Growing Infrastructure (Practice Quiz)

Which became a major center of commerce and trade after the Erie Canal was built in the early 1800s?

• New Orleans

• Washington, DC

• New York City

• St. Louis

Why was the construction of the Cumberland Road in 1818 controversial?

• Many people believed the Cumberland Road would draw industry away from the North to the southern states.

• Many Americans believed the Cumberland Road was not needed to promote settlement in the Northwest Territory.

• Some people thought it was unfair to use federal money to build a road that would only benefit a small number of Americans.

• Opponents feared the Cumberland Road would destroy the economies of towns along the Potomac and Ohio rivers.

Which two rivers were connected by the Cumberland Road, which was completed in 1818?

• the Missouri and Mississippi rivers

• the Potomac and Ohio rivers

• the Arkansas and Red rivers

• the Illinois and Ohio rivers

Henry Clay’s American System proposed improvements to transportation. How did these changes impact trade among regions of the United States?

• They made major waterways, such as the Mississippi River, unnecessary.

• They made it easier to move goods and raw materials around the country.

• They made New Orleans the new center of industry in the South.

• They made the Northwest Territory the only farming region in the country.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, what was the primary means for transporting goods?

• canals

• railroads

• roads

• rivers

The main reason Democrats opposed the American System was because they believed it

• benefited only certain regions in the nation.

• gave the government too large a role in the economy.

• forced small local banks to take unnecessary risks.

• made American goods more expensive than imports.

Henry Clay was known for his skill in

• crafting compromises.

• exercising veto power.

• inventing the steam engine.

• leading the Democratic Party.

One of the reasons Henry Clay believed a national bank was needed was to

• levy an import tax.

• improve urban markets.

• connect distant regions.

• stabilize prices.

Henry Clay planned to fund the American System largely through

• tariffs on foreign imports.

• sales of manufactured goods.

• improvements to infrastructure.

• sales of food and cash crops.

What was the most important goal of the American System?

• to start growing cash crops in the South

• to lower taxes on imported goods

• to promote major industries

• to abolish river transportation