Answer questions under “Analyzing the Evidence” and “Putting it All Together” on page 253. (I provided the pages from chapter 8 that will help in answering the questions.)
- What does the Pewterer’s Banner (source 1) suggest about personal and by extension national success in the post-Revolutionary era? What can you infer about artisan entrepreneurs in the new republic from this source?
- According to John Jacob Astor (source 2) and the cabinetmaker (source 3), what traits are important in work? Based on the sources included here, do you agree with Astor that good habits make any man rich? Why or why not?
- Sources 2, 4, and 5 all deal with John Jacob Astor. What do these sources suggest about the road to wealth in America?
- Compare and contrast Hone’s view of Astor (source 4) with that of the Herald’s editorial (source 5). Then apply the Herald’s critique to contemporary entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates of Microsoft or Steve Jobs of Apple. Are their fortunes also the product, in part, of “the industry of the community”?
- Explain how a pewterer or a cabinetmaker might follow a somewhat similar path to wealth in the market economy of nineteenth-century America. Noting also the statement “All her Sons Join as One Social Band” (source 1), explain why other Americans were critical of the rise of such ambitious capitalist entrepreneurs.
Answer all questions in paragraph form. Use Times New Roman and 12 point font, single spaced. Number the answers.
