american growth exam 1

What was indentured servitude and how did contracts vary?

A credit system financing passage. Contracts varied by age/skill: young/unskilled = longer, skilled = shorter. Showed near-competitive equilibrium.

What main factor pushed English youths into indenture?

Fatherlessness. Without family support, they were shut out of the apprenticeship system. Indenture let them finance migration.

What were the Chesapeake tradeoffs for immigrants?

Negatives = high mortality, poor housing, unstable families. Positives = abundant food and landownership opportunities for survivors.

Why was slavery efficient according to Fogel?

Slave farms were ~35–40% more efficient than Northern farms. Efficiency came from the gang system and economies of scale

What factor raised cotton productivity?

Biological innovation. Breeders/planters spread new cotton strains, making picking easier. Productivity quadrupled by 1860.

What are the 5 dimensions of assimilation?

Earnings, occupation, residence, intermarriage, education. Immigrants assimilated slower than the traditional story, but children advanced faster.

Who moved in the Great Migration and what were the returns?

Negatively selected migrants. Gained higher wages than Southern stayers but less than northern-born Blacks. Returns from industrial jobs + education.

Why did Northern U.S. lead in schooling?

Affordability, local autonomy, broad political participation. By 1850, U.S. had highest school enrollments globally.

What was the High School Movement?

Rapid secondary expansion 1910–40, especially in Midwest/West. Driven by wealth, equality, and less manufacturing.

What is the “homecoming” of American college women?

Gender parity pre-1930, men surge after WWII (GI Bill), reversal by 1980 with women ahead. Driven by delayed marriage, higher labor returns, more STEM courses, changing expectations.

What does the labor supply graph for immigration look like?

Immigration shifts the labor supply curve right. Result = lower wages for low-skill natives in short run, but greater total output and long-run growth.

How did cotton picking productivity change over time?

Cotton picking productivity rose 4x between 1800 and 1860 due to biological innovation. Graph shows steep upward trend, not flat.

What does the “High School Movement” graph show?

A sharp rise in secondary enrollment from 1910–40, especially in Midwest and West. Graph shows slow early levels, then steep spike.

How does the gender gap in college look over time?

Near parity in 1900 → men surge after WWII (GI Bill) → reversal in 1980s with women ahead. Graph is U-shaped for women relative to men.

Compare Galenson’s and Grubb’s explanations for indenture.

Galenson = market-based credit system; contracts matched cost/productivity. Grubb = social factor of fatherlessness pushed youths into indenture. Together explain both economic and personal motives.

Compare Fogel vs. Olmstead & Rhode on slave efficiency.

Fogel: efficiency came from plantation management (gang system + economies of scale). Olmstead & Rhode: efficiency also came from biological innovation in cotton, raising productivity.

Compare immigration and the Great Migration.

Both were negatively selected groups, but movers earned higher wages than stayers. Immigrants assimilated slowly; Black migrants gained but remained behind northern-born Blacks.

Why was U.S. education “exceptional” compared to Europe?

The U.S. invested early in mass schooling (by 1850, world leader). Driven by affordability, decentralized local control, and broad political participation, unlike Europe’s elite-focused schools.

Which was more important for U.S. growth: labor supply (migration/slavery) or human capital (education)?

Both were key. Labor systems solved shortages in early periods, but long-run growth was fueled by human capital (high school movement, women’s college gains).

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