Mock Midterm: Econ 113: American Economic History: Fall 2007
(A) One-Sentence Identifications: Briefly state the importance of each of the following people/places/things/concepts for American economic history:
Henry Hudson; Christopher Columbus; Mississippi River; cotton gin; Sutter's Mill; tobacco; corn; smallpox; Boston; Philadelphia; Alexander Hamilton; Andrew Jackson; Erie Canal; New York Central Railroad; Central Pacific Railroad; Ohio River; beaver fur; interchangable parts; tariff; New Orleans.
(B) One-Paragraph Discussions: Write one paragraph (three to six sentences) answering each of the following questions:
- Why does Jared Diamond believe that inventing agricuture was a very bad thing?
- Why couldn't the Aztecs and the Incas repel the Spanish invasions?
- How would the U.S. economy have been different in 1860 if the U.S. government had followed a zero-tariff policy?
- How would the U.S. economy have been different in 1860 if the cotton gin had never been invented?
- Were there important economic reasons for the American Revolution?
(C) Essay: Write an essay on one of the two following topics:
- What, in your view, are the main important themes of pre-1865 American economic history? What is the most important theme? And why?
- As of the middle of the nineteenth century, the American economy was almost universally regarded as successful. What were the major aspects of this economic success? Why did they come to pass--why did so much go so right for the American economy?
