Download Study Questions for The “Why England?” and the American

ECON 40413
U.S. Economic History I: The Founding Eras
John Lovett
Study Questions for The “Why England?” and the American
Revolution discussion
Readings: Lots of class notes on the French and Indian War.
Walton, Gary & Hugh Rockoff. 2010. A History of the American Economy. Chapter 6:
“Three Crises and Revolt”.
Objective/Short answer questions
1.
2.
_____ Which European power used joint stock companies in ways most like the English?
a. Spain (excluding early Basque explorations)
b. Holland (the Netherlands)
c. Sweden
d. Portugal
e. Italy
f. Austria (the Holy Roman Empire)
g. Russia
_____ What is the “headwright system”?
a. a conservative reaction to the “headleft” system
b. giving land to those who paid there own way to the colonies
c. an apprentice system used in England, Europe, and for a period, in the American colonies
d. giving one’s land only to the eldest son
e. “freeing” of indentured servants and given them a parcel of land and tools after their time of service
is completed
f. assigning land to a single owner rather than collectively (i.e. rather than assigning it to a group)
g. specifying that certain goods exported from the colonies must be shipped through England before
being sold elsewhere.
h. another name for the indentured servant system
3.
______ The “French and Indian War” was fought from 1756-1763. Who is the commonly accepted
winner of the French and Indian War?
a. The North American Indians as group
b. The North American Indians living in the South (ex. the Cherokee)
c. The North American Indians living in the North (ex. the Huron)
d. The French
e. The English
f. The Spanish
______ Which of the following best describe the French system of land ownership in colonial Canada?
4.
a. The “Seignorial” system. A semi-feudal system in which there were numerous restrictions on
what one could do with the land they worked.
b. The “Seignorial” system. A relatively “modern-looking” system that gave the land owner the
ability to do with his land as he pleased.
c. “Free and Common Socage”. A semi-feudal system in which there were numerous restrictions on
what one could do with the land they worked.
d. “Free and Common Socage”. A relatively “modern-looking” system that gave the land owner the
ability to do with his land as he pleased.
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ECON 40413
U.S. Economic History I: The Founding Eras
John Lovett
5.
_____ What is the “seigniorial system”?
a. a system of land ownership in which farmers have great difficulty in selling title to their land.
b. a system in which colonies are governed by a for profit company. The company consists of private
shareholders, faces few restrictions, and only owes the government a small annual fee.
c. a system in which colonies are governed by a for profit company. The crown (i.e. government),
however, appoints the company director and receives a large share of the profits.
d. a system designed to encourage colonization by providing “free” land to any who pays for their
own passage.
e. a system of land ownership in which land can easily be sold or inherited
6.
_____ Where was the “seigniorial system” used?
a. in French Canada
b. in British North America
c. in Spanish Meso-America (Mexico) and Peru
d. among hunter gathering Indian tribes in North America
e. among largely agricultural Indian tribes in North America
8.
______ According to your lecture and notes, which of the following best describes why the North
American colonies eventually were all British and not French?
a. The English eventually pushed their government subsidized trading posts west. They competed
trade with the Native Americans away from French private firms.
b. Military prowess. Although England was only a few years ahead of France in terms of military
technology and theory, this English lead made the difference.
c. English government subsides encouraged English settlers to undertake investments spanning
several generations. The French “annuaire” or “yearbook” system only encouraged investments
that paid off very quickly.
d. The English did a much better job at incentivizing people to settle in their colonies.
7.
______ What was the primary goal of mercantilists and mercantilist thought?
a. to unite Euro-American east coast settlements with Euro-American frontier settlements both
economically and politically
b. to discredit the Cantilists (ex. Richard Cantillon) by putting the suffix “mere” before their name
(implying they are small in stature or, alternatively, a female horse)
c. to promote “economic liberty”, i.e. to allow people and regions to specialize in production of their
choosing
d. to change the economy’s most important sector from agriculture to finance and commerce (ex.
insurance, etc.)
e. to change the economy’s most important sector from agriculture to industry (ex. iron production)
f. to make the country/state more powerful relative to others
8.
______ Which act, passed by the British Parliament in 1765, was considered disagreeable to the
colonists because it imposed an “internal tax”?
a. the Stamp Act
b. the Sugar Act
c. the Glass and Stegal Act
d. the Monetary Act
e. the Fudiciary Act
f. the Admiralty Act
h. the Quartering Act
g. the Port of Boston Act
9.
______ Which acts, passed by the British Parliament in 1774, restricted English settlement west of the
Appalachians?
a. the Quartering Act
b. the Townshend Act
c. the Setttlement Act
d. the Monetary Act
e. the Quebec Act
f. the Quartering Act
h. the Subject Nations Act
g. the Frontier Defense Act
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ECON 40413
U.S. Economic History I: The Founding Eras
John Lovett
10. ______ What did the 1773 Tea Act do?
a. Gave the Dutch East Indian company a monopoly on tea in the American colonies in exchange for
the island of St. Croix in the Caribbean
b. Gave the British East Indian company a monopoly on tea in the American colonies
c. Decreased the tax on imports of tea into the colonies, but increased the level of enforcement
d. stated that the indigo bounty was to be phased out over a 5 year period and be replaced by a tea
bounty
e. increased the tax on tea imported into the colonies
11. ______ What else did the 1773 Tea Act do?
a. allowed the British East India Company to ship tea directly to the American colonies
b. required American colonies to pay for the quartering of British troops in the colonies
c. banned the production of tea in the American colonies
d. taxed the production of tea in the American colonies
e. taxed the sale of tea in the American colonies
12. When were the “Intolerable Acts” passed?
13. What did the “Intolerable Acts” do?
14. What region (of the 13 colonies) felt the most indignation over the “Intolerable Acts”? Why?
15. What was the “Currency Act” and what did it” do?
16. Which colony felt the most indignation over the “Currency Act”? Why?
17. What was “Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation?”
18. What region (of the 13 colonies) felt the most indignation over British attempts to reduce the amount
of smuggling in the sugar trade? Why?
19. ______ The main costs of the Navigation Acts, to the 13 colonies, that Gary Walton attempted to
measure was costs stemming from:
a. higher taxes on goods produced and consumed within the colonies
b. higher taxes on distilled liquor used a major trade item on the frontier
c. the extra costs of quartering British troops in the 13 colonies
d. higher costs of shipping goods to and from Europe
e. higher prices (the colonists had to pay) for western lands
20. ______ The Navigation Acts meant colonial consumers:
a. often received the lower quality goods because the British military had first pick
b. could not travel outside their own colony unless they had a British visa
c. could travel to other mainland colonies (within the 13 colonies) but no outside the 13 colonies
colony unless they had a British visa
d. faced higher prices for imported goods
21. ______ The Navigation Acts meant colonial producers:
a. received English prices for goods they sold to the British army in the 13 colonies. This usually
meant they received lower prices than they would otherwise.
b. received English prices for goods they sold to the British army in the 13 colonies. . This usually
meant they received lower prices than they would otherwise.
c. received lower prices for the goods they export
d. could not sell their goods to England. While non-British markets had roughly the same price as
English markets did, the volumes colonial producers could sell was smaller than otherwise.
e. Found it cheaper to hire foreign (non-British)indentured servants than to hire British indentured
servants
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ECON 40413
U.S. Economic History I: The Founding Eras
John Lovett
22. ______ According to Gary Walton’s study, the Navigation Acts cost the 13 American colonies:
a. about 15% of colonial GDP
b. about 5% of colonial GDP
c. less than 1% of colonial GDP
d. just about exactly 0% of colonial GDP (there were no costs)
e. the navigation Acts were actually a benefit to colonial GDP on the order of 1% of colonial GDP
f. the navigation Acts were actually a benefit to colonial GDP on the order of 5% of colonial GDP
#’s 23 – 27: The fictional country of Anihc begins running a large trade surplus. Anihc’s exports of
goods and services are much greater than her imports.
23. _____If these are no other flows between Anihc and the rest of the world, what will happen to prices
in Anihc?
a. increase.
b. remain unchanged
c. decrease.
24. _____As prices change (or don’t change) as you indicated in # 23 above, what will happen to Anihc’s
trade balance?
a. Anihc’s exports increase and her imports decrease.
b. Neither Anihc’s export nor her imports change.
c. Anihc’s exports decrease and her imports increase.
25. _____The adjustments in #’s 23 and 24 are an example of:
a. a Keynesian multiplier
b. Ricardian Rents
c. the Invisible Hand
d. the Price–specie flow mechanism
e. the transition from autarky to emulence
26. _____Who first described the adjustments in made in #’s 23 and 24
a. John Adams
c. David Hume
b. Jeremy Bentham
d. John Maynard Keynes
e. David Ricardo
f. Adam Smith
27. (6 pts) Indicate () which was one of the major features of the British Navigation Acts according to
the text. You may check none, some, or all.
____ Stipulations that specifically listed colonial goods must be shipped through England before
being shipped elsewhere.
____ Stipulations that all goods leaving a colony must be shipped through England before being
shipped elsewhere.
____ Stipulating that X% of crews involved in trans-Atlantic shipping had to be “English”
(England and Wales), not colonial.
____ Stipulating that X% of crews involved in intra-colonial shipping (ex. New York to
Philadelphia) had to be “English” (England and Wales), not colonial.
____ Disbanding the local (colonial) lower house of the legislature and replacing them with officials
appointed by the crown.
____ Stipulations limiting the size of colonial ships.
28. What is meant by the “Empire of Liberty”?
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ECON 40413
U.S. Economic History I: The Founding Eras
John Lovett
29. _____ It’s 1770. John is a typical Englishman of middling means (he’s middle class). Bill is a typical
colonist living in the 13 colonies and also of middling means. Who likely pays a higher percent of his
income in taxes?
a. John, the Englishman, pays a higher %.
b. Bill, the colonist, pays a higher %.
c. They both pay roughly the same %.
30. ______ The Navigation Acts meant colonial consumers:
a. paid higher taxes on goods produced and consumed within the colonies.
b. paid higher taxes on distilled liquor used a major trade item on the frontier.
c. paid the extra costs of quartering British troops in the 13 colonies.
d. paid higher costs of shipping goods to and from Europe.
e. paid higher prices (the colonists had to pay) for western lands.
31. ______ Yowza! It’s the year 17_ _. The British government has just fought a very successful (for
Britain), but very expensive war. The British government, however, now have what it considers to be
very high government debt (about 150% of GDP). It now wants to take some steps to raise revenues
to help retire this debt. What war did the British just fight?
32. ______ Yowza! It’s the year 17_ _. The French government has just fought a very successful (for
France), but very expensive war. The French government, however, now have what it considers to be
very high government debt (about 133% of GDP … although I need to get some hard #’s). It now
wants to take some steps to raise revenues to help retire this debt. What war did the French just fight?
33. ______ What happened at Fort Necessity? Roughly when did it happen?
34. ______ Where and roughly when was “Braddock’s Defeat”? What did Braddock’s Defeat mean for
the British? Did Braddock’s Defeat markedly change the course of the war by giving the final victory
in the war to one side or the other?
35. ______ What major point was I trying to illustrate when discussing “Braddock’s Defeat”? Hint: It’s
not about the ghosts of dead soldiers haunting a Pittsburg area amusement park.
36. ______ Where and roughly when was “Battle of the Plains of Abraham”? What was the outcome of
the battle? Hint 1: This battle often goes by another name. Hint 2: Google is a great way to get the
information.
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