Study Questions for the Hughes & Cain Chapter 8 Readings

Transcription

1 Study Questions for the Hughes & Cain Chapter 8 Readings Objective/Short answer questions 1. (6 points) Farmer Mike and his wife Mildred are living Sharon, PA (indicated by X) in Mike, Mildred, and their 11 children are considering ways to get their products (corn liquor, barley, and lots of salted pork) to market. What are the 3 most practical/likely ways they to get their products to market? Place a check in 3, and only 3, of the blanks below. Yes, the year is important. One transportation link opened in 1834 and others had not yet been built. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad The Baltimore & Ohio Canal The Great Lakes and then the Erie Canal The Pennsylvania Mainline Canal The Pennsylvania Central Railroad X The New York Central Railroad The National Road The Natchez Trace The Ohio and Mississippi Rivers The Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers The Ohio and Atlantic ( Wabash Cannonball ) Railroad 2. (6 points) On the map, draw and label each of the three routes you indicated above. 1

2 3. Consider the trade between India and Britain during the colonial era. India can produce both spices and bulkier commodities (ex. wheat, raw cotton) as well. As transportation costs fell, what likely happened to spices as a percent of all Indian exports? a. Spices constituted a larger % of India s exports to Britain. b. Spices share of the trade should be unaffected. c. Spices constituted a smaller % of India s exports to Britain. 4. When left to the private sector, transportation improvements, especially roads, tended to: a. suffer from externality problems. The private company could not capture all the benefits and was unlikely to make the improvement. b. have low start up costs but very high operating costs. Many fraudulent firms obtained a government charter, took the seed money and ran. c. be very profitable until the federal government began its widespread national system of transportation improvements. 5. When compared to publically build roads funded by tax dollars, private roads: a. were very well-maintained because of their high profitability. b. have the extra expense of making the road excludable. c. are usually overbuilt because of competing sectional interests. Every town and port wanted a connection so more roads were built than was socially optimal. 6. In which country, from about 1750 to 1850, were private or semi-private toll-roads more common: a. Great Britain b. the United States c. Mars. Yeah, I saw the John Carter movie! 7. A canal is being built in Ohio in the year Where is most of the money for this canal likely coming from? a. the national (U.S.) government and the Ohio state government b. the national (U.S.) government and the private sector c. the Ohio state government and the private sector 8. What was the Gallatin Plan? 9. Was the Gallatin Plan adopted? 10. Which of the following best explains the answer to # 9 (above)? 2

3 11. It s 1815 in the United States west of the Appalachians. Rank the following transportation costs (per ton/mile) from lowest (1) to most expensive (3)? Wagon transport Downstream water transport Upstream water transport Below you have map of the start of some major U.S. canals. 1. (4 pts) Indicate the canal s name. 2. Indicate ( ) which canal(s) made it west of the Appalachian mountains (west of the Appalachian divide). You can check some, none, or all of the canals. 3. Indicate ( ) which canal(s) used steam engines and railways to haul boats over the mountains. You can check some, none, or all of the canals. 4. Indicate ( ) which canal was the most profitable. Check only 1 canal. 5. Indicate ( ) which canal carried the most traffic (tonnage). Check only 1 canal. Name West of Appalachians? Railway & Steam Engine? Most Profitable? Most Traffic? 3

4 6. (15 points, 0.8 pts each) It s Geography Time!!! Indicate the names of the cities and rivers from the map below. Cities A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. Rivers

5 Essay Questions to Ponder 1. How did falling transportation (ex. PS 5) to illustrate this. Make sure you thoroughly explain what is going on in the model. Did the shifting of agriculture have any effects on the manufacturing sector arising in the east, in particular in New England? If so, what? 2. What are some economic issues involved in who will pay for transportation improvements; the private sector, state and local government, or the federal government? Explain the different financing of canals, turnpikes in the United States in the light of these issues. Explain the different financing of canals and railroads in the United States, as compared to Great Britain, in the light of these issues. 3. Complete the following sentence. Spring Break is more fun than a. 5