Robert Fogel's upper bound estimate of the social savings from the railroad industry came to about ____ of the GNP in 1890
a. 7
b. 15
c. 20
d. 120
Question 2Fogel argued that railroads were more cost effective than canals because railroads were faster and were in service all year and that using rail instead of canals would ____.
a. lower freight rates on the railroads
b. lower government subsidies for railroads
c. lower eastern inventories of grain in the
d. reduce the wheat being shipped to Europe
Question 3After computing the social savings from the railroads, Fogel concluded that ______.
a. the railroads were indispensable to the economic development of the United States
b. the railroads were not indispensable in 1850 but by 1890 were dispensable
c. the railroads could explain only a small fraction of the growth in real income in the United States
d. economics is not sufficiently scientific to make a meaningful calculation of the social savings
Question 4Albro Martin and the text contend that the work of the Interstate Commerce Commission was largely for the benefit of _________.
a. consumers
b. the environment
c. the federal government
d. major shippers
Question 5The Elkins Act of 1903:
a. outlawed any departure from a published shipping rate.
b. made the receiver of a rebate guilty of violating the law.
c. probably reflected the wishes of a large majority of railroad companies.
d. All of the above.
Question 6The first independent federal railroad regulatory agency was:
a. Interstate Commerce Commission.
b. Federal Trade Commission.
c. Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Fire Arms.
d. United States Fair Trade Commission.
Question 7In the Wabash case (1886), the Supreme Court held that:
a. states cannot enact laws that interfere with interstate commerce.
b. states could restrict price-discrimination based on person, but not price-discrimination based on place.
c. states could regulate railroad rates on long-hauls, but not rates on short-hauls.
d. held that railroad practices could not be regulated by any federal or state governing body.
Question 8Granger laws:
a. were severely limited in scope through litigation.
b. generally outlawed both place and person discrimination.
c. established commissions with the power to investigate complaints.
d. All of the above are correct.
e. Only a and b are correct.
Question 9In Munn v. Illinois (1877), the Supreme Court held that:
a. state laws limiting prices charged by grain elevators were a violation of the Fifth Amendment.
b. grain elevator and freight prices could only be regulated by the federal government.
c. states have a right to regulate businesses within the state that are clothed with a public interest..
d. organizations like the Grangers violated federal conspiracy laws.
Question 10Early efforts by states to regulate the railroads:
a. resulted in Granger laws.
b. resulted in laws that were initially supported by the railroads.
c. outlawed product discrimination.
d. allowed for higher charges on short haul freight.
Question 11The Grangers would most likely support which policy?
a. Price controls on grain operators
b. Price deflation
c. A strong commitment to backing currency only with gold
d. Federal government aid to railroads
Question 12The Grangers were:
a. an organization designed to support the interests of railroads.
b. an agrarian society.
c. an abolitionist organization.
d. a society that petitioned for Prohibition.
Question 13In the 1870s, excess capacity in the railroad industry led to:
a. rates wars.
b. the formation of regional federations to pool traffic or profits.
c. price-fixing.
d. hidden rate-cutting through rebates.
e. All of the above.
Quick Reply
