CHAPTER 7
Pre-Capitalism to Industrial Capitalism in the United States
1776-1865
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Explain the economic relationship of England and the U.S.
OUTLINE OF CHAPTER
I. Colonialism and Economic Development
II. Pre-Capitalist Institutions in the United States, 1776-1840
III. Beginnings of Capitalism, 1840-1860
VII. U.S. Law and Economic Development
Law, 1776-1840
Law, 1840-1865
KEY TERMS
Assets
things of value that can be owned
Corporation
a business in which all of the assets are owned by people who buy shares of stock, or shares of
ownership, in the business
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
ANSWERS TO END OF CHAPTER REVIEW QUESTIONS
Explain the economic relationship of England and the U.S.
1. What was the nature of trade between the United States and England when the United
States was still a colony? Why?
2. Why did the U.S. economy stay undeveloped for so long?
3. Describe how the United States remains a neocolonial country after the Revolutionary
War.
Neocolonial meant that the U.S. had formal independence and no occupying troops, but
4. Was the United States really independent from England after 1776? Explain.
Explain the gradual shift from agriculture to urbanization and economic development and
the impact on society.
5. How did monopolies in farm equipment and railroads impact early farmers?
As farmers became less self-sufficient and tied to the market, they faced monopoly prices
6. How is a corporation different from a business that is not organized as a corporation?
A corporation is defined as a business in which all of the assets are owned by people who
7. Why did the building of the railroad have such a huge impact on the economic
development of the United States? How was the building of the railroads financed?
The railroads were helped by large government giveaways of land. The building of a
8. How were the workers who actually built the railroads treated in general? Give
examples. How were ethnic minorities treated? Why?
The eastern part of the transcontinental railroad, the Union Pacific, used thousand of
9.
the United States so easily support capitalism?
The idea of rugged individualism was that if one were willing to work hard enough,
10. Unregulated capitalism was the predominate ideology of the era. In what ways is this
ideology a good thing? In which ways is it bad?
11. How did unbridled capitalism affect the distribution of wealth in the United States?
12. In which ways did the law try to preserve social institutions? When was law used as a
tool to change them?
13. Discuss revisions to property rights laws and contract law. What happened to the notion
14. What was the legal status of women in the early history of the United States?
Early U.S. law was the same as British common law, which gave the husband all the
15. Why did women on the frontier have a higher status than women on the East Coast?
16. What was the first right won by women in the 1850s
17.
movement?
APPENDIX 7.1
Slavery in the United States, 1776-1865
LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR APPENDIX 7.1
Describe how slaves were treated/exploited in America.
OUTLINE OF APPENDIX
I. Features of U.S. Slavery
II. Slavery and Economic Progress in the Old South
III. Conflicts over Slavery
ANSWERS TO APPENDIX 7.1 REVIEW QUESTIONS
Describe how slaves were treated/exploited in America.
1. Describe the living and working conditions for most slaves.
2. What social norms and laws were in place that perpetuated slavery?
3. What was the role of religion and underground churches for the slaves?
Compare and contrast the Southern economy to the Northern economy.
4. What is the difference in assets for capitalist enterprises in the North and the plantations
of the South? How might this affect innovations and productivity?
5. What invention improved the productivity of Southern plantation? How did this affect
the attitude of the slave owners?
6. Compare and contrast the distribution of agricultural output and wealth in the North and
the South.
7. What problems for economic development did slavery cause in the South? Explain and
give examples.
Understand the causes, forces, and motivations behind the Civil War.
8. Discuss how slavery was a factor in the Civil War. Was the war only about the
institution of slavery itself or are there other factors?
The Civil War resulted from the attempt to expand slavery into the West. Slave states