Chapter 13

Quiz for Chapter Thirteen America in Global Context: War Debt: Britain and the United States, 1830–1900

Feature Quiz

Chapter 13a

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Question 1

The text explains that, after rising to 27 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 1865 as a result of the Civil War, the national debt decreased quickly after that time due to tariff revenue. What other factor contributed to the rapid decrease of the national debt as a percentage of the GDP between 1880 and 1900?A. A rapid increase in the GDP due to industrialization
B. War reparations paid to the U.S. government by the former Confederacy
C. The U.S. government’s commitment to isolationism after the Civil War
D. Major economic inflation due to the nation’s growing dependence on imported goods

Question 2

Why did Britain’s national debt continue to shrink over the course of the nineteenth century while that of the United States never again reached the low level of the pre-1860 period?A. The United States instituted increasing numbers of social programs while Britain did not.
B. Britain benefitted from high tariff revenues during this time, but the U.S. eliminated tariffs.
C. Britain had already established its empire by the 1850s, but the United States began to expand its international reach after that time.
D. The United States refused to raise tax rates for the wealthy, whereas Britain taxed its wealthy industrialists at increasingly high levels.