Deck 10: Americas Economic Revolution Key

Question 1

Between 1820 and 1840,the population of the United States

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

Answer 1

grew rapidly, in part due to improved public health.

Question 2

Between 1800 and 1830,immigration to the United States

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

Answer 2

was not a significant contributor to the national population.

Question 3

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) Ireland and Italy.
D) England and Russia.
E) England and Ireland.

Answer 3

Ireland and Germany.

Question 4

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

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

Question 5

Compared to Irish immigrants,German immigrants to the United States before 1860

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

Question 6

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

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

Question 7

The Erie Canal was

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

Question 8

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

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

Question 9

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

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

Question 10

In the 1820s and 1830s,railroads

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

Question 11

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

A) Long-distance rail lines weakened the dependence of the West on the Mississippi River.
B) More rail lines were located in the Northeast than in any other part of the country.
C) Private investors provided nearly all the capital for rail development.
D) Chicago was the railroad center of the West.
E) Railroads helped weaken the connection between the Northwest and the South.

Question 12

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

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

Question 13

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

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

Question 14

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

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

Question 15

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

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

Question 16

By 1860,factories in the United States

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

Question 17

The great majority of Irish immigrants settled in the

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

Question 18

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

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

Question 19

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

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

Question 20

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

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

Question 21

When the Lowell factory system began,

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

Question 22

The rise of the American factory system

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

Question 23

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

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

Question 24

Prior to 1860,class conflict in the United States

A) decreased as immigration diversified society.
B) increased as the size of the middle class decreased.
C) was limited by a high degree of mobility within the working class.
D) increased, as most of the working class dropped down the economic ladder.
E) increased as a result of geographical mobility.

Question 25

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

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

Question 26

declared that

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

Question 27

Before 1860,the American middle-class

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

Question 28

Prior to 1860,American urban society

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

Question 29

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

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

Question 30

Which of the following contributed to the great industrial advances of the mid-nineteenth century?

A) the factory system.
B) American inventors.
C) the manufacturing of machine tools.
D) All of these answers are correct.
E) financing by affluent Northeast merchants.

Question 31

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

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

Question 32

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

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

Question 33

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

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

Question 34

All the following factors inhibited the growth of labor unions EXCEPT

A) the political strength of industrial capitalists.
B) ethnic divisions among workers.
C) a lack of labor union size sufficient to stage successful strikes.
D) the large number of immigrant workers.
E) the question of whether to include women members.

Question 35

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

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

Question 36

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

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

Question 37

As the factory system progressed into the 1840s,

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

Question 38

The early union movement among skilled artisans

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

Question 39

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

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

Question 40

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

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

Question 41

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

Question 42

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

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

Question 43

Early American Victorian homes were characterized by

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

Question 44

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

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

Question 45

Compared to 1800,in 1860 urban American families

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

Question 46

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

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

Question 47

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

Question 48

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

A) popular tastes in public spectacle tended toward the bizarre and fantastic.
B) reading was a principal leisure activity among affluent Americans.
C) minstrel shows were increasingly popular.
D) unpaid vacations were becoming common among the middle class.
E) men gravitated to taverns for drinking, talking, and game-playing.

Question 49

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

Question 50

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

Question 51

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

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

Question 52

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

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

Question 53

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 54

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

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

Question 55

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

Question 56

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

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

Question 57

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

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

Question 58

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

Question 59

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

Question 60

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

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

Question 61

Public lectures were one of the most popular forms of entertainment in America prior to the Civil War.

Question 62

Describe the interrelationship between one technological development in the pre-Civil War era and another.

Question 63

Why did railroads become the key American industry in the nineteenth century?

Question 64

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

Question 65

Describe the major features of American middle-class life during the first half of the nineteenth century.

Question 66

Pre-Civil War rural communities of the Northwest were usually populated by a diverse mix of ethnic groups.

Question 67

The pre-Civil War "cult of domesticity" left women increasingly detached from the public world.

Question 68

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

Question 69

As of the middle of the nineteenth century,the typical citizen of the Northwest was a poor,marginal farmer.

Question 70

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

Question 71

Examine technological developments in America between 1800 and 1860.What are the characteristic features in the advances made throughout this period?

Question 72

How do you account for the terrific growth of American industry prior to the Civil War?

Question 73

How did the rise of the factory system change the American family?

Question 74

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

Question 75

Describe the immigrant experience in the United States in the 1830s and 1840s.

Question 76

Threshers appeared in large numbers after 1820,spurring much greater productivity in grain production.

Question 77

The Northwest considered itself the most democratic section of the country,but it was a democracy based on a defense of economic freedom and the rights of property.

Question 78

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

Question 79

Prior to 1860,rural Americans had almost no contact with the rest of the world.

Question 80

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