Deck 1: A Brief Economic History of the United States

Question 1

Which was a decade of high inflation and high unemployment?

A)The 1920s
B)The 1940s
C)The 1950s
D)The 1960s
E)The 1970s

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The early 1930s was a period of

A)inflation and deflation.
B)neither inflation nor deflation.
C)inflation.
D)deflation.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which statement is true about the recession of 1990-91?

A)It was the worst recession we have had since World War II.
B)It was the mildest recession we have had since World War II.
C)Our recovery from it was one of the strongest since World War II.
D)Our recovery from it was one of the weakest since World War II.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is true?

A)The Japanese rebuilt their economy after World War II by selling its goods to their own rapidly growing population.
B)Slow U.S.population growth in the 19th century forced American farmers and manufacturers to seek foreign markets to propel its rapid economic growth.
C)The Japanese rebuilt their economy after World War II by targeting the large U.S.market,while their own market remained largely closed to U.S.manufactured goods.
D)America's rapid population growth in the 19th century slowed its economic growth rate.

Question 5

Under President Eisenhower we had _____ recessions.

A)no
B)one
C)two
D)three
E)four

Question 6

Which of the following explains the slower economic growth in the South compared to other regions of the country?

A)Much of the South's capital,public and private,was destroyed in the Civil War.
B)The transcontinental railroads that were completed in the 1860s,1870s,and 1880s all bypassed the South.
C)The South remained an agricultural region after the Civil War instead of immediately becoming a higher productivity manufacturing region.
D)All of the choices are true.

Question 7

Statement I.President Ronald Reagan said that if we cut tax rates,people would have more incentive to work,output would rise,and inflation would subside.
Statement II.President Reagan presided over the worst recession we have had since World War II.

A)Statement I is true and statement II is false.
B)Statement II is true and statement I is false.
C)Both statements are true.
D)Both statements are false.

Question 8

Which statement is true?

A)A depression followed both World War I and World War II.
B)A depression followed neither World War I nor World War II.
C)A depression followed World War I,but not World War II.
D)A depression followed World War II but not World War I.

Question 9

Between 1939 and 1944 our national output

A)rose by 50%.
B)nearly doubled.
C)rose by 150%.
D)nearly tripleD.
E)quadrupled.

Question 10

The decade that had the most stagflation was the

A)1930s.
B)1940s.
C)1950s.
D)1960s.
E)1970s.

Question 11

Each of these were minor recessions except for

A)1981-1982.
B)1980.
C)1990-1991.
D)2001.

Question 12

There was full employment in

A)1929 and 1942.
B)Neither 1929 nor 1942.
C)1929.
D)1942.

Question 13

The completion of the American national railroad network in the second half of the 19th century led to all of the following except

A)that it enabled manufacturers to sell their products all over the country.
B)mass consumption.
C)increased prices of goods sold which led to more investment and more jobs.
D)higher wages.

Question 14

Which of the following is true?

A)The completion of the transcontinental railroad system in the 1880s eventually made the United States the world's first mass market.
B)Southern manufacturers benefited from high protective tariffs of the 19th century that kept out cheaper Japanese manufactured goods.
C)The canal system linking east-coast rivers with the Great Lakes in the 1820s created an "American economy" rather than just a series of regional economies located in one country.
D)Agricultural inventions such as John Deere's steel plows did little to improve farm productivity.

Question 15

The worst recession since World War II started in which year?

A)1953
B)1957
C)1973
D)1981
E)2007

Question 16

Under President Eisenhower the problem of inflation.

A)got a lot worse.
B)got a little worse.
C)stayed about the same.
D)got a little better.
E)got a lot better.

Question 17

The name of Andrew Carnegie is most closely associated with

A)the steel industry.
B)the rubber industry.
C)the meatpacking industry.
D)the chemical industry.
E)the computer industry.

Question 18

Which statement is true?

A)In 1900 most Americans still lived on farms.
B)Except for the stock market,most of our economy was depressed in the 1920s.
C)There was a depression within three years after World War I.
D)None of the statements are true.

Question 19

During the 19th century,the great abundance of land compared to the availability of labor

A)attracted millions of immigrants.
B)encouraged early marriage and large families.
C)encouraged rapid technological development.
D)All of the choices are true.

Question 20

The transcontinental railroads were completed in the 25 years

A)before the Civil War.
B)after the Civil War.
C)after 1890.
D)after the 20th century began.

Question 21

All of the nation's banks were closed in the first week of March,in the year

A)1929.
B)1930.
C)1931.
D)1932.
E)1933.

Question 22

During the depths of the Great Depression our official unemployment rate reached ________ percent.

A)10
B)15
C)20
D)25
E)30

Question 23

Between 1836 and 1851 travel time between New York and Chicago was cut from

A)a month to two days.
B)a month to a week.
C)two weeks to one week.
D)two weeks to two days.

Question 24

The Great Depression began in

A)the second half of 1929.
B)the middle of 1930.
C)early 1932.
D)march 1933.
E)may 1937.

Question 25

Which statement is true?

A)More than any other region in the nation,the South prospered the most in the years following the Civil War.
B)The transcontinental railroads that were completed in the 1860s,1870s,and 1880s,all bypassed the South.
C)Before the Civil War most of the nation's large farms were located in the North.
D)None of the choices are true.

Question 26

Cyrus McCormick and Eli Whitney were important in the technology of

A)steel.
B)automobiles.
C)agriculture.
D)oil.
E)chemicals.

Question 27

There were a huge number of bank failures between

A)1930 and 1933.
B)1933 and 1936.
C)1936 and 1939.
D)1939 and 1942.
E)1942 and 1945.

Question 28

The recovery from the low point of the Great Depression lasted for ____ months.

A)12
B)25
C)50
D)90
E)125

Question 29

The United States emerged from ___________ with its industrial plant intact.

A)Both World War I and World War II
B)Neither World War I nor World War II
C)World War I,but not World War II
D)World War II,but not World War I

Question 30

In the late 1920s,you could buy $10,000 worth of stock by putting down as little as

A)$100.
B)$1,000.
C)$2,500.
D)$5,000.
E)$10,000.

Question 31

The United States truly became a mass consumption society in

A)the early 1900s.
B)the 1920s.
C)the 1940s.
D)the 1960s.
E)the 1980s.

Question 32

Between 1921 and 1929 national output

A)declined slightly.
B)stayed about the same.
C)rose slightly.
D)rose by about 50%.
E)almost doubled.

Question 33

Which statement is true?

A)We have had at least one recession in the 1940s,1950s,1960s,1970s,1980s,and 1990s.
B)We have had at least two recessions in any one decade since World War II.
C)We have had at least three recessions in all of the decades since World War II.
D)None of the choices are true.

Question 34

The recession of 1937-38 could be blamed on

A)both the Roosevelt Administration and the Federal Reserve Board.
B)neither the Roosevelt Administration nor the Federal Reserve Board.
C)the Roosevelt Administration,but not the Federal Reserve Board.
D)the Federal Reserve Board,but not the Roosevelt Administration.

Question 35

Which statement is true?

A)The United States has a larger national output than any other country in the world.
B)We have had recessions about every three years since World War II.
C)There were no recessions while Ronald Reagan was president.
D)None of the statements are true.

Question 36

Which statement is true?

A)Few Americans blamed Herbert Hoover for the Great Depression.
B)The U.S.experienced a brief depression in the early 1920s.
C)Most American homes were not wired for electricity until the late 1940s.
D)None of the choices are true.

Question 37

The economic expansion which began in 1933 was due to

A)The fact that business had hit bottom and was ready to rebound.
B)The efforts of the Roosevelt Administration to stimulate the economy.
C)Both the efforts of the Roosevelt Administration and the readiness of business to rebound.
D)Neither the efforts of the Roosevelt Administration nor the readiness of business to rebounD.

Question 38

The creation of the dust bowl and the migration of the "Okies" to California took place in the

A)1920s.
B)1930s.
C)1940s.
D)1950s.
E)1960s.

Question 39

Which statement is most accurate?

A)Had the stock market not crashed in 1929,there would have been no business downturn in the early 1930s.
B)Whether or not the stock market crashed,we definitely would have had a depression anyway.
C)Had it not been for the speedy and powerful reactions of the administration of Herbert Hoover,the depression would have been much worse.
D)It was not until the massive arms build-up leading up to our involvement in World War II that we finally began to emerge from the Great Depression.

Question 40

The first automobile manufacturer to use a division of labor and to use a moving assembly line was

A)Henry Ford.
B)Henry Leland.
C)Henry Olds.
D)Andrew Carnegie.
E)Alfred Sloan.

Question 41

In 1937-1938,the number of unemployed

A)fell dramatically by about 5 million.
B)fell slightly by about 1 million.
C)rose slightly by about 1 million.
D)rose dramatically by about 5 million.

Question 42

In the years immediately after the American Revolution

A)both labor and capital were scarce.
B)neither labor nor capital were scarce.
C)labor was scarce and capital was plentiful.
D)capital was scarce and labor was plentiful.

Question 43

The American economy is ________ economy in the world today.

A)the largest and the fastest growing
B)neither the largest nor the fastest growing
C)the largest,but not the fastest growing
D)the fastest growing,but not the largest

Question 44

Since World War II,about ______ out of every ten family farms have disappeared.

A)one
B)three
C)five
D)seven
E)nine

Question 45

All of the following reflects our current economic situation except

A)the hourly wage adjusted for inflation is lower than it was in 1973.
B)our trade deficit,while large,has fallen in the last few years.
C)our savings rate has fallen to zero.
D)our federal budget deficit is at a record high.

Question 46

Each of the following was an effect of cheap or free land during the 19th century except

A)a high marriage rate.
B)a high birth rate.
C)a high rate of immigration.
D)a rapid rate of technological development.
E)a high rate of migration from the farms to the cities.

Question 47

The mechanical reaper was invented by

A)Eli Whitney.
B)The Marsh brothers.
C)John Deere.
D)Cyrus McCormick.

Question 48

Between 1850 and 1950 the productivity of the average American farm worker

A)declined.
B)remained about the same.
C)doubled.
D)quadrupleD.

Question 49

Of all the money spent on farm price supports,about ______ percent goes to large corporate farms.

A)10
B)25
C)50
D)75
E)95

Question 50

Which of the following has been one of the most productive sectors of the U.S.economy through the 19th,20th and 21st centuries?

A)Textiles
B)Steamships
C)Steel
D)Agriculture

Question 51

An American farmer today feeds over ______ people.

A)5
B)15
C)30
D)50
E)100

Question 52

Which statement is false?

A)Before the Civil War about three quarters of the farms of over 500 acres were located in the South.
B)The great abundance of land was the most influential factor in our economic development during the 19th century.
C)Although the percentage of Americans living on farms has declined substantially over the last 70 years,the actual number of people living on farms has remained constant.
D)None of the statements are false.

Question 53

From 1865 to 1900,the production of wheat,corn,and cotton

A)increased much more slowly than population growth.
B)increased somewhat more slowly than population growth.
C)increased at about the same pace as population growth.
D)increased faster than population growth.

Question 54

Henry Ford

A)was the second automobile manufacturer to use a moving assembly line.
B)was the first automobile manufacturer to manufacture a standardized engine with interchangeable parts.
C)sold millions of cars at a small unit of profit that allowed his company to keep auto prices low and wages high.
D)all of the statements are true.

Question 55

Which statement is false?

A)Most jobs in defense plants during World War II were held by white males.
B)The federal government instituted wage and price controls during World War II.
C)Very little new housing was built during the Great Depression and World War II.
D)None of the statements are false.

Question 56

Inflation adjusted hourly wages for the average hourly worker is _______ today than it was in 1973.

A)higher
B)lower
C)about the same

Question 57

Which statement is the most accurate?

A)There are virtually no Americans who go hungry.
B)There are a few Americans who go hungry.
C)There are millions of Americans who go hungry.
D)About one third of Americans go hungry.

Question 58

Basically our high rate of population growth since the time of George Washington's presidency

A)has been a drag on our rate of economic growth.
B)pushed up our rate of unemployment.
C)created a growing problem of not enough food to feed everyone.
D)provided a market for our farmers and manufacturers.

Question 59

Southern agriculture differed markedly from agriculture in the rest of the country before the Civil War in each of these respects EXCEPT

A)it had,on the average,larger farms.
B)it had slavery.
C)it had different major crops.
D)it had more subsistence farming.

Question 60

Which statement is most accurate with respect to the federal government's land policies in the 19th century?

A)It gave away land,and rarely if ever charged even a token amount per acre.
B)It gave away a lot of land and charged a token amount for the rest.
C)It gave away no land,but charged only a token amount.
D)It charged a fairly substantial amount for the land it solD.

Question 61

The most accurate appraisal of the American economy early in the 21st century would be that we

A)had the largest economy in the world with no major economic problems.
B)had the largest economy in the world,but were faced with some major economic problems.
C)did not have the largest economy in the world,and had no major economic problems.
D)did not have the largest economy in the world and did face some major economic problems.

Question 62

Which is the most accurate statement about the recessions we have had since World War II?

A)They have all been very mild.
B)They have all been very severe.
C)Three have been very severe.
D)None have been severe.

Question 63

For all intents and purposes,the Great Depression ended in

A)1933.
B)1937.
C)1941.
D)1945.
E)1950.

Question 64

Agricultural prices fell during each of these periods EXCEPT

A)1865-1900.
B)1900-1919.
C)1929-1933.
D)There is no exception.Agricultural prices fell in all these time periods.

Question 65

Which statement is the most accurate?

A)Business activity in 1929 began to decline a few months before the stock market crash.
B)The stock market crashed a few months before business activity began to decline.
C)The stock market crashed at virtually the same time that business activity began to decline.
D)None of these statements are accurate.

Question 66

In which of these years was there very high inflation and a recession?

A)1937
B)1980
C)1990
D)2001

Question 67

The heart of the supply-side economic program was to

A)raise taxes.
B)lower taxes.
C)raise government spending.
D)put people to work in government jobs.

Question 68

Each of the following were created under the New Deal EXCEPT

A)Social Security.
B)the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
C)the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
D)food stamps.

Question 69

The New Deal

A)may be summarized by these words: relief,recovery,and reform.
B)introduced Medicare and Medicaid.
C)succeeded in quickly ending the Great Depression.
D)reduced the economic role of the federal government.

Question 70

Which statement is true?

A)There was brief depression in the early 1920s.
B)Between 1921 and 1929 national output tripled.
C)The automobile market was completely saturated by 1921 and sales remained low for the rest of the decade.
D)None of these statements are true.

Question 71

Which statement is most accurate?

A)Aside from some large federal budget deficits,the economic record left by the Reagan Administration was an almost complete success.
B)While the downside of the Reagan years were huge budget and trade deficits,the good news was the decline of double-digit inflation.
C)The Reagan Administration's policies had virtually no effect on the economic performance during the 1980s.
D)The Reagan Administration was a complete failure from an economic standpoint.

Question 72

The highest unemployment rate we experienced since the Great Depression was in

A)1973.
B)1982.
C)1990.
D)2001.

Question 73

Inflation was the nation's number-one economic worry during

A)the 1920s.
B)1930s.
C)the late 1950s.
D)the early 1960s.
E)the 1970s.

Question 74

Which statement is false?

A)Had the stock market not crashed and the rest of the world not gone into a depression,the U.S.depression might have been avoided.
B)By the end of 1930 thousands of banks had failed.
C)By the first week in March 1933 every single bank in the United States had shut its doors.
D)None of the statements are false.

Question 75

The most rapid expansion in the use of electricity was in the period from

A)1900-1910.
B)1910-1920.
C)1920-1930.
D)1930-1940.

Question 76

Choosing from among the following,the worst recession was in

A)1937-1938.
B)1980.
C)1990-1991.
D)2001.

Question 77

Comparing the United States economy in 1900 with our economy today,all of the following are still present EXCEPT

A)large agricultural surpluses.
B)an abundance of entrepreneurial ability.
C)"cutting edge" technological progress.
D)a positive balance of trade with the rest of the worlD.

Question 78

Which statement is false?

A)The spreading use of electricity during the 1920s helped create rapid economic expansion in that decade.
B)The stock market rose very rapidly in the late 1920s.
C)Between 1921 and 1929 national output rose by 50 percent.
D)None of the statements are false.

Question 79

Of the 2.2 million working farms in the U.S. ,_________ of them produce more than $5,000 worth of agricultural products.

A)one quarter
B)half
C)three quarters
D)one third

Question 80

The low point of the Great Depression was reached in the year

A)1929.
B)1931.
C)1933.
D)1935.
E)1937.