Quiz for Sources for America’s History, Chapter 9

Question

1. What does Lucy Larcom’s “Reminiscence” (Document 9-1) reveal about how the industrial revolution altered the lives of American women in New England in the 1830s and 1840s?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is b. For women like Lucy Larcom and her mother, the Industrial Revolution and the emergence of textile mills in New England gave them new economic opportunities. Although life in Lowell was not without its negative aspects, Larcom’s widowed mother was able to take advantage of Lowell’s large population of single women workers to open a boarding house, and when the family finances required it, Larcom herself found employment in the mill. Before the Industrial Revolution brought these institutions to Massachusetts, the Larcom women’s options would have been substantially more limited.
Incorrect. The answer is b. For women like Lucy Larcom and her mother, the Industrial Revolution and the emergence of textile mills in New England gave them new economic opportunities. Although life in Lowell was not without its negative aspects, Larcom’s widowed mother was able to take advantage of Lowell’s large population of single women workers to open a boarding house, and when the family finances required it, Larcom herself found employment in the mill. Before the Industrial Revolution brought these institutions to Massachusetts, the Larcom women’s options would have been substantially more limited.

Question

2. The arguments put forward by P.B. Porter in his “Speech on Internal Improvements” (Document 9-2) were specifically geared toward his advocacy of which of the following?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is d. In his speech, P.B. Porter argues for the advancement of the Commonwealth System, which consisted of state aid to private businesses whose projects—in this case, the building of the Erie Canal—would improve the general welfare of the nation.
Incorrect. The answer is d. In his speech, P.B. Porter argues for the advancement of the Commonwealth System, which consisted of state aid to private businesses whose projects—in this case, the building of the Erie Canal—would improve the general welfare of the nation.

Question

3. What does Document 9-3, “Repeating Fire-Arms. A Day at the Armory of Colt’s Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company,” suggest about what was particularly interesting to both its author and its intended audience?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is a. This article focuses primarily on the innovative technology that the Colt factory employed and the ways that it had transformed the process of gun production in the United States.
Incorrect. The answer is a. This article focuses primarily on the innovative technology that the Colt factory employed and the ways that it had transformed the process of gun production in the United States.

Question

4. The artist who created the frontispiece for Matthew Hale Smith’s Sunshine and Shadow in New York (Document 9-4) was aiming to convey which of the following messages?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is c. The artist behind this frontispiece wanted to illustrate how the new wealth created by American industrialization was gained at the expense of people who worked in the factories. This piece of social commentary was intended to point out the potential consequences and implications of the new business-dominated society.
Incorrect. The answer is c. The artist behind this frontispiece wanted to illustrate how the new wealth created by American industrialization was gained at the expense of people who worked in the factories. This piece of social commentary was intended to point out the potential consequences and implications of the new business-dominated society.

Question

5. How did organizations like the American Temperance Society, whose Temperance Manual is excerpted in Document 9-5, characterize drunkenness?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is b. Temperance advocates, like those who authored the Temperance Manual, believed that drunkenness was the cause of the social problems that became increasingly visible in industrializing America. By eliminating alcohol consumption, they believed they could also solve the problems of poverty, prostitution, the abuse of women and children, crime, illness, and insanity.
Incorrect. The answer is b. Temperance advocates, like those who authored the Temperance Manual, believed that drunkenness was the cause of the social problems that became increasingly visible in industrializing America. By eliminating alcohol consumption, they believed they could also solve the problems of poverty, prostitution, the abuse of women and children, crime, illness, and insanity.

Question

6. Charles Finney’s “Lectures on Systematic Theology” (Document 9-6) suggests that he conceived which of the following as his primary purpose as a minister?

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The answer is a. This excerpt suggests that Finney believed his role as a minister was to incite Americans to accept the salvation that God offered to everyone. He opposed Calvinist views of predestination and argued that salvation came to those who made themselves open to it.
Incorrect. The answer is a. This excerpt suggests that Finney believed his role as a minister was to incite Americans to accept the salvation that God offered to everyone. He opposed Calvinist views of predestination and argued that salvation came to those who made themselves open to it.