Quiz — Chapter 7: The Frontier Economy

Multiple Choice

1. The "self-sufficiency myth" refers to the mistaken belief that: - a) Appalachian settlers were too poor to participate in trade - b) Appalachian settlers lived entirely outside market economies, producing everything they consumed - c) Only wealthy Appalachian families engaged in commerce - d) Appalachian trade networks were limited to neighboring communities

2. American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) dug in Appalachian forests was primarily exported to: - a) England, where it was used as a tea substitute - b) France, where it was prized as a culinary ingredient - c) China, where it was valued in traditional medicine - d) Africa, where it was traded for enslaved people

3. The "hog-corn agriculture" system was significant because: - a) It required no labor from women - b) Corn fed both people and hogs, and hogs converted corn into storable, calorie-dense salt pork - c) It was borrowed directly from Cherokee agricultural practices without modification - d) It eliminated the need for any market participation

4. The Buncombe Turnpike was important to the Appalachian economy primarily as: - a) A route for migrating settlers from the coast - b) A mail delivery route connecting mountain communities - c) A major drove road for moving livestock from the Tennessee Valley to South Carolina markets - d) A military road built during the Revolutionary War

5. The open range or commons system allowed frontier families to: - a) Graze livestock on unfenced public and private land, enabling families with little land to maintain large herds - b) Collectively own all farmland in a community - c) Share crop harvests equally among all community members - d) Avoid paying taxes on their livestock

6. The Kanawha Valley salt industry is historically significant because: - a) It produced salt exclusively for local consumption - b) It was among the first industries in Appalachia and relied heavily on enslaved labor - c) It was entirely operated by free Black workers - d) It was managed by the federal government

7. Whiskey functioned as currency on the Appalachian frontier because: - a) The federal government designated it as legal tender - b) Banks required whiskey as collateral for loans - c) It was compact, non-perishable, universally desired, and solved the problem of transporting bulky grain over mountain trails - d) It was the only product mountain families could produce

8. Women's economic production on the Appalachian frontier included all of the following EXCEPT: - a) Spinning and weaving cloth for household use and trade - b) Managing dairy production and trading surplus butter - c) Preserving food for winter survival - d) Operating blast furnaces for iron production

9. The country store served as all of the following EXCEPT: - a) A place where barter and cash economies merged - b) A broker connecting mountain producers to wider markets - c) A source of credit for families between harvests - d) A democratically governed community institution

10. Iron furnaces in the Appalachian region are significant to the broader argument of this chapter because they: - a) Proved that mountain communities had no interest in industry - b) Were the first heavy industries in the mountains, using enslaved labor and foreshadowing later company towns - c) Were entirely operated without any connection to outside markets - d) Were exclusively located in the Kanawha Valley

Short Answer

11. Define "mixed economy" as it applies to the Appalachian frontier. Give two specific examples of how a single mountain family might participate in both subsistence production and market exchange.

12. Explain the concept of "transhumance" and how it functioned in the Appalachian open range system. What European pastoral traditions influenced this practice?

13. Daniel Boone is famous as a frontier explorer and hunter. What does his involvement in the ginseng trade — including his catastrophic keelboat loss in 1787 — reveal about the economic activities of even the most legendary frontiersmen?

14. How did the production of cloth (spinning and weaving) give women a direct role in the exchange economy? Use the Greenbrier County woman's account as evidence.

15. The chapter describes country store ledger books as "among the most valuable primary sources for understanding the frontier economy." What specific information do these ledgers contain, and why is that information so important for historians?

True or False

16. The Appalachian frontier economy was completely disconnected from global trade networks. TRUE / FALSE

17. Enslaved people worked in both the salt industry and the iron industry in Appalachian communities. TRUE / FALSE

18. The grass balds of the southern Appalachians served as important summer pastures for livestock in the commons system. TRUE / FALSE

19. Women's contributions to the frontier economy were well-documented in tax assessments and court records of the period. TRUE / FALSE

20. The ginseng trade is an example of how Appalachian communities were connected to the Canton trade system — one of the most significant global trade networks of the late eighteenth century. TRUE / FALSE

Essay Question

21. The chapter identifies several elements of what it calls "the extraction pattern" in the frontier economy — a pattern in which natural resources are taken from Appalachia, converted to wealth by intermediaries, and consumed in distant markets, while the costs (environmental depletion, labor, risk) remain local. In a well-organized essay of 400–600 words, identify this pattern in at least two frontier-era industries discussed in the chapter (ginseng, salt, iron, livestock, whiskey), explain how the pattern operated in each case, and argue whether this frontier-era pattern foreshadowed the much larger extraction that would come with the coal and timber industries. Use specific evidence from the chapter to support your argument.