Deck 10: Americas Economic Revolution

Question 1

Which of the following statements is true of canal and turnpike transportation?

A)Canal transportation was generally developed before turnpike transportation.
B)Canal construction was less expensive than turnpike construction.
C)Canal boats could haul vastly larger loads than could road transports.
D)State governments gave little financial support to canal transportation.
E)New York was the first to finance turnpike construction.

Answer 1

Canal boats could haul vastly larger loads than could road transports.

Question 2

Between 1800 and 1830,immigration to the United States

A)was the most significant factor in the nation's population growth.
B)consisted mostly of people from southern Europe.
C)was at its peak for the century.
D)consisted mostly of people from Germany and Russia.
E)was not a significant contributor to the national population.

Answer 2

was not a significant contributor to the national population.

Question 3

Before 1860,the largest single group of arriving Irish immigrants was

A)young,single men.
B)families.
C)children.
D)skilled laborers.
E)young,single women.

Answer 3

young,single women.

Question 4

In the 1830s,limited liability laws were developed in the United States that

A)protected the stockholders' full investment in a company.
B)restricted the amount of capital a corporation could possess.
C)prevented a corporation from being dominated by a small group of stockholders.
D)protected corporations from liability lawsuits.
E)meant stockholders could not be charged with losses greater than their investment.

Question 5

Prior to 1860,hostility among native-born Americans toward immigrants was spurred,in part,by

A)the refusal by immigrants to adapt to American culture.
B)fears of political radicalism.
C)the ability of immigrants to command high wages.
D)concerns that immigrants generally did not participate in politics.
E)the effect they had on the falling price of African slaves.

Question 6

The "Know-Nothing" movement was partially directed at reducing the influence of

A)Catholics.
B)abolitionists.
C)Democrats.
D)Jews.
E)free blacks.

Question 7

In 1860,the percentage of the population in free states living in towns (places of 2,500 people or more)was

A)7 percent.
B)13 percent.
C)26 percent.
D)39 percent.
E)42 percent.

Question 8

The Erie Canal was

A)limited to flat land.
B)built entirely by private investors.
C)built without either locks or gates.
D)a tremendous financial success.
E)a great boon to the growth of Philadelphia.

Question 9

During the 1840s,advances in journalism included all of the following EXCEPT

A)the creation of a national cooperative news-gathering organization.
B)the technological means to reproduce photographs in newsprint.
C)the invention of the steam cylinder rotary press.
D)the introduction of the telegraph system.
E)the dramatic growth of mass-circulation newspapers.

Question 10

After 1852,the "Know-Nothings" created a new political organization called the

A)Copperheads.
B)Republican Party.
C)Nativist Party.
D)Libertarian Party.
E)American Party.

Question 11

In 1860,the percentage of the population in the South living in towns (places of 2,500 or more)was

A)5 percent.
B)10 percent.
C)15 percent.
D)20 percent.
E)33 percent.

Question 12

Which of the following statements regarding American railroads in the 1850s is FALSE?

A)Railroads helped weaken the connection between the Northwest and the South.
B)Railroads supplanted all other forms of transportation.
C)Long distance rail lines weakened the dependence of the West on the Mississippi River.
D)Chicago was the railroad center of the West.
E)Private investors provided nearly all the capital for rail development.

Question 13

In the 1820s and 1830s,railroads

A)played a relatively small role in the nation's transportation system.
B)standardized both the gauge of tracks and timetables.
C)saw its greatest development in the southern slave states.
D)became the dominant form of transportation in the nation.
E)had not yet been constructed in America.

Question 14

Between 1820 and 1840,the population of the United States

A)rapidly grew,in part due to improved public health.
B)saw the proportion of enslaved blacks to free whites increase.
C)increased at a slower rate than the populations of Europe.
D)remained relatively constant.
E)grew in spite of a very low birth rate in America.

Question 15

By 1860,factories in the United States

A)were concentrated in the Northeast.
B)produced goods whose total value greatly exceeded the nation's agricultural output.
C)employed one-third of the nation's manufacturing labor force.
D)were concentrated in the Northeast and employed one-third of the nation's manufacturing labor force.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 16

Before 1860,compared to Irish immigrants to the United States,German immigrants

A)generally arrived with more money.
B)were less likely to migrate as entire families.
C)were more likely to remain in eastern cities.
D)came in greater numbers.
E)generally moved on to the Southeast.

Question 17

Which city did NOT owe its growth to the Great Lakes?

A)Milwaukee
B)Chicago
C)Cleveland
D)Cincinnati
E)Buffalo

Question 18

Between 1840 and 1860,the overwhelming majority of immigrants who arrived in the United States came from

A)Italy and Russia.
B)Ireland and Germany.
C)England and Russia.
D)England and Ireland.
E)Ireland and Italy.

Question 19

Before the 1830s,American corporations could be chartered only by

A)an act of Congress.
B)presidential executive order.
C)state legislatures.
D)a public vote.
E)a state governor.

Question 20

Before 1860,the development of machine tools by the United States government resulted in the

A)turret lathe.
B)universal milling machine.
C)precision grinder.
D)turret lathe,universal milling machine,and precision grinder.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 21

Prior to 1860,American urban society

A)considered the conspicuous display of wealth to be poor social behavior.
B)saw the wealthy people move toward the outer edges of cities.
C)included a substantial number of destitute poor.
D)saw Irish immigrants have less rights than free blacks.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 22

In the 1840s,the dominant immigrant group in New England textile mills was the

A)Irish.
B)Germans.
C)English.
D)Italians.
E)Chinese.

Question 23

In the 1820s and 1830s,the labor force for factory work in the United States

A)saw many skilled urban artisans move into factory jobs.
B)consisted mostly of European immigrants.
C)was reduced by dramatic improvements in agricultural production.
D)consisted mostly of European immigrants,saw many skilled urban artisans move into factory jobs,and ultimately was reduced by dramatic improvements in agricultural production.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 24

The rise of the American factory system

A)complemented the nation's traditional republican ideals.
B)resulted in a rise in the status of skilled artisans among consumers.
C)saw the government act to maintain the trade of skilled artisans.
D)led some northerners to advocate repealing abolition.
E)led to the creation of skilled workingmen's craft societies.

Question 25

When the Lowell factory system began,

A)craftsmen were part of the production system.
B)workers were fairly well paid and lived in supervised dormitories.
C)workers had few benefits outside of a set wage scale.
D)the work day ended when production quotas were met.
E)workers rarely stopped working in the mills until retirement.

Question 26

Before 1860,American middle-class families

A)were typically renters.
B)rarely employed servants.
C)usually saw women holding part-time employment outside of the home.
D)became the most influential cultural form of urban America.
E)had to cook their meals over an open hearth.

Question 27

The republican tradition in the United States included the tradition of the

A)skilled artisan.
B)yeoman farmer.
C)industrial entrepreneur.
D)skilled artisan and yeoman farmer.
E)yeoman farmer and industrial entrepreneur.

Question 28

The early union movement among skilled artisans

A)was weakened by the Panic of 1837.
B)was generally supported by state governments.
C)attempted to create one collective national trade union.
D)welcomed working women as members.
E)was strengthened by the influx of immigrant laborers.

Question 29

In most parts of the North,before the Civil War,free blacks could

A)vote.
B)attend public schools.
C)use public services available to whites.
D)compete for menial jobs.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 30

The Massachusetts court case of Commonwealth v.Hunt (1842)declared that

A)labor unions were lawful organizations.
B)labor strikes were illegal.
C)child labor laws were unconstitutional.
D)minimum wage laws were a restraint on trade.
E)unions must admit working women as members.

Question 31

The commercial and industrial growth in the United States prior to 1860 resulted in

A)increasing disparities in income between the rich and poor.
B)a significant rise in income for nearly all Americans.
C)decreasing disparities in income between the rich and poor.
D)a significant decrease in income for nearly all Americans.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 32

Prior to 1860,class conflict in the United States

A)increased as most of the working class dropped down the economic ladder.
B)increased as the gap between the wealthy and the poor widened.
C)was limited by a high degree of mobility within the working class.
D)decreased as immigration diversified society.
E)increased as a result of geographical mobility.

Question 33

By the middle of the nineteenth century,merchant capitalism in the United States

A)was an increasingly important economic force.
B)declined as opportunity shifted from trade to manufacturing.
C)combined efforts with British competitors.
D)shifted operations to the Western states where there was more opportunity.
E)had put most of the British competitors out of business.

Question 34

American factory workers in early nineteenth-century textile mills largely consisted of

A)families and rural,single women.
B)single men.
C)unskilled urban workers.
D)young immigrants.
E)slaves.

Question 35

Prior to 1860,the fastest-growing segment in American society was the

A)slaves.
B)very poor.
C)middle class.
D)well-to-do.
E)very rich.

Question 36

As the immigrant labor force in New England textile mills grew in the 1840s,

A)the workday grew shorter and wages declined.
B)payment by piece rate replaced a daily wage.
C)women and children were more likely to earn more than men.
D)safety conditions began to improve.
E)the workday grew longer and wages increased.

Question 37

All of the following factors inhibited the efforts of labor unions to improve working standards EXCEPT

A)the large number of immigrant workers.
B)the political strength of industrial capitalists.
C)ethnic divisions among workers.
D)the question of whether to include women members.
E)hostile laws and hostile courts.

Question 38

The growth of commerce and industry allowed more Americans the chance to become prosperous without

A)a professional education.
B)producing a product or service.
C)owning land.
D)capital.
E)marrying.

Question 39

As the Lowell factory system progressed into the 1840s,

A)wages rose,while working hours increased to ten hours.
B)female workers staged a successful strike for better living conditions.
C)the owners increasingly used immigrants as their labor force.
D)a paternalist management system was developed.
E)many mill girls moved into management roles in the factory system.

Question 40

By 1860,the energy for industrialization in the United States increasingly came from

A)water.
B)kerosene.
C)coal.
D)gasoline.
E)wood.

Question 41

Much of the new pre-Civil War immigration went into the growing cities of the northeastern part of the United States.

Question 42

Compared to 1800,in 1860,urban American families

A)had a declining birth rate.
B)were more likely to see their children leave home in search of work.
C)were more likely to see income earners work outside the home.
D)had a declining birth rate,and were more likely to see income earners work outside the home and see their children leave home in search of work.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 43

The Erie Canal was the greatest construction project Americans had ever undertaken.

Question 44

By 1860,as a result of the social expectations expressed in the "cult of domesticity,"

A)unmarried women were generally excluded from all income-earning activities.
B)women became increasingly isolated from the public world.
C)middle-class wives were given no special role in the family.
D)women who read books or magazines were likely to be criticized.
E)women increasingly became seen as contributors to the family economy.

Question 45

In the pre-Civil War period,turnpikes were regarded as an improvement over canals as a means of transportation.

Question 46

The main staple crop of the Old Northwest (today's Midwest)was

A)barley.
B)soy.
C)corn.
D)wheat.
E)cotton.

Question 47

Which of the following statements is NOT correct regarding American leisure activities prior to 1860?

A)Shakespeare was the nation's most popular playwright.
B)Reading was a principle leisure activity among affluent Americans.
C)Minstrel shows were increasingly popular.
D)Popular tastes in public spectacle tended toward the bizarre and fantastic.
E)Unpaid vacations were becoming common among the middle class.

Question 48

In the 1840s,P.T.Barnum's American Museum in New York showcased

A)nature and natural history.
B)American artists.
C)human oddities.
D)past American leaders and heroes.
E)European artists.

Question 49

Prior to 1860,the most significant invention for middle-class American homes was the

A)cast-iron stove.
B)air conditioner.
C)icebox.
D)electric iron.
E)telegraph.

Question 50

In the 1840s,John Deere introduced significant improvements to the

A)tractor.
B)thresher.
C)cotton gin.
D)reaper.
E)plow.

Question 51

Prior to 1860,the social institution that most bound together rural Americans was the

A)church.
B)tavern.
C)town hall.
D)grocery store.
E)schoolhouse.

Question 52

The great majority of pre-Civil War immigrants came from Ireland and England.

Question 53

In the 1830s,Cyrus McCormick improved grain farming when he patented his

A)tractor.
B)thresher.
C)plow.
D)reaper.
E)mower.

Question 54

Early American Victorian homes were characterized by

A)spare and simple designs that emphasized natural light.
B)dark colors,and rooms crowded with heavy furniture.
C)small rooms and a reduction in total living space.
D)all members of a family sharing one bedroom.
E)a lack of parlors and dining rooms.

Question 55

In 1860,the typical white male American of the Old Northwest (today's Midwest)was

A)the owner of a family farm.
B)a marginal farmer.
C)a farmhand who did not own his own land.
D)an industrial worker.
E)an urban artisan.

Question 56

Railroads played a relatively minor role in American transportation during the 1820s and 1830s.

Question 57

For most American farmers,the 1840s and 1850s was a period of

A)economic decline,as more people moved to urban centers.
B)rising prosperity due to increased world demand for farm products.
C)extreme economic highs and lows brought on by volatile changes in demand.
D)economic growth in the West but decline in the East.
E)increasing economic connections between the North and South.

Question 58

Immigration contributed little to the American population in the first three decades of the nineteenth century.

Question 59

Most of the pre-Civil War Irish and German immigrants who came to the United States did so as families,as opposed to single men and women.

Question 60

Between 1840 and 1860,the South experienced a decline in its percentage of urban residents.

Question 61

The paternalistic nature of the Lowell factory system lasted through the Civil War.

Question 62

Skilled craftsmen organized trade unions due to the rise of the "factory system."

Question 63

In most cities of the East prior to the Civil War,the income gap between rich and poor gradually narrowed.

Question 64

One of the first businesses to benefit from the telegraph was the railroads.

Question 65

The advent of the telegraph prompted newspaper publishers to share their reporting.

Question 66

The development of a railroad system weakened connections between the Northwest and the South.

Question 67

In 1844,Samuel Morse showed off his invention by telegraphing news of Zachary Taylor's nomination for the presidency over the wires from Baltimore to Washington.

Question 68

The fastest-growing group in America prior to the Civil War was the working poor.

Question 69

Given the rapid increase in population,recruiting a labor force was a fairly easy task in the early years of the American factory system.

Question 70

By 1860,the number of American inventions to receive patents was nearly 2,000.

Question 71

Commonwealth v.Hunt was a Massachusetts Supreme Court case that declared that labor unions were lawful organizations.

Question 72

Despite contrasts between great wealth and great poverty,there was very little overt class conflict in pre-Civil War America.

Question 73

Virtually all of the early craft unions excluded women,even though female workers were numerous in almost every industry.

Question 74

The United States military was a center for innovations in new machine tools and industry.

Question 75

For most Americans in the nineteenth century,vacations were rare.

Question 76

During the first half of the nineteenth century,the American birth rate declined.

Question 77

By 1860,over half of the manufacturing establishments in the United States were located west of the Mississippi River.

Question 78

For most nineteenth-century urban Americans,leisure activities grew more varied.

Question 79

By the middle of the nineteenth century,merchant capitalism was a declining force in the American economy.

Question 80

The transition from farm life to factory life in pre-Civil War America was difficult at best and traumatic at worst.