Los Angeles Valley College » Economics » Econ 010 - Economic History of the United States » Fall 2021

Econ 010 - Economic History of the United States » Fall 2021 » Exam 1

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Question #1

Which of the following is the best definition of economics?

A. The study of decision-making of how to allocate scarce resources by individual persons and firms

B. The study of decision-making of how to allocate scarce resources at the national level

C. The study of being boring (your teacher sure is a natural)

D. The study of decision-making of how to allocate scarce resources

Question #2

Which of the following is the best definition of economic history?

A. The study of past economic development and economic events

B. The study of being boring on an individual and national scale

C. The study of decision-making of how to allocate scarce resources

D. The study of decision-making of how to allocate scarce resources at the national level

Question #3

Despite its rising wealth due to commerce, why was Holland not a major player in North America?

A. It had no navy

B. They were not interested in permanent settlements

C. They were more interested in attaining gold and silver and forcibly converting the population to Catholicism

D. None of the above

Question #4

If there had been a huge increase in the supply of spices in Western Europe in the late 15th century, it is possible Columbus would have never set sail west and discovered America.

A. TRUE

B. FALSE

Question #5

A ship of indentured servants departs from England to the American colonies. Assume the average duration for a servant would be 4 years. Consider that the people aboard a ship are more skilled. What could we say about the duration of the indentured contract for this group?

A. Longer than 4 years

B. Exactly 4 years

C. Shorter than 4 years

D. None of the above

Question #6

The example of the colonists shows that low amounts of physical capital and technology mean a country’s wages will be stuck at a low level relative to other countries.

A. TRUE

B. FALSE

Question #7

Because of the great abundance of land and the possibility of becoming landowners, people were very reluctant to become laborers. As a result, we could describe the PES of labor as which of the following?

A. Elastic

B. Nazarov elastic

C. Inelastic

D. None of the above

Question #8

According to the lecture slides, why was slavery not adopted in the Northern part of the colonies?

A. Strong opposition to the idea of owning other people

B. The North’s climate was not conducive to slavery

C. People there had never heard of slavery

D. Large number of European laborers in the North who were willing to work for very low wages

Question #9

The headright system and indentured servitude were extremely important to Britain in the long run because…

A. They helped the colonial government adopt and stick with Britain’s currency

B. They ensured people migrating from Britain to America returned to Britain within 10 years

C. They helped raise the country’s population in America which helped greatly for Britain to defeat its rivals in America

D. They helped the British to transport their physical capital and technology to the colonies

Question #10

During the colonial period, almost all of the population growth in America was due only to migration.

A. FALSE

B. TRUE

Question #11

Which of the following is true about Georgia?

A. At its beginning, it was meant as a place to welcome Spanish tourists from Florida

B. At its beginning, the state outlawed slavery

C. It was once the center of manufacturing in the American colonies

D. From its beginning, it had the strictest laws on dealing with people in debt

Question #12

Which of the following would likely have led to more specialization for laborers?

A. President giving speeches to encourage people to specialize more

B. Policies that decreased immigration from Europe into the US

C. Closing off more and more land in the West from settlement

D. None of the above

Question #13

Which of the following is true about money in the colonies?

A. The forms of money used in the colonies did not change at all from 1675 to 1775

B. Whether with friends or strangers, people found bartering to be convenient

C. Thomas Jefferson thought the use of money was oppressive

D. Each colony eventually had its own fiat money

Question #14

In the colonial period, productivity growth in transportation and distribution was…

A. Doubling every 14 years

B. Due to other factors like the decline in piracy and decreasing the time stuck at ports

C. Due to technological advances like faster speeds

D. Faster in the South during the 18th century than in the Middle Colonies

Question #15

For Native Americans during the colonial period, what could we say about the PED (in magnitude) for horses?

A. It was greater than 1

B. It was less than 1

C. It was equal to 1

D. PED was never discussed in this course

Question #16

Which of the following is valid about wealth inequality in the US during the colonial period?

A. The increase in commerce tended to decrease wealth inequality

B. Wealth inequality emerged over time as initial settlements transformed into towns and sometimes cities

C. Wealth inequality was present from the very founding of the colonies

D. None of the above

Question #17

Which of the following can be inferred from the Seven Years’ War?

A. It led to the colonists viewing the British government as free riders

B. It was supported by almost all the American colonists

C. Britain's victory actually led to a change in priorities regarding the frontiers which contributed to the Revolutionary War

D. While it lasted several years, it did not require much spending by the British government

Question #18

What can we infer from the Tea Act of 1773?

A. Some people in Britain benefited from it

B. Some people in Britain benefited from it, some people in America benefited from it and were hurt by it

C. Some people in America benefited from it and were hurt by it

D. Some people in America benefited from it

Question #19

Consider the tactic of the boycott – organized action to prevent the purchase of an item for a political purpose. It has been stated that most boycotts are not effective. However, the colonists’ boycotts during the 1760s were effective in getting the British government to back down.

A. FALSE

B. TRUE

Question #20

Which of the following was NOT a cause of the Revolutionary War?

A. The desire for British landowners for tax relief

B. The desire to help a company considered by some British to be important

C. The different beliefs about whether to have slavery

D. The desire to prevent further conflict between Native Americans and settlers

Question #21

According to the lecture slides, the overall annual agricultural productivity growth in the Middle Colonies in the 18th century was about 0.3% per year. At that pace and if we started with agricultural output in 2021, in what year would agricultural output double?

A. The year 2036

B. The year 2138

C. The year 2254

D. None of the above

Question #22

How would you describe the level of autonomy for American colonists in the 17th century and much of the 18th century?

A. High because of the governors being financially dependent on the colonists and the British government in London having little interest in colonial policy

B. High until 1685 when King James II was deposed and power moved from the monarchy to Parliament

C. Very low due to the power of the colonial governors

D. Very low due to the power of the English and later British monarchy who always watched and tightly controlled colonial policy

Question #23

Who would have gained from the land policies enacted by Britain after 1763?

A. European migrants to the US looking to move west to settle down

B. Some American property owners

C. Colonists migrating back to Europe

D. None of the above

Question #24

During the period of 1775 to 1815, the American economy swung from recession to prosperity and back again. This movement back and forth had to do with the dependence of the country’s economy on trade.

A. TRUE

B. FALSE

Question #25

One of the main reasons the US Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation was that the country’s economy could function more effectively with a weaker federal government.

A. FALSE

B. TRUE

Question #26

What can be said about economic development?

A. It has nothing to do with health and education

B. It only takes place when an economy shrinks in economic output

C. It did not happen during the colonial period or even 50 years after Independence

D. None of the above

Question #27

Consider how after the Revolutionary War that the amount of imports increased a lot. What effect would this rise in imports have on the price of goods that used the imports as inputs?

A. Leave the price unchanged

B. Unclear

C. Decrease the price

D. Increase the price

Question #28

As shown by America’s method of paying for the Revolutionary War, a country’s government can tax its citizens without having to take any money out of their pocket.

A. TRUE

B. FALSE

Question #29

Which of the following is FALSE about the US Constitution?

A. It granted the states the power to print their own money

B. It established that the federal government had the power to tax

C. The federal government was given the sole power to apply tariffs

D. The federal government was given the power to build roads

Question #30

The Southerners were generally opposed to pro-settler laws like the General Preemption Act of 1841. They might have been less opposed if what had been changed?

A. Provided subsidies to farmers to grow crops there paid for by taxes on Southern states

B. Decreased the price charged per acre

C. Increased the size of the land parcels offered

D. Allowed the settlers to hire boring economics teachers to lecture them on supply and demand

Question #31

Over time, the Southern states began to move increasingly into the crop of cotton. Which of the following was NOT a reason for this change?

A. Higher prices of tobacco

B. Inventions that increased the productivity of cotton farming

C. Increased supply of tobacco from other parts of the world

D. Increased demand for cotton

Question #32

Consider the “Know Nothing” party that existed in the US in the 1840s and 1850s. It was strongly against immigration. What can you infer from the lecture slides (lecture 9) about why this movement began?

A. A large number of French migrants from Canada’s Quebec moving to Boston and New York City in the 1840s

B. The increased migration of people from Ireland, Germany and Scotland during the early and mid-1800s

C. Anger at the free trade policies at the time of the Democratic Party

D. The quick movement of America’s settlements westward which led to people native to those westward areas moving to the Northeastern United States

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