Deck 10: America’s Economic Revolution

Question 1

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) Most railroad "trunk lines" were reduced or eliminated.
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.

Answer 1

Private investors provided nearly all the capital for rail development.

Question 2

The great majority of Irish immigrants settled in the

A) rural North.
B) western territories.
C) southern cities.
D) rural South.
E) eastern cities

Answer 2

eastern cities

Question 3

In 1860,the percentage of the population in free states living in towns (places of 2,500 people or more)or cities (8,000 or more)was

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

Answer 3

26 percent.

Question 4

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 5

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 6

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 7

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

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 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 the

A) creation of a national cooperative news-gathering organization.
B) technological means to reproduce photographs in newsprint.
C) invention of the steam cylinder rotary press.
D) introduction of the telegraph system.
E) 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 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 their 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 12

In 1860,the percentage of the population in the South living in towns (places of 2,500 or more)or cities (8,000 or more)was

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

Question 13

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 14

Which of the following is true of the differences between 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 turnpike transports.
D) State governments gave little financial support to canal transportation.
E) Pennsylvania was the first to finance canal construction.

Question 15

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 16

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

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

Question 17

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

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

Question 18

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 19

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.

Question 20

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

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

Question 21

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 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

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 workday ended when production quotas were met.
E) workers rarely stopped working in the mills until retirement.

Question 24

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 25

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 trades of skilled artisans.
D) led some northerners to advocate repealing abolition.
E) led to the creation of skilled workingmen's craft societies.

Question 26

As the 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 paternalistic management system was developed.
E) many mill girls moved into management roles in the factory system.

Question 27

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

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

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

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 size of the middle class decreased.
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 30

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 rates 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 31

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 32

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 33

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 34

Most American industry remained wedded to the most traditional source of power,which was

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

Question 35

Prior to 1860,American urban society

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

Question 36

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 37

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

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

Question 38

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 39

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 40

All the following factors inhibited the growth of labor unions 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) a lack of labor union size sufficient to stage successful strikes.

Question 41

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

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

Question 42

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 43

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 44

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

Question 45

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

Question 46

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 47

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

Question 48

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

Question 49

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 50

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 51

Prior to 1860,perhaps 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 52

For most American farmers,the 1840s and 1850s were 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 53

All of the following statements regarding American leisure activities prior to 1860 are true EXCEPT that

A) men gravitated to taverns for drinking, talking, and game-playing.
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 54

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

Question 55

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

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

Question 56

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

Question 57

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

Question 58

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 59

Compared to 1800,in 1860 urban American families

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

Question 60

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

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

Question 61

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

Question 62

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

Question 63

Many of the free blacks in the North were people who had been skilled crafts workers as slaves and who bought or were given their freedom.

Question 64

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

Question 65

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

Question 66

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 67

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

Question 68

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

Question 69

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 70

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

Question 71

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

Question 72

Until the Civil War,newspapers relied on mail transported by train for the exchange of news.

Question 73

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

Question 74

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

Question 75

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

Question 76

The need to supply the United States military helped spur new innovations in machine tools and industry.

Question 77

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

Question 78

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

Question 79

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

Question 80

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