Factories, cities and new immigrants in the North

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Regions in 1860 (cards A to C). Card A, the Preliminary Report on the Eighth Census (published in 1862, during the Civil War, by the Census Office for Congress; spacing modernized, one hyphenated word joined): "It is due to candor to state that the marked disproportion between the rate of gain in the north and south respectively, is manifestly to some extent caused by the larger number of immigrants who settle in the former section, on account of congeniality of climate, the variety of occupation, the dignity wherewith respectable employment is invested, and the freedom of labor." Just before this, the report gives the population gain from 1850 to 1860: 41.24 percent in the nineteen free states, seven territories and the District of Columbia together, and 27.33 percent in the fifteen slaveholding states. In those fifteen states about 3.95 million of 12.24 million people were enslaved. Card B, the same report, Table 33, titled "Approximate statistics of the Products of Industry for the year ending June 1, 1860" (rounded by us). New England: about 19,500 shops and factories; about 403,000 workers (267,000 men and 135,000 women); goods worth about $494 million. Middle States (with Delaware, Maryland and the District of Columbia): about 52,400; 622,000 workers (503,000 men and 120,000 women); $804 million. Western States (with Kentucky and Missouri): about 34,300; 222,000 workers (205,000 men and 18,000 women); $390 million. Southern States: about 18,000; 110,000 workers (99,000 men and 11,000 women); $145 million. Pacific States: about 4,100; 27,000 workers (27,000 men and 500 women); $63 million. Whole nation: about 128,300; 1,385,000 workers; $1.9 billion. The report's leading products: flour and meal, $224 million; cotton goods, $115 million; lumber, $96 million; boots and shoes, $90 million. Card C, sources on the Erie Canal, which opened in 1825 (each source's own figures): the New York State Museum says that from 1815 to 1825 the cost of shipping wheat from Buffalo to New York City dropped from roughly $100 to $10 per ton, and that wheat, flour and lumber were the biggest cargo by tonnage all century. American Heritage says costs fell from $100 per ton to under $9 and that within 15 years New York was the busiest port in the nation, handling more commerce than New Orleans, Baltimore and Boston combined. A City University of New York page says the cost per ton fell from $90 to $4 and the trip from New York to Buffalo shortened from three weeks to eight days.

2. 1.

   Card A is the Census Office's explanation, published in 1862 during the Civil War. What should a student keep in mind about it, Ari asks?

   • It was written by southern officials, so it reflects the views of the slaveholding states
   • It is neutral because it uses numbers, so the explanation in it needs no checking
   • It is one office's view during a war, so check the numbers and the explanation separately
   • It is worthless because the government wrote it, so even its numbers should be thrown out
3. 2.

   Card A gives population gains of 41.24 percent in the free states and 27.33 percent in the slaveholding states. How much higher was the first rate, Bo asks?

   • About 1.4 percentage points
   • About 14 percentage points
   • About 27 percentage points
   • About 69 percentage points
4. 3.

   A student writes: "Card A proves immigration was the only cause of the faster growth in the free states." How strong is that claim, Esme asks?

   • Strong: card A says immigrants caused all of the gap in the growth rates
   • Weak: card A says immigrants did not matter to the free states' growth
   • Overstated: card A says immigration caused the gap only "to some extent"
   • Weak: card A is a table of goods, not of people, so it cannot show a cause
5. 4.

   Card A lists "the freedom of labor" as a reason immigrants settled in the north. What does that show about the report, Jun asks?

   • It names free labor as one reason immigrants went north, a claim to test against their own words
   • It settles that immigrants cared about free labor alone when they chose where to settle in America
   • It shows slavery did not matter to anyone who chose where to live in the United States at the time
   • It shows the writer had no view, since the report just lists plain facts about each section
6. 5.

   Dividing each section's goods by its workers, which section made the most per worker in card B, Kira asks?

   • New England, at about $1,230 per worker
   • Middle States, at about $1,290 per worker
   • Western States, at about $1,760 per worker
   • Pacific States, at about $2,300 per worker
7. 6.

   A student writes: "Western workers were more productive than New England workers." How strong is that claim, given card B, Luz asks?

   • Unsupported: card B lists no workers in the Western section, so goods per worker cannot be found
   • Disproved: New England made more goods overall, so each New England worker must have made more
   • Fully proved: the Western section's goods per worker are higher, so its workers were more productive
   • Partly supported: goods per worker were higher in the West, but value of goods is not productivity
8. 7.

   Card B ranks flour and meal above cotton goods, and card C says wheat, flour and lumber were the biggest canal cargo. What do they support together, Milo asks?

   • Cotton mills made most of the nation's goods, with flour and meal far behind
   • The canal opened in 1860, just as the census table of goods was drawn up
   • Grain and lumber moved by canal while farm processing led factory output
   • Farming had no link to factory industry, so the canal cargo came from no mills
9. 8.

   The three sources on the Erie Canal give different costs. What do they support together, Noah asks?

   • Shipping costs fell sharply, by about 90 percent or more, though the exact figures differ
   • They conflict, so the canal did not lower costs and the sources cannot be trusted
   • The three sources give identical figures, showing a drop from $100 to $10 per ton in each case
   • Shipping costs rose after 1825, so New York's merchants sent less wheat by canal
10. 9.

    A student writes: "Card B proves the North would win the Civil War." How strong is that claim, Ren asks?

    • Strong: the North made more goods, so it must win any war it fights against the South
    • Strong, because we know how the war ended and the North's factories outproduced the South
    • Weak: card B shows the South made more goods than the North in the year ending June 1860
    • Overstated: card B shows industrial output in 1860 but cannot show how a war would turn out
11. 10.

    Which new evidence would best test whether the canal caused New York's rise, Zee asks?

    • Port records of cargo before and after 1825, compared with other ports
    • A painting of the canal's opening in 1825, showing the crowds on the first day
    • New York's population growth after 1825, taken alone as proof of the canal's effect
    • The 1860 table of goods by section, which compares the regions of the country