Module 3

Question 1

In the late 1400s, why did the Europeans want to find an easier route to Asia?

Answer 1

To increase trade with Asia

Question 2

At first, what was the main purpose of Spanish settlements in the New World?

Answer 2

To control the areas and extract wealth

Question 3

What is the term given to the government policy of assisting businessmen in establishing colonies?

Answer 3

Mercantilism

Question 4

The English colonies in America were based on what economic activity?

Answer 4

Agriculture

Question 5

What was the primary standard of wealth in the English colonies in America?

Answer 5

Ownership of land

Question 6

Did most English colonies in America see more or less economic opportunity in the colonies then they had in England?

Answer 6

more

Question 7

What 2 actions did the British government take after the French and Indian war that angered colonists?

Answer 7

Forbade further settlement west of the Appalachians and imposed new taxes

Question 8

What were 4 economic issues that the new United States faced under the articles of confederation?

Answer 8

1.A weak national government with no currency or economic plan
2. country debt
3.state fiscal crises
3. and instability in the west

Question 9

To what kind of tax or levy did John Dickinson object?

Answer 9

Internal taxes that gave money to the crown

Question 10

What impositions by the English government did Dickinson believe to be justified?

Answer 10

external impositions to regulate trade

Question 11

The fiscal powers given to congress in the constitution were significant, but also what?

Answer 11

limited

Question 12

Name 3 specific powers related to economic activity that were given to congress in the constitution.

Answer 12

1. Power to borrow money
2. to regulate commerce
3. to coin money and regulate its value

Question 13

What prohibition in the constitution helped unify the nation’s economy?

Answer 13

a ban on interstate commerce

Question 14

What controversial institution had an impact on the economy, especially in the south?

Answer 14

Slavery

Question 15

What were the three main elements of Alexander Hamilton’s fiscal plan?

Answer 15

1. The national government took on the debts of the states and continental congress and government assisted the creation of a manufacturing economy
2. to impose tariffs on imports and ban certain imports
3. the creation of a national bank

Question 16

What Federal law sparked a rebellion in western Pennsylvania in 1794?

Answer 16

A federal tax imposed on whiskey

Question 17

What industry saw dramatic growth in the early United States?

Answer 17

Textile production

Question 18

The growth of this industry led to greater demand for what agricultural commodity?

Answer 18

cotton

Question 19

What invention by Eli Whitney increased production on Southern plantations?

Answer 19

the cotton gin

Question 20

What 2 developments in water transportation led to increased trade?

Answer 20

The steamboat and the Erie Canal

Question 21

What practice by France and Britain hurt American trade?

Answer 21

They interfered with trade ships headed to another country’s port

Question 22

What act did Thomas Jefferson urge Congress to pass in response to this practice?

Answer 22

The Embargo Act

Question 23

What was the effect of the embargo Act?

Answer 23

American ships languished in port, overseas markets for American goods dwindled and domestic production declined.

Question 24

What did the Federal government do to help pay off debt after the war of 1812?

Answer 24

Sold western land

Question 25

What was rechartered in 1816?

Answer 25

The Bank of the United States

Question 26

What were some of the factors of the Panic of 1819?

Answer 26

1.The Bank of the United States was poorly run 2. it issued fewer loans 3. it demanded hard money of the State bank notes it received 4. the demand for American cotton declined 5. there was a slowdown in industrial output 6. there were many defaults on loans

Question 27

How did the Supreme Court's decision in Gibbons v. Ogden effect the U.S. economy?

Answer 27

It gave broad interpretation of the power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce

Question 28

What was Andrew Jackson's response to congressional renewal of the Bank of the United States in 1832?

Answer 28

He vetoed it

Question 29

Where did Jackson order Federal funds to be deposited?

Answer 29

State banks

Question 30

What was the name of the system begun in 1840 to hold Federal funds and pay the Federal government's bills?

Answer 30

The Independant Treasury

Question 31

What was the economic impact of the Civil war in the North and South?

Answer 31

The North grew in industrial and agricultural output and the South suffered losses in both areas

Question 32

What were four acts of Congress that expanded the national economy?

Answer 32

1. The Morrill Land Grant Act 2. The Homestead Act 3. The National Bank Act 4. authorization of the transcontinental railroad

Question 33

What was the first big business in the U.S. which grew dramatically after the Civil War?

Answer 33

The railroads

Question 34

What were some examples of advances in technology that came about in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?

Answer 34

Electricity, electric lights, refrigerated railroad cars, the automobile, and assembly lines

Question 35

What financial practice helped to create large companies?

Answer 35

investment capitalism

Question 36

What were 2 early steps that the Federal government took in regulating the economy?

Answer 36

the Interstate Commerce Act and the Sherman Anti-trust Act

Question 37

What was the nickname of the paper currency printed during the Civil War?

Answer 37

greenbacks

Question 38

What was established in 1913 as central bank for the U.S.?

Answer 38

The Federal Reserve System

Question 39

According to Amity Shlaes, how did Franklin Roosevelt change the definition of the phrase "the forgotten man"?

Answer 39

He changed it from the man who is never thought of to a member of groups who Roosevelt wanted to benefit from New Deal spending programs

Question 40

What did Roosevelt do in 1935 and 1936 that changed the role of the Federal government in the economy?

Answer 40

He began targeting constituency groups to recue federal funds. Those groups became dependent on the Federal government

Question 41

What is generally credited with helping the country move out of the Great Depression?

Answer 41

Increased production related to WW2

Question 42

After WW2, the United States economy had what kind of trend that extended into the 1960s?

Answer 42

prosperity, growth, and expansion

Question 43

Under what president did Federal spending on social programs like Medicare and Medicade and on the Vietnam War dramatically increase?

Answer 43

Lyndon Johnson

Question 44

What was a major economic problem during the 1970s?

Answer 44

Inflation

Question 45

What proposal did Ronald Reagan make in 1980 that he said would bring about economic growth?

Answer 45

A broad and deep tax cut

Question 46

What was the pattern of Federal spending during the 1980s?

Answer 46

spending more than they had, leading to an increase in national debt

Question 47

What were 2 factors that contributed to the prosperity of the 1990s?

Answer 47

The dot-com boom and the North American Free Trade Agreement

Question 48

What was the average annual growth in the gross domestic product of the United States for the fifty years following WW2?

Answer 48

3%

Question 49

How many recessions did the U.S. experience between 1948 and 2001?

Answer 49

10