The Greatest Advantage of the Railroad Over Earlier Forms of Transportation

question 29

Multiple Choice

The greatest advantage of the railroad over earlier forms of transportation was its speed and its ability to stay open throughout most of the winter. Robert Fogel attempted to measure the advantage of faster all-weather transport by examining

• A) profits in transportation industries as a group.
• B) profits in railroads compared with canals.
• C) employment of labor and capital in the transportation sector before and after the railroad.
• D) inventories of agricultural products held in eastern markets.

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Definitions:

Equilibrium

A state of balance or stability within a system, where various forces or influences are in equal proportion.

Residential School System

A network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples, primarily in Canada and the United States, intended to assimilate Indigenous children into Western culture, often at the expense of eradicating their native culture, languages, and identities.

Aboriginals

Indigenous peoples native to a land or region, especially in reference to the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples of Canada.

Assimilate

The process by which individuals or groups adopt the culture, behaviors, and norms of another group, often losing their original identity or culture.