The Erie Canal, the most important canal (in terms of the number and dollar value of shipments), was ...

The Erie Canal, the most important canal (in terms of the number and dollar value of shipments), was in
 a. Georgia.
  b. New York.
  c. Pennsylvania.
  d. Maryland.

Question 2

One reason the Federal Reserve Board in Washington did not act as a lender of last resort during the early years of the Great Depression, was its power struggle with ____.
 a. U.S. Treasury
  b. foreign central banks
  c. Federal Reserve Bank of New York
  d. President Roosevelt

Question 3

Which did not cause significant navigation problems on inland waterways?
 a. ice
  b. variations in the heights of rivers
  c. sand bars
  d. sunken ships
  e. inland piracy

Question 4

Monetarists such as Milton Friedman blame the Great Depression primarily (although not completely) on ___.
 a. the stock market crash.
  b. the Bank Holiday.
  c. the decline in investment spending.
  d. the waves of bank failures.

Question 5

19th-century cost-saving innovations in steamboat transportation included all of the following except
 a. the replacement of steam-powered boilers by coal-burning engines.
  b. the adoption of lighter-weight boats.
  c. increases in the amount of cargo carried per vessel.
  d. learning to operate the boats at night.

Question 6

Andrea Schwatz has argued that the Great Depression was caused by
 a. the fall in the stock of money.
  b. the fall in consumer durable spending.
  c. the fall in investment spending.
  d. the increase in nominal wages.

Question 7

Strict constructionism of the Constitution in the antebellum period
 a. made federal funding of any project passing through several states illegal.
  b. held the federal government to only a few transportation projects.
  c. opened the door to federal domination of transportation projects.
  d. caused earlier federal plans of transportation expansion to be completed by a mix of state, local and private enterprise.
  e. Both b and d are correct.

Question 8

The aspect of the Second Banking Crisis of the 1930s that distinguished it from the First Banking Crisis was that during the second crisis ___.
 a. the Federal Reserve finally decided to act as lender of last resort
  b. the stock market boom finally came to an end with the crash
  c. banks in all regions of the country failed
  d. President Roosevelt asked Congress to establish Federal deposit insurance

Question 9

In the 19th century, the federal government:
 a. allocated funds to help build steamboats.
  b. passed laws requiring steamboat boiler inspections.
  c. required steamboat captains to undergo training in order to receive an operating license.
  d. regulated the fees that steamboats could charge for carrying freight.
  e. All of the above.

Question 10

Between 1929 and 1933, nominal interest rates ___, and real interest rates ___.
 a. rose, rose
  b. rose, fell
  c. fell, rose
  d. fell, fell

Question 11

Public versus private initiatives to expand canals and railroads in the United States:
 a. featured a large percentage of government investment.
  b. featured a small percentage of government investment.
  c. were dominated by private investment.
  d. were exclusively private due to strict constructionism.

Question 12

During the 1930s, banks found it hard to solve the asymmetric information problem between borrowers and lenders, because ____.
 a. Many borrowers lacked adequate collateral
  b. Changing federal bank regulations created uncertainty
  c. The fall in the stock of money reduced aggregate demand
  d. Interest rates had fallen to liquidity trap levels

Question 13

The introduction of steamboats:
 a. led to dramatic declines in the price of upstream transport.
  b. led to moderate declines in the price of downstream transport.
  c. is the primary reason for falling transportation costs in the early 1800s.
  d. led to an initial decrease in transport costs that continued to fall due to learning by doing and the construction of lighter boats with increased capacity.
  e. All of the above.

Question 14

According to Walton and Rockoff, which of the following was the most important in bringing the banking crises of the 1930s to an end?
 a. the elimination of many weak banks through bankruptcy (survival of the fittest)
  b. the promise of federal bank deposit insurance
  c. New Deal spending programs
  d. World War II

Question 15

Between 1820 and 1840 freight rates on western rivers declined drastically. The main reason for this drop in prices was _________.
 a. the decline in the price level.
  b. tolls and other barriers to trade decreased.
  c. the decline in monopoly power.
  d. the frequent use of the steamboat.