Practice question · Sort into groups
Sort each statement by whether it is a claim about the AGGREGATE economy or about a PARTICULAR trade or place.
Groups: Aggregate claim · Particular claim
- Manchester grew from a market town into a manufacturing city
- Cotton output rose by orders of magnitude
- Handloom weavers were ruined by power looms
- GDP per head grew at under one per cent a year
- More than half the population lived in towns by 1851
Hints
- One column would appear in national accounts; the other in a local or trade study.
- Ask what evidence you would need to test each claim.
Show the answer
Aggregate claim: GDP per head grew at under one per cent a year, More than half the population lived in towns by 1851
Particular claim: Handloom weavers were ruined by power looms, Manchester grew from a market town into a manufacturing city, Cotton output rose by orders of magnitude
Why
Almost every argument about the standard of living in this period comes from mixing the two columns. Both kinds of statement are true and they answer different questions, so a national average and a ruined trade can be cited against each other indefinitely without either side being wrong.
Practise Demographic and Economic Change
The app has 5 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. History II is free to start.
More questions on Demographic and Economic Change
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