Quiz 7

Question 1

By the 1830s, the fastest way to travel from New Orleans to Pittsburgh was by:

 stagecoach  

 railroad  

 flatboat  

 steamboat  

 horseback  

Question 2

Steamboats:

 were commercially profitable by the 1790s  

 brought cheaper and faster two-way traffic to the Mississippi Valley  

 were usually built of steel  

 soon made railroads obsolete  

 generally had at least twelve-foot drafts  

Question 3

The Erie Canal did all of the following EXCEPT:

 dramatically reduce freight rates  

 bankrupt New York State with its huge cost  

 inspire more canal construction  

 stretch from Albany to Buffalo  

 increase shipping through the port of New York  

Question 4

All of the following were true of the trains in use by the 1850s EXCEPT:

 they encouraged further expansion of farming  

 they could only operate on flat terrain  

 they reduced transportation costs  

 they were much faster than stagecoaches and steamboats  

 they spurred iron production  

Question 5

The advantage clipper ships had over traditional merchant vessels was their:

 durability  

 ability to sail up rivers  

 greater cargo space  

 comfort for passengers  

 speed  

Question 6

By the 1850s, railroads had begun to receive encouragement from the federal government in the form of:

 land grants  

 military protection  

 advertising  

 a ban on further canal construction  

 monetary backing  

Question 7

By the 1850s, a communications revolution had been triggered by the development of the:

 telegraph  

 Pony Express  

 railroad  

 telephone  

 post office  

Question 8

The “penny press”:

 was a derisive name for the lower-class newspapers sold on the streets  

 enabled the Treasury Department to inexpensively coin more money  

 was a tool of labor unions to highlight the low pay and mistreatment of workers  

 had significant influence in eastern cities  

 was named for the low cost of newspapers  

Question 9

The cotton gin:

 made possible efficient separation of seeds from fiber  

 resulted from a government bounty paid to its inventor  

 made the South the wealthiest part of the country  

 had no significant effect on the North’s economy  

 was an engine that manufactured cloth  

Question 10

The cotton gin’s invention:

 spurred immigration to the South  

 meant that fewer slaves were needed  

 made cotton a major export item  

 caused slavery to spread to Ohio and Illinois  

 increased imports from Britain  

Question 11

The settlement of the West was accelerated by Cyrus McCormick’s invention of the:

 mechanical reaper  

 tractor  

 chainsaw  

 grain elevator  

 steel plow  

Question 12

Samuel Slater’s contribution to the economy was that he:

 started the Industrial Revolution in England before he moved to the United States  

 was the first to employ child labor  

 opened a successful textile mill in Rhode Island  

 convinced President Jefferson of the benefits of manufacturing  

 invented the steam engine  

Question 13

Jefferson’s embargo in 1807 and the War of 1812:

 had little effect on the growth of textile manufacturing in America  

 almost destroyed American manufacturing  

 encouraged Americans to live more simply because consumer goods were scarce  

 encouraged rapid growth in American manufacturing  

 restricted exports and thereby hurt the growth of American manufacturing  

Question 14

The first American factories produced:

 leather goods  

 tobacco products  

 muskets  

 cotton textiles  

 glass products  

Question 15

One striking aspect of the Lowell factories was:

 the superior quality of their products  

 the happiness of their workers  

 their employment of young single women  

 that they paid workers in stocks  

 their minimal impact on natural surroundings  

Question 16

The New England textile industry’s use of water power:

 largely ended by 1850 as factories switched to steam power  

 was never a source of controversy  

 dried up some rivers completely  

 made its products more expensive  

 dramatically altered the region’s ecology  

Question 17

By the early 1800s, the largest American cities were all major:

 state capitals  

 military centers  

 iron-producing centers  

 cotton exporters  

 seaports  

Question 18

By 1860, what had become the largest city, as its population surpassed 1 million?

 Philadelphia  

 Boston  

 Baltimore  

 New Orleans  

 New York  

Question 19

In the antebellum era, prizefights lasted:

 until one fighter could not continue  

 as long as the crowd demanded  

 a set number of minutes  

 a set number of rounds  

 until one fighter drew blood on the other  

Question 20

Minstrel shows:

 appealed primarily to elite audiences  

 were usually performed in saloons  

 featured professional productions of Shakespeare  

 helped whites become more racially tolerant  

 employed familiar stereotypes of African Americans  

Question 21

The major impetus for the huge Irish immigration to the United States after 1845 was:

 religious freedom in the United States  

 hatred of British rule in Ireland  

 a deadly potato famine  

 an abundance of cheap land  

 high wages in factories  

Question 22

Anti-Irish prejudice was especially based upon:

 jealousy over the fact that so many Irish were well educated  

 Irish sympathy for black equality  

 fear of growing Catholic influence  

 competition for housing in industrial cities  

 Irish support for trade unions  

Question 23

In terms of political behavior, the Irish:

 seldom voted  

 were easily manipulated into voting against their interests  

 started a new party for immigrants  

 idolized John Quincy Adams  

 generally supported Democrats  

Question 24

German immigrants in the 1850s:

 tended to come as groups and families  

 usually spoke English already  

 were not a target of the nativists  

 almost never returned to their native country  

 were mostly poor and nonreligious  

Question 25

By 1860, one would most likely encounter Norwegian and Swedish immigrants in:

 California and Oregon  

 Ohio and Pennsylvania  

 Texas and Louisiana  

 New York and New Jersey  

 Wisconsin and Minnesota  

Question 26

The German migration to the United States:

 peaked in 1831  

 included few educated professionals or skilled workers  

 was sometimes temporary as nearly 15 percent returned to their native land  

 was in most respects similar to that of the Irish  

 provoked race riots in several cities  

Question 27

The Know-Nothings campaigned primarily to:

 promote Christianity  

 prohibit drinking  

 cut taxes  

 limit immigrant influence  

 establish public schools  

Question 28

Trade associations, or guilds, formed by artisans in the early 1800s attempted to do all the following EXCEPT:

 influence politicians to support protective tariffs  

 recruit unskilled workers  

 uphold standards of quality production  

 maintain decent wage levels  

 improve working conditions  

Question 29

Which of the following was NOT true of early labor organizations?

 They were primarily for skilled workers.  

 They grew out of local trade unions.  

 Women organized their own unions.  

 They sometimes formed political organizations to carry their concerns forward.  

 They were not popular among immigrant groups.  

Question 30

Commonwealth v. Hunt:

 failed to win Supreme Court approval for mandatory union membership  

 declared that forming a trade union was not illegal  

 ruled that it was legal to force members of labor unions to work unpaid overtime  

 made the sabotage of equipment by striking workers a federal offense  

 applied to labor organizing on the factory floor