Q&A Hero

Q: Which of the following did Alexis de Tocqueville observe about American society in Democracy in America? a. American culture had not changed much from its British precedents. b. America was not a true democracy, but rather a voter-selected oligarchy. c. The practice of democracy in American had created an important cultural shift. d. The decline of the Federalist Party, and the rise of one-party politics, was a threat to American democracy. e. The success of American democracy was dependent on strong presidential leadership.

Q: Which statement about corporations was true in the first half of the nineteenth century? a. Most Americans favored corporate charters with special privileges. b. The corporation was only a small part of the new market economy. c. Charters from the government strictly controlled corporations. d. Corporations were able to raise far more capital than the traditional forms of enterprise. e. A corporation could fail, leading to jail time for its directors and stockholders.

Q: Which describes a way in which the American legal system influenced the market revolution? a. Judges were consulted by state and local government in the creation of ordinances to regulate the actions of business owners. b. Chief Justice John Marshall rejected the idea of treating corporate charters issued by state legislatures as contracts. c. Local judges protected businessmen from paying property damages associated with factory construction. d. Massachusetts Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw held in Commonwealth v. Hunt that workers had no right to organize. e. In Gibbons v. Ogden, the Supreme Court upheld the right of a state government to grant a monopoly to a private company.

Q: In Gibbons v. Ogden, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a. the Louisiana Purchase was unconstitutional. b. Congress had the authority to create the Bank of the United States. c. New York could not grant a monopoly on steamboat navigation. d. corporations were illegal because they threatened individual free enterprise. e. railroad workers had no right to strike because it interfered with national commerce.

Q: What best describes the individualism of the market revolution era? a. Individualism was reserved for those who owned property. b. Americans were sovereign individuals who had the right to privacy. c. Individualism was strictly un-American. d. The key to living as an individual was division of labor between interconnected parties. e. Individual was another word for traitor.

Q: Why did corporations become central to the new market economy? a. Corporations were more trusted than small businesses because they did not have any special privileges or powers. b. Directors and stockholders of corporations could pursue profits without being personally liable for debts. c. Local governments made sure corporations acted in accordance with the public interest. d. Corporations were more concerned with ethical practices than profits. e. Corporations did not require special charters or laws in order to thrive.

Q: During the first half of the nineteenth century, individualism a. came under attack from Henry David Thoreau. b. was defined in a way that distinguished it completely from the idea of privacy. c. hampered efforts to spread democracy because it reduced interest in suffrage. d. was rooted in the idea of self-sufficiency. e. was a subject on which all transcendentalists agreed.

Q: How does Sarah Bagley characterize the practices at Lowell mill in the Voice of Industry? a. as a moral wrong b. as an affront to individual rights c. as a stage in an economic revolution d. as class warfare e. as an insult to female sensibilities

Q: In an 1837 case involving the Charles River in Massachusetts, Chief Justice Roger Taney a. declared that the community had a legitimate interest in promoting transportation and prosperity. b. held that adding a second bridge over the river violated the charter rights of the company that built the first bridge. c. granted Robert Fultons steamboat company a monopoly in the ferry business on the river. d. issued an opinion in which the U.S. Supreme Court, for the first time, overturned a state law. e. officially declared that capitalism was the economic system of the United States.

Q: Which group did American Protestants fear threatened American identity? a. Irish immigrants, who were Catholics b. English immigrants, who were suspected of being hostile to Americans c. German immigrants, who did not speak English d. single male immigrants, who were marrying American women e. children of immigrants, who required special attention at school

Q: In the 1840s, nativists blamed immigrants for a. epidemics in American cities. b. an increase in Protestant revivalism. c. terrorism. d. a decline in the sale of alcohol. e. urban crime and political corruption.

Q: Nativists a. blamed immigrants for civil unrest following the Civil War. b. accused immigrants of undercutting native-born unskilled laborers. c. believed that Protestantism threatened American institutions and American freedom. d. stereotyped the Irish as childlike, lazy, heavy drinkers who were unsuited for republican freedom. e. believed in the importance of preserving the lands of indigenous peoples in North America.

Q: Manifest destiny refers to the idea first advanced by journalist John L. OSullivan that a. it was the divine mission of the United States to lead the world in the abolition of slavery. b. it was the divine mission of the United States to return the continent to its native inhabitants. c. it was the divine mission of the Catholic Church to take over the United States. d. it was the divine mission of the United States to take over the continent in order to extend freedom. e. it was the divine mission of the United States to venture west and explore the natural North American wilderness.

Q: What does Margaret McCarthy promise that her family will find in America in her 1850 letter? a. wealth and luxury b. freedom from social constraints c. work and food d. farmland in the western territories e. a vibrant Irish community

Q: Which was a reason that nativists in the 1840s and 1850s resented immigrants? a. Immigrants were openly scornful of American culture. b. Immigrants were marrying American women. c. Immigrants were not Christians. d. Immigrants were willing to work for low wages. e. Immigrants were causing a housing crisis in the larger cities.

Q: In her 1850 letter to her family, what circumstance does Margaret McCarthy describe as a blessing from God? a. successfully making it across the Atlantic b. finding work in America c. encountering old family friends in America d. recovering from an illness e. not having been married in Ireland

Q: During the period of westward expansion, in national myth and ideology, what did the West represent? a. isolation and loneliness b. war and instability c. the chance to create a communal society d. the chance to achieve economic independence e. the chance to recreate the hierarchical society of Europe

Q: How did the market revolution change the way Americans conceived of time? a. It led Congress to create time zones throughout the country in 1823. b. Clocks increasingly regulated the separation of work and leisure time for those living in cities. c. Artisans began spending their lunch hours in political discussions rather than just taking breaks as they worked throughout the day. d. It lengthened life expectancy because Americans no longer had to work from sunrise to sunset as they had on farms. e. It enhanced the individual Americans sense of independence to be able to walk away from work at a certain time.

Q: The German triangle in the mid-nineteenth century referred to a. a Baltimore neighborhood with a large German immigrant population. b. the identifying patch German immigrants were forced to wear in some American cities. c. Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Milwaukeecities with large German populations. d. the special kind of ballot Democrats gave German-speaking voters. e. the superior plow that German immigrant Thomas Mannheim introduced to the United States.

Q: The majority of the nearly 4 million immigrants that entered the United States between 1840 and 1860 were from a. England and Germany. b. Germany and Ireland. c. China and Ireland. d. Mexico and England. e. Germany and China.

Q: Which of the following helped to increase the visibility and power of the Catholic Church in America in the mid-nineteenth century? a. the fact that President Jackson was Catholic b. Minister Lyman Beechers sermons preaching religious toleration c. congressional passage of an Act of Religious Toleration that gave Catholics political rights d. the dramatic increase in the number of Irish-Catholic immigrants e. Archbishop John Hughess wave of revivals that converted thousands to Catholicism

Q: What is true about the Lowell mill girls? a. They constituted the minority of workers in the early New England textile mills. b. They usually spent their whole adult lives as wage-earning factory workers. c. They enjoyed less personal supervision after leaving their homes to work in the factory. d. Many valued the opportunity to earn money independently. e. They were mostly unmarried daughters of New England immigrant families.

Q: How does Sarah Bagley explain her employment in a Lowell mill in the Voice of Industry? a. She chooses to work there to escape the constrictive culture of her small town. b. She is made to work there in order to provide money for her family back home. c. She is made to work there by court order, as she was previously homeless. d. She chooses to work there for the sake of female companionship, as she has no sisters at home. e. She chooses to work there in order to have spending money to treat herself to small luxuries.

Q: Compare immigration to the United States in the 1840s and 1850s to the present day. Is there a similarity? a. Most immigrants in both time periods were from Mexico. b. In both centuries, immigrants primary motive was to escape religious persecution. c. Most immigrants in both centuries sought better economic opportunities. d. In both time periods, the primary group to arrive in America was children. e. The immigrants in both periods focused on gold mining.

Q: Which of the following describes the experience of the mill girls? a. Working Sunday mornings, they had no opportunity to attend church services. b. Most walked to work after completing morning chores on their family farms. c. They worked rotating eight-hour shifts, with the mills running constantly. d. The majority never married and worked at the mills for decades before retiring. e. They were required to live in closely supervised boardinghouses.

Q: What is one major reason an increasing number of emigrants left Europe for the United States between 1840 and 1860? a. Factory life in eastern American cities appealed to traditional European peasant values. b. Industrialization in Europe enhanced the jobs of many craft workers. c. Steamships and railroads were replaced by more efficient travel technologies. d. The Irish potato famine created many refugees who were escaping starvation. e. Immigrants were attracted to the idea of becoming slaveowners.

Q: What encouraged the building of factories in coastal towns such as New Bedford and even large inland cities such as Chicago by the 1840s? a. Such places generally had cheaper labor (usually consisting of African-Americans) than existed in the earlier, highly unionized factory towns such as Lowell and Pawtucket. b. Under Henry Clays American System, federal and state governments subsidized factories in those locations. c. Steam power meant factories no longer had to be near waterfalls and rapids to generate the power. d. Factory owners were attracted by the highly skilled labor pool of German immigrants who settled in those areas. e. The U.S. Supreme Courts decision in Gibbons v. Ogden removed obstacles to the placement of factories in densely populated areas.

Q: German immigrants a. sought to assimilate rapidly into American culture. b. quickly abandoned the German language. c. often became craftsmen, shopkeepers, and farmers. d. included fewer skilled craftsmen than the Irish. e. remained in eastern cities and ventured west rarely.

Q: The American System of manufactures a. owed a great deal to Eli Terrys development of interchangeable parts in clockmaking. b. originated among entrepreneurs in the Old Northwest before spreading to New England. c. referred to the production of specialty handmade goods by highly skilled artisans. d. was centered on agricultural machinery. e. was nearly derailed by Chief Justice John Marshalls hostility to economic development.

Q: Which geographic area was the first to adopt an industrial system of manufacturing? a. New England b. the Old Northwest c. states in the Cotton Kingdom d. western territories e. southern states with large port cities

Q: Which statement is true about Irish immigrants to the United States between 1840 and 1860? a. They worked exclusively as railroad builders. b. Most competed with native-born white Americans for low-wage unskilled jobs. c. About half of them lived in the Northeast. d. Many lived in urban ghetto neighborhoods where crime and disease rates were high. e. Native-born farm daughters replaced Irish immigrants as the main labor force at the Lowell textile mills by the late 1850s.

Q: Why did the rise of the market revolution and westward expansion make life worse for African-Americans? a. The rise of the Cotton Kingdom reduced legal slavery dramatically, and slave trading became an underground business in which traders forced enslaved people to march to the Deep South. b. When traders and owners moved enslaved people west, they destroyed family ties and long-standing communities. c. The decline in slavery meant that free blacks were forced to find their own source of income, which they had no experience doing. d. Federal law barred free blacks from skilled job opportunities. e. Travel fees grew too expensive for black families to afford finding economic opportunity in the West.

Q: As a result of the market revolution, skilled craftsmen generally a. gained more control over their workday. b. increased the complexity of their skills. c. worked more at home. d. ended up producing only one part of a product. e. accepted their loss of economic freedom without protest.

Q: What was a slave coffle? a. a small uprising of slaves b. a group of escaped slaves traveling together c. the minimum price per head for a slave at auction d. slaves chained together on forced marches to the Lower South e. small one-room homes provided for each slave family by plantation owners

Q: Which statement is true about the factory system in the early to mid-nineteenth century? a. Factories gathered large groups of workers under central supervision and replaced hand tools with power-driven machinery. b. Cincinnati was the first factory town in the United States. c. Factory work was mostly concentrated in the South. d. Factories provided more autonomy for workers than traditional craft production. e. Factories were mostly located in barren fields so that they wouldnt pollute towns or rivers.

Q: What was the most common means of acquiring slaves to work on newly established cotton plantations in the Lower South? a. illegally importing them from the West Indies b. through births to existing slaves c. capturing and returning to slavery communities of escaped slaves in Florida d. purchasing them from Spanish landowners in the territory that would become Texas e. purchasing them at auction in cities such as Mobile, Natchez, and New Orleans

Q: How many cities in 1850 had a population of more than 5,000? a. 50 b. 100 c. nearly 150 d. more than 200 e. 254

Q: Which is an example of how farming changed in America between 1800 and 1840? a. Cyrus McCormicks reaper made possible a boom in cotton production. b. Farmers in the Old Northwest increasingly relied on slave labor. c. Farmers in the West were able to ship crops and livestock to eastern markets. d. Corn production shifted to the hill farms of the New England and Mid-Atlantic states. e. America became one of the worlds leading exporters of wheat.

Q: Samuel Slater a. developed stone-crushing technology useful for road building. b. established Americas first factory. c. invented the cotton gin. d. established the Erie Canal. e. was a steamboat innovator.

Q: What was a factor in the increasing involvement of Old Northwest farmers in the market economy? a. The best cotton-growing land was along the banks of the Erie Canal. b. The steel plow and the reaper were replaced by newer, more efficient technologies. c. Farmers no longer needed to rely on eastern banks as a source of credit and loans. d. A new ethos of self-sufficiency inspired more and more farmers to claim land in the Old Northwest. e. Loans originating with eastern banks and insurance companies financed the acquisition of land and supplies.

Q: Which of the following was responsible for the first large-scale American factory, which was built in Massachusetts? a. Henry Clay, whose sponsorship of a protective tariff made the factory economically viable. b. The cutting off of British imports because of the Embargo of 1807 and the War of 1812. c. Cyrus McCormick, who built the factory to produce his reaper. d. The American victory in the War of 1812, which made the United States economically dominant in the Atlantic world. e. Samuel F. B. Morse, who became better known for inventing the telegraph.

Q: Prior to 1800, why did many Americans expect slavery to end in America? a. because of legislation b. because of voluntary manumission c. because the primary plantation crop, tobacco, depleted the soil d. because of fear of violent slave rebellions e. because of shifting cultural understandings of freedom and liberty

Q: Which statement is true about the difference between farming in the Old Northwest and the Northeast? a. Farming in the Northeast needed slave labor. b. Wheat farming in the Northeast made New York the flour capital. c. Old Northwest farms depended on the cotton gin. d. Farming was done on a much bigger scale in the Old Northwest. e. Farming in the Old Northwest required slaves.

Q: Which of the following describes the role of cotton in the U.S. market revolution? a. Eli Whitneys invention of the cotton gin reduced the demand for slave labor. b. The price paid for cotton plummeted and many cotton farmers went out of business. c. Slavery expanded dramatically in the South. d. Cotton shifted Americas wealth to the South, creating a recession in the northern states. e. Cotton production created new economic opportunities for poorer southern farmers.

Q: In the first half of the nineteenth century, Cincinnati became known as what? a. the Crossroads of America b. the Kingdom Built by Corn c. Little Germany d. the Gateway to the West e. Porkopolis

Q: Which of the following describes the role westward migration played in the development of the South? a. Canals dug west of the Mississippi created short-term prosperity, but soon failed due to flooding. b. A slave-based plantation economy was quickly established in states like Alabama and Mississippi. c. The area west of the Mississippi, both in the South and the North, became economically isolated from the eastern United States. d. The South developed an extensive railroad system to transport goods from west to east. e. Southern congressmen voted to reopen the slave trade with Africa to supply new tobacco plantations west of the Mississippi.

Q: What sparked the rapid growth of Chicago from a small settlement in 1830 to Americas fourth-largest city by 1860? a. The city became a major marketplace for cotton. b. Railroads connected Chicago to numerous eastern marketplaces. c. It was home to the most escaped slaves in the United States. d. The city built the first skyscrapers. e. The Erie Canal connected directly to Chicago.

Q: The first industry to be shaped by the large factory system was a. textiles. b. guns. c. ironworks. d. pottery. e. shoemaking.

Q: Which problem with cotton did Eli Whitney solve by inventing the cotton gin? a. Whitney figured out how to remove the cotton-destroying boll weevil and thereby save the cotton crop. b. Removing seeds from the cotton was a slow and painstaking task, but Whitney made it much easier and less labor-intensive. c. Processing cotton required too many different pieces of equipment, but Whitney figured out how to change the equipment more easily and quickly, saving time and money. d. Planting the cotton took too many hours to make its growth very profitable, but Whitney enabled planters to use a machine to speed the planting. e. The production of southern whiskey required the use of cotton in purifying the liquor, but the cotton absorbed too much liquid; Whitneys machine changed that.

Q: Which group represents the typical pattern of western migration between 1790 and 1840? a. lone, male pioneers, who sent for their families once theyd established a homestead b. groups who helped one another clear land, put up buildings, and establish communities c. recently married couples who did not yet have any children, although many of the women were pregnant d. groups of young men in fierce competition with one another for resources and land e. immigrant families from southern Europe, who proceeded west on trains from the port cities

Q: Most of the states that joined the Union in the six years immediately following the War of 1812 were located a. west of the Mississippi River. b. in the Old Northwest. c. south of the Mason-Dixon Line. d. in the Louisiana Purchase territory. e. west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Q: What was an irony about the cotton gin? a. Slaves did not really need it. b. Most slaves did not know how to work it. c. Cotton demand actually decreased. d. The device did not need gin to work properly. e. The inventor of the machine was from the North.

Q: Squatters a. set up farms on unoccupied land. b. were corporate charters issued by states as contracts. c. strung telegraph lines between poles. d. set the dynamite as part of railroad construction crews. e. is a derogatory name for the girls who worked in the mill factories.

Q: What is the significance of Eli Whitneys cotton gin? a. The internal slave trade within the United States grew dramatically. b. The Atlantic slave trade continued to bring slaves in large numbers to the United States up until 1860. c. The Erie Canal became the primary waterway for shipping cotton. d. Cotton production decreased dramatically for twenty-five years. e. The federal government recommended using Indians as slaves.

Q: What was the biggest motivating factor in moving westward in the 1820s and 1830s? a. People sought to acquire cheap land. b. Gold existed just beyond the Appalachian Mountains. c. Slaves could escape to safe havens. d. Cotton could be grown in Ohio and Indiana. e. People were escaping religious persecution.

Q: What was the most important export from the United States by the mid-nineteenth century? a. tobacco b. coal c. timber d. cotton e. wheat

Q: What was a factor in the nations acquisition of Florida from Spain? a. Andrew Jackson led an army to invade Florida, subsequently killing British traders. b. Spain no longer mined for gold in Florida. c. Abolitionists hoped to create a refuge for fugitive slaves. d. Businessmen hoped soft, sandy beaches would bring in tourist money. e. The United States seized Tallahassee.

Q: What geographical feature in the Old Northwest served as an internal borderland? a. the Appalachian Mountains b. Lake Erie c. the Mississippi River d. Lake Michigan e. the Ohio River

Q: In the early decades of the nineteenth century, what group helped shape southern Ohio? a. New England settlers who moved there b. slaveholders from Kentucky c. migrants from St. Louis d. merchants from northern Ohio e. immigrants from Mexico

Q: What innovation does the textbook identify as the first to advance overland transportation and contribute to the market revolution? a. the steamboat b. the canal c. the railroad d. the telegraph e. the turnpike, or toll roads

Q: The American railroad industry in the first half of the nineteenth century a. was exclusively in the North. b. stimulated the coal mining industry. c. was smaller in terms of total miles of track than the European rail system. d. mainly connected one waterway to another waterway. e. encouraged entrepreneurs to begin building extensive canal systems for the first time.

Q: The Erie Canal a. established New Orleans as the major U.S. port city. b. facilitated the flow of goods between New York City and the Great Lakes. c. was financed by the federal government. d. was completed in 1860. e. prompted population declines in the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse and the surrounding region.

Q: What was the significance of Robert Fulton? a. He was responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal. b. His work in designing steamboats made upstream commerce possible. c. His innovations led to the revolution in turnpike construction in the early nineteenth century. d. As mayor of New York, he worked to make that city a commercial center. e. He sponsored congressional legislation that authorized building of the National Road.

Q: The Erie Canal a. was far longer than any other canal in the United States at that time. b. attracted an influx of farmers migrating from Virginia and the Carolinas to the Northwest. c. was strongly opposed by residents of Buffalo and Rochester, who feared their cities would lose business. d. was championed by Pennsylvania governor William Findlay. e. proved economically unviable and was abandoned within a decade of its opening.

Q: An advantage of water transportation over road transportation was that a. canals cost less to construct than roads. b. canal construction was easier to do than road construction. c. canals increased the speed of commerce over long distances. d. the federal government preferred to fund canal projects over road transportation. e. canals made Philadelphia the center of commerce for midwestern trade.

Q: How was most transportation infrastructure funded prior to 1850? a. by foreign investors b. through counties and townships c. through the states d. by the federal government e. by private investors

Q: The Erie Canal gave which city primacy over competing ports in accessing trade with the Northwest? a. Baltimore b. Philadelphia c. Boston d. New York e. Chicago

Q: Which improvement most dramatically increased the speed and lowered the expense of commerce in the first half of the nineteenth century? a. the transcontinental railroad b. canals and steamboats c. the factory system d. a system of federally financed roads e. the establishment of an efficient postal system

Q: Americas first commercial railroad was the a. Pennsylvania Railroad. b. Union Pacific Railroad. c. Reading Railroad. d. Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. e. South Carolina Railroad.

Q: Some women worked in the mills, relishing the freedom and independence they felt away from the farm for the first time, while others developed a cult of domesticity, thinking themselves free to not have to work outside the home. Compare the meaning of freedom for these two groups of women. Think back to previous chapters and compare the role of women during the market revolution with the republican motherhood role of women during the American Revolution.

Q: One German newcomer wrote that there arent any masters [in America], here everyone is a free agent. How accurate a statement was that? Why would a German immigrant view America as free? Do you think an Irish immigrant would feel the same way about America? Why or why not?

Q: During the Revolutionary period, virtue was considered an essential component of a males character for the survival of the republic. The founding fathers often spoke of a virtuous citizenry as the key to liberty and freedom taking hold. Fifty years later, however, virtue had shifted to become a character sought after in women. Describe why this shift occurred and what consequences resulted.

Q: Describe how the market revolution affected the lives of workers, women, and African-Americans. 1 What holy cult did the French writer Alexis de Tocqueville identify in America in the 1830s? a. the holy cult of the Holy Ghost b. the holy cult of individuality c. the holy cult of the market d. the holy cult of freedom e. the holy cult of domesticity

Q: Which of the following is true of Lafayettes 1824 visit to the United States? a. He made a series of speeches supporting the emancipation of slaves. b. Federalists strongly protested the visit because of Lafayettes connections with the French Revolution. c. Southern states banned persons of color from ceremonies honoring him. d. He negotiated a trade agreement that demonstrated the rising economic influence of the United States. e. He came to attend the funeral of his good friend, Thomas Jefferson.

Q: The catalyst for the market revolution was a series of innovations in a. manufacturing. b. agriculture. c. banking and financing. d. labor contracts. e. transportation and communication.

Q: From Abraham Lincolns life, which would be an example from the old economy when compared to the newly transformed market economy? a. Lincoln working as a lawyer for the Illinois Central Railroad. b. Lincoln as a state legislator promoting river transportation. c. Lincoln getting paid in cash and then purchasing clothing from a store. d. Lincoln settling family debt by doing labor for the neighbor. e. Lincolns father taking livestock to a faraway marketplace.

Q: Comment on what Alexis de Tocqueville meant when he said that Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other. How accurate do you think that observation was?

Q: The Marquis de Lafayette, who fought for American independence and revisited the United States fifty years later, wrote, I would never have drawn my sword in the cause of America if I could have conceived that thereby I was founding a land of slavery. What might Lafayette have seen in 1824 America that would impel him to make such a statement? How had slavery evolved? Was it expanding? How entrenched in American life was it at this time?

Q: Explain how improvements in transportation and communication made possible the rise of the West as a powerful, self-conscious region of the new nation. Discuss the internal borderlands within the West.

Q: Discuss the impact of the market revolution on women and African-Americans (both free and slave).