rap2016_ch12

Quiz for Document 12–2: Henry W. Bellows, The Influence of the Trading Spirit upon the Social and Moral Life of America, 1845

Choose the best answer to each question.

1. How did Bellows characterize the nation and its people?

He found Americans lazy at heart but compelled to work.

He thought Americans lacked drive and were lost in romanticism.

He noted that the nations’ virtues were those of merchants, not men.

He believed that slavery destroyed whatever good might be in the nation’s character.

2. According to Bellows, where did the “anxiety of gain” in the United States come from?

The poverty of the lower classes of American society

The oppression of the working class by their employers

The American obsession with work, wealth, and outward appearance

The desire to be competitive with foreign nations

3. Which of the following was one of the consequences of the American “anxiety of gain”?

Growing wealth inequality

Increasing frequency of conflicts with foreign powers

Terrible workplace conditions and long workdays

Somber and inhospitable American homes