboats, canals and railroads.
D) dishonest gatekeepers often pocketed the tolls collected.
E) All of the above.

Question 38

The most notable surfaced road of the 19^th century, ___________, was built using federal government funds.

A) the Cumberland Road
B) the Wilderness Road
C) the Natchez Trail
D) the Forbes Road

Question 39

According to Walton and Rockoff, the primary reason the Federal government failed to build an adequate highway system before the Civil War was

A) the technology was not available.
B) the canal craze diverted attention.
C) rivalries among different sections of the country stalled legislation.
D) the teachings of Adam Smith were taken too literally.

Question 40

What is the best inference about the impact of a decrease in transportation costs?

A) The demand and supply curves will shift out, which will increase quantities of goods.
B) The supply curve will shift out, which will lead to lower prices to consumers.
C) Farmers will earn a smaller share of the selling price of their crops.
D) The demand curve will shift out, which will lead to higher prices and quantities of goods.

Question 41

New York's Black Ball Line demonstrated bold entrepreneurship by promising

A) equal rates for all classes of passengers.
B) fixed schedule service "full or not full."
C) daily service to Liverpool.
D) clippership service to Europe as early as 1818.

Question 42

Which of the following innovations enabled the British to overcame American maritime supremacy over the course of the 19^th century?

A) the clipper ship
B) the diesel engine
C) iron hulls
D) cotton sails

Question 43

What was not a benefit of the development of a national market?

A) Increased production by reducing tragedy of the commons problems.
B) Permitted greater division of labor.
C) Enabled people and organizations to engage more in their comparative advantages.
D) Led to lower costs because of increasing returns to scale could be taken advantage of in more industries.

Question 44

Which of the following is an example of an activity that creates a positive externality ?

A) an iron smelting factory emits sulfur dioxide into the air
B) the owner of a steamboat company dredges a river in order to improve navigation
C) a group of investors starts a business specializing in transporting goods via clipper ship
D) flatboat operators purchase steamboat tickets in order to return to their homes upstream