Question

Which of the following was a change in regional specialization and sectoral change during the early American economy?

a. All of these were true

b. Agricultural activities changed, with the Northwest emerging as the breadbasket of the nation and the South increasingly reliant on cotton as a cash crop

c. The Southern states were the home of the industrial revolution and the emergence of a vibrant manufacturing sector

d. The emergence of a rapidly growing manufacturing sector in the Northwest

Answer 1

Note that the regional specialization and the sectoral change implies that the distribution of the share of an industry in the total manufacturing in a particular given specific region. We can also say that a region is considered to be specialized in a specific industry if this region has the highest contribution or share of the total manufacturing of the total industry. If we look at the options above, note that in option b, the specific regions of Northwest and South are the specialized region for bread and cotton. In option c, the southern states have the highest share of the manufacturing sector, the option d also signifies the manufacturing sector in a given region of Northwest. Hence all of the above options are correct and hence a is the correct answer.