Compare the economies of the North and the South before the Civil War

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Factories, railroads and the sections, 1850 to 1862 (cards A to D). Card A, a summary in our words from the 1860 census report, added up by us from its state tables: about 67,900 factories in the North, 27,500 in the South and 28,200 in the West; people 10.6 million in the North, 12.2 million in the South and 7.9 million in the West (regions as in the cotton cards: North is New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania; South is the 15 slave states; West is Ohio to Kansas). Card B, from the report's section on manufactures (cuts marked): "The returns of Manufactures exhibit a most gratifying increase." The 1850 value of manufactures was $1,019,106,616, and for the year ending June 1, 1860 the value, "carefully estimated for the remainder," "will reach an aggregate value of nineteen hundred millions of dollars (1,900,000,000.)", an increase it puts at "more than eighty-six (86) per centum in ten years." The work "gave employment to about 1,100,000 men and 285,000 women," and each worker on average maintained two and a half other people, giving 4,847,500 persons, "nearly one-sixth of the whole population." The report then says: "It is safe to assume, then, that one-third of the whole population is supported, directly and indirectly, by manufacturing industry." Card C, from the report's railroad section: "While the increase in mileage was nearly 300 per cent." In our words: the report counts about 8,600 miles of railroad in operation in 1850 and about 30,600 in 1860, an increase of about 22,000 miles. Card D, the cover letter of the report, dated May 1862: "I have the honor to communicate a preliminary report on the Eighth Census, by the Superintendent of that work."

2. 1.

   Card B is the Census Office's own description of manufactures. What is it best evidence for, and what is a limit, Ari asks?

   • Why the Civil War began in 1861, which the report explains in detail
   • Nothing, since a government office cannot be trusted to report on its own work
   • An exact count of the nation's workers, since it comes from a census
   • The Census Office's counts and praise; its "safe to assume" line is a judgment
3. 2.

   Using card A, which section had the most factories for each person, and about how many per 100,000 people, Esme asks?

   • The West, since its 28,200 factories are more than the South's 27,500
   • The South, since it had the most people and so the most factories per person
   • The North, about 64 factories per 100,000 people, against about 22 in the South
   • The North, about 640 factories per 100,000 people, against about 225 in the South
4. 3.

   Card B says manufactures grew "more than eighty-six (86) per centum," from $1,019,106,616 to about $1,900,000,000. Does the figure hold, Jun asks?

   • No: it is about 54 percent, the 1850 total as a share of 1860
   • Yes: the increase is about 86 percent of the 1850 total
   • No: it is about 186 percent, the 1860 total as a percent of 1850
   • No: it is about 46 percent, the increase divided by the 1860 total
5. 4.

   A student writes: "The census shows one American in three was supported by manufacturing." How strong is that claim, given card B, Kira asks?

   • Strong: the report states one-third in plain words
   • Weak: the report counts about one-sixth directly; one-third is its own assumption
   • Weak: the report gives no figure for how many people manufacturing supported in the nation
   • Strong: the report is official, so its assumptions are facts
6. 5.

   Card B says 1,100,000 men and 285,000 women each supported two and a half others, giving 4,847,500 people. How is that total reached, Luz asks?

   • 1,100,000 men × 3.5, which leaves the women out of the count
   • 4,847,500 is the number of workers, since the report calls them employed
   • 1,385,000 workers × 2.5, which leaves the workers themselves out
   • 1,385,000 workers × 3.5, counting each worker plus the two and a half others
7. 6.

   Cards B and C come from the same report. What do they suggest together about the 1850s, Milo asks?

   • Southern railroads grew, while manufactures shrank
   • Together they confirm each other, since two separate sources agree
   • Manufactures and railroads grew at exactly the same rate
   • Both grew fast, and the report presents both as national progress
8. 7.

   A student writes: "The South had fewer factories because it had fewer people." How strong is that claim, given card A, Noah asks?

   • Weak: the South had more people than the North but far fewer factories
   • Strong: card B says manufactures grew everywhere, so the South lagged for lack of people
   • Strong: card A shows the South had the fewest factories of the three
   • Weak: card A shows the West had the most people of the three sections
9. 8.

   Card B calls the growth "gratifying." Whose view of manufacturing could be missing from that word, Pia asks?

   • The report's author, whose view is fully given, so nothing is missing at all
   • Factory workers, whose own experience of the work card B never describes
   • Congress, which received the report and read every line
   • Foreign mills, which the report blames for the growth
10. 9.

    Card C says mileage rose "nearly 300 per cent," from about 8,600 to about 30,600 miles. About what percent is the real rise, Ren asks?

    • About 256 percent, so "nearly 300" stretches the number
    • About 28 percent, since 8,600 is that share of 30,600
    • About 356 percent, since 30,600 is that percent of 8,600
    • About 72 percent, since the 22,000 added miles divided by the 1860 total
11. 10.

    A student writes: "Railroads grew faster than manufactures in the 1850s." How strong is that claim, given cards B and C, Tala asks?

    • Strong on the numbers, 256 percent against 86 percent, though measures differ
    • Weak: manufactures were worth far more in dollars than railroads, so they grew faster
    • Weak: card C says nothing about how railroads changed after 1850
    • Strong: the report says railroads mattered more than manufactures