The efficiency of steamboats was commonly measured by (a) the carrying capacity of the steamboat fleet in terms of tonnage. (b) per unit labor costs per vessel. (c) the tonnage per vessel transported upstream. (d) the actual tonnage transported up and downstream each day. ANSWER (a)
Date: September 10th, 2020
Which of the following contributed to the increase in steamboat productivity? (a) Improvements in ship design (b) Better docking stations (c) Increased competition by railroads (d) All of the above ANSWER (d)
Date: September 10th, 2020
Funding for canals came from which of the following sources? (a) Private investments and tolls (b) Taxes (c) Borrowing on government credit (d) All of the above ANSWER (d)
Date: September 10th, 2020
Why was the Munn v Illinois (1877) court case particularly important with regard to government regulation? (a) It upheld the traditional right of businesses to act freely without interference by government. (b) It established the right of government at any level to regulate any business activity if it was deemed desirable for any reason. (c) […]
Date: September 10th, 2020
Business cycles can be described best as (a) being pervasive during the antebellum period but their effects were isolated to the private sector. (b) being pervasive during the antebellum period but their effects were isolated to the public sector. (c) being pervasive during the antebellum period and their effects were felt both in the private […]
Date: September 10th, 2020
Prior to the 1880s, federal government control over the daily operations of private economic activity (a) was important but not as important as during the 1880s and following decades. (b) was virtually nonexistent; state and local governments handled any regulation or business management. (c) was important, but in the 1880s and following decades, it became […]
Date: September 10th, 2020
The Gallatin Plan (1808) (a) was a plan by the U.S. Senate for a comprehensive system of internal land and water transport in the eastern part of the country to be built by the federal government. (b) was promoted on the basis that only the federal government could command sufficient resources to build a transportation […]
Date: September 10th, 2020
The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (a) did not specify what economic actions are legal. (b) said that only competitive economic actions were legal. (c) declared illegal every combination in restraint of trade. (d) declared none of the above. ANSWER (d)
Date: September 10th, 2020
The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was not well understood because (a) skilled lawyers were not involved in its creation. (b) judges were mainly political hacks and therefore were unable to follow the logic of the Act. (c) vested interests had been allowed too much influence in drafting the legislation. (d) the purpose of the […]
Date: September 10th, 2020
The turnpikes built in the early 1800s were (a) intercity toll roads. (b) highly profitable enterprises. (c) financed entirely by private enterprise. (d) regulated by the federal government. ANSWER (a)
Date: September 10th, 2020
