Chapter 1 - A Brief Economic History of the United States

1		Which is the most accurate statement?
			A)	During the 19th century the federal government gave away farmland to anyone willing to clear the land and farm on it.
			B)	Until the time of World War II, most Americans were employed in agriculture.
			C)	In the years before the Civil War, farms were, on the average, much larger in the North than in the South.
			D)	It takes about 10 farmers to feed 100 Americans.
2		Which statement is false?
			A)	Henry Ford personified the relationship between mass consumption and mass production.
			B)	Mass production is possible only if there is also mass consumption, while mass consumption is possible only if there is also mass production.
			C)	American consumers are generally willing to pay higher prices for lower quality American manufactured goods, rather than buy lower priced, higher quality foreign goods.
			D)	The national railroad network was completed in the second half of the 19th century.
3		Which of the following statements is the most accurate?
			A)	The mechanization of American agriculture would not have been possible without a highly skilled farm work force.
			B)	The period of our greatest agricultural prosperity was during the last two decades of the 19th century.
			C)	The first two decades of the 20th century were the worst two decades in our history for farmers.
			D)	American agricultural productivity slowed considerably during the first half of the 20th century.
4		The purpose of the New Deal was to
			A)	bring the nation out of the Great Depression.
			B)	end slavery.
			C)	end inflation in the 1970s.
			D)	end the massive budget deficits of the 1980s.
5		The decade when automobile production expanded more than 20-fold was the
			A)	1920s.
			B)	1950s.
			C)	1960s.
			D)	1990s.
6		Each of the following is a feature of the "new economy" except
			A)	rapidly growing productivity.
			B)	low unemployment.
			C)	high inflation.
			D)	federal budget surpluses.
7		During the administration of President Reagan
			A)	tax rates were raised.
			B)	the budget deficit rose.
			C)	the rate of inflation increased.
			D)	there were no major recessions.
8		During the decade of the 1990s our federal budget deficit went ___ and our trade deficit went ___.
			A)	up, up
			B)	down, down
			C)	up, down
			D)	down, up
9		Each of the following was an important factor in the suburbanization of the United States except
			A)	the GI Bill of Rights.
			B)	the automobile.
			C)	William Levitt.
			D)	government employment programs.
10		Which is the most accurate statement?
			A)	The New Deal successfully brought us out of the Great Depression.
			B)	The Eisenhower administration failed to bring down the rate of inflation.
			C)	Between 1939 and 1944 the national output of goods and services nearly doubled.
			D)	The United States has experienced a depression every 30 years.
11		"Stagflation" best describes the economic conditions during the administration of
			A)	Franklin Roosevelt.
			B)	Dwight D. Eisenhower.
			C)	Jimmy Carter.
			D)	Bill Clinton.
12		Which statement is true?
			A)	Real wages are lower today than they were in 1973.
			B)	The rate of inflation today is higher than it was any time since World War II.
			C)	The end of the Cold War with the Soviet Union has resulted in a cut in our defense spending by about two-thirds.
			D)	The United States has only minor social and economic problems today.
13		Which statement is the most accurate?
			A)	Like the 1920s, the 1990s was a decade of great prosperity.
			B)	Although the stock market rose very rapidly through the 1990s, the decade was marked by high unemployment and low economic growth.
			C)	About one third of all Americans are officially classified as "poor."
			D)	Although the United States has the world's largest economy, there is really no basis for Henry Luce's claim that the 20th century was "The American Century."
14		Which statement is true?
			A)	The population of the United States has been about the same for the past 30 years.
			B)	The U.S. is the sole superpower and has one of the world's highest standards of living.
			C)	The "new economy" best describes our economy in the 1930s and 1940s.
			D)	Bill Clinton will go down in history as having presided over an administration that basically ruined our economy.