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Chapter 07 Test Bank
Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
1. Inflation is
A. A rise in the price of every good but not any service.
B. An increase in relative prices of all goods and services.
C. A situation in which purchasing power increases.
D. An increase in the average level of prices of goods and services.
3. Inflation means
A. Specific prices are rising, and relative prices are falling.
B. Both relative prices and average prices are rising.
C. Relative prices are rising, but it is not certain what is happening to average prices.
D. Average prices are rising, but it is not certain what is happening to relative prices.
5. Deflation is a/an ____________ in the average level of prices of goods and services.
A. increase
B. decrease
C. stagnation
D. increase followed by a decrease
A. Relative prices may have been changing, but average prices were constant.
B. Relative prices were definitely constant.
C. Average prices and relative prices were definitely changing.
D. Average prices were constant, and unemployment was increasing.
8.
According to Figure 7.1, which of the following statements was definitely true about Country B?
In the year 1995, which of the following statements is true about the two countries
represented in Figure 7.2?
15. If the price of iPods rises 10 percent during a year when the level of average prices rises 3
percent, the relative price of iPods compared with other goods
A. Remains constant.
B. Increases.
C. Decreases.
D. More information is required to answer this question.
16. If the price of Bluetooth headsets rises 12 percent during a year when the level of average
prices rises 13 percent, the relative price of Bluetooth headsets
A. Remains constant.
B. Increases.
C. Decreases.
D. More information is required to answer this question.
17. When the price of a good decreases more slowly than an index of average prices
decreases, the good's relative price
A. Has risen while its actual price has fallen.
B. And its actual price has risen.
C. And its actual price has fallen.
D. Has fallen while its actual price has risen.
18. Comparing changes in relative prices is more useful than examining average prices in
A. Determining the redistribution of income.
B. Determining the inflation rate.
C. Deflating nominal income.
D. Determining if there is deflation.
19. Which of the following explains why redistribution occurs during inflation?
A. Rising prices fail to signal desirable changes in the mix of output.
B Because all prices do not change at the same rate, people buy different combinations of goods and services and
. own different combinations of wealth.
C. Relative prices remain unchanged.
D. All loans are indexed to inflation.
20. Which of the following results from unexpected increases in the rate of inflation?
A. Decreased uncertainty.
B. Increased windfall profits to creditors who have lent large amounts of money.
C. Redistributions of income and wealth between different groups.
D. Creditors are made better off.
21. The redistributive mechanics of inflation include all of the following except
A. Price effects.
B. Income effects.
C. Wealth effects.
D. Output effects.
23. Which of the following is not true about your nominal income?
A. It is the amount of money you receive during a given time period.
B. It is measured in current dollars.
C. It is not an accurate measure of purchasing power.
D. It is the same as your real income in times of high inflation.
24. The amount of money income received in a given time period, measured in current dollars, is
A. Nominal income.
B. Real income.
C. Relative income.
D. The Consumer Price Index.
30. When the price of a product rises faster than the inflation rate,
A. Nominal incomes of the consumers of that product fall.
B. Users of that product have higher real incomes than people who do not consume the product.
C. Nominal incomes of the consumers of that product rise.
D. Real incomes of the consumers of that product fall.
31. If your rent increases from $1,000 to $1,100 over a period of one year and your income
rises from $6,000 to $7,000, your nominal income has
A. Increased, but your real income has decreased.
B. Increased, and your real income has increased.
C. Decreased, and your real income has decreased.
D. Increased, but your real income has remained the same.
32. If the price of your cell phone service increases from $70 to $105 over a period of one year
and your income rises from $1,500 to $1,525, your nominal income has
A. Increased, and your real income has increased.
B. Increased, but your real income has decreased.
C. Decreased, and your real income has decreased.
D. Increased, but your real income has remained the same.
33. If the cost of your gasoline purchases decrease from $150 per month to $80 over a period of
one year due to lower prices and your income decreases from $1,600 per month to $1,500
per month, your nominal income has
A. Increased, but your real income has decreased.
B. Decreased, but your real income has increased.
C. Increased, and your real income has increased.
D. Increased, but your real income has remained the same.
34. If a bank has already lent money at fixed interest rates, then during a period of higher-than-
expected inflation, it experiences
A. Negative real income effects.
B. Hyperinflation.
C. Rising real interest rates.
D. Deflation.
35. If deflation is 0.5 percent per year and you receive a 1 percent decrease in your salary, then
your
A. Real income falls, but your nominal income remains unchanged.
B. Real and nominal income both fall.
C. Real income remains unchanged, but your nominal income rises.
D. Real and nominal income both rise.
36. Which of the following groups is protected from a sudden increase in inflation?
A. Borrowers who have loans at fixed interest rates.
B. Fixed-income groups.
C. Workers who receive fixed wages under multiyear contracts.
D. People who rent their homes under short-term leases in comparison with those who own their homes.
38. Generally speaking, which of the following groups would tend to gain real income from the
wealth effects of inflation?
A. People with fixed income.
B. People who have savings accounts at fixed rates of interest.
C. People who own assets that are appreciating faster than the inflation rate.
D. People who hold all of their assets in the form of cash.
During the time period represented in Figure 7.3, the purchasing power of the average worker
43. A friend tells you that his income has risen every year by 5 percent. At the same time, prices, on
average, have risen by 5 percent. Your friend claims he is better off. Your friend
A. Is experiencing money illusion.
B. Really is better off as he suggests.
C. Has experienced an increase in nominal and real income.
D. Has experienced an increase in real income only.
44. When people make decisions on the basis of the face value of currency rather than the real
value, their decisions reflect
A. The price effect of inflation.
B. The income effect of inflation.
C. The wealth effect of inflation.
D. Money illusion.
45. All of the following are macroeconomic effects of inflation except
A. Uncertainty.
B. Speculation.
C. Bracket creep.
D. Lower taxes.
46. All of the following push a country inside its production possibilities curve except
A. A sudden burst of inflation that has not been anticipated.
B. A sudden burst of deflation that has not been anticipated.
C. The withholding of resources from the production process because of speculation.
D. An increase in labor force participation.
47. Which of the following is a macro consequence of a sudden increase in the average level of
prices?
A. People on fixed incomes suffer.
B. Uncertainty is greater.
C. Nominal income falls by a smaller percentage than real income.
D. People lengthen their time horizons.
50. Hyperinflation is
A. An inflation rate in excess of 200 percent, lasting at least one year.
B. An inflation rate in excess of 20 percent, lasting at least one year.
C. A common problem in the United States.
D. The movement of taxpayers to higher tax brackets because of rising prices.
52. Speculation during periods of inflation can result in all of the following except
A. People buying resources for resale later, rather than using the resources for current production.
B. A movement inward from the production possibilities curve.
C. People buying gold, silver, jewelry, and the like instead of capital for production.
D. More resources going into the production process.
53. The movement of taxpayers into higher tax brackets as nominal incomes grow is
A. Bracket leap.
B. Bracket hike.
C. Bracket creep.
D. Inflation hike.
54. Last year you earned $20,000 and paid taxes in the second tax bracket at 15 percent. This year
you earned $25,000, the extra $5,000 just compensating you for inflation. However, this year
you paid taxes in the third bracket at 20 percent. This illustrates the concept of
A. Stagflation.
B. Speculation.
C. Deflation.
D. Bracket creep.
55. During a period of deflation,
A. The price level rises.
B. People on fixed incomes are better off.
C. People who hold cash are worse off.
D. Lenders are worse off.
56. If the price level is falling, all of the following are true except
A. Lenders are better off.
B. Businesses are reluctant to borrow money.
C. Purchasing power increases.
D. Borrowers are not affected.
59. Which of the following measures changes in the average price of consumer goods and
services?
A. Inflation rate.
B. CPI.
C. Deflation rate.
D. Market basket.
60. To construct the Consumer Price Index, the Bureau of Labor Statistics must
A. Find out what people buy with their incomes and how the prices of what they buy change.
B. Find out why people buy, what they buy, and how the prices of what they buy change.
C. Find out what is in the typical consumer market basket on the basis of what producers produce.
D. Conduct producer surveys to determine how much prices rise.
61. To compute the real income of a household, the index that should be used is the
A. Producer Price Index (PPI).
B. Consumer Price Index (CPI).
C. GDP deflator.
D. Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA).
64. Assume the CPI increases from 110 to 121, and Manny's nominal income increases from
$100,000 to $120,000 over the same period. Manny's real income has
A. Increased by approximately 12 percent.
B. Increased by approximately 9 percent.
C. Decreased by approximately 8 percent.
D. Remained the same.
65. If the CPI increases from 110 to 125 for one year, the rate of inflation for that year is
A. 15 percent.
B. 13.6 percent.
C. 1.13 percent.
D. 50 percent.
66. If the CPI increases from 250 to 275 for one year, the rate of inflation for that year is
A. 13 percent.
B. 10 percent.
C. 25 percent.
D. 15 percent.
67. At the beginning of 2006 the CPI was 216.2. At the beginning of 2007, it was 225.1. What was
the rate of inflation in 2006?
A. 4.9 percent.
B. 4.1 percent.
C. 3.6 percent.
D. 8.9 percent.
68. At the beginning of 2000, the CPI was 159.3. At the beginning of 2001, it was 177.6. What was
the approximate rate of inflation in 2000?
A. 7.6 percent.
B. 18.3 percent.
C. 10.0 percent.
D. 11.5 percent.
69. If the Consumer Price Index rose from 180.9 in 2005 to 418.5 in 2015, what is the
total percentage change in prices over this 10-year period?
A. 131.34 percent.
B. 18.5 percent.
C. 80.9 percent.
D. 127.21 percent.
70. If a price index changed from 150 in 2008 to 148.5 in 2009, while Jim Bob's nominal wage
fell from $25 to $24, then Jim Bob is
A. Better off like everyone else in the economy since prices are lower for consumers.
B. Neither better nor worse off since his real wage remained constant.
C. Better off since his nominal wage fell slower than the price level did.
D. Worse off since his nominal wage fell faster than the price level did.
71. For the CPI, the market basket is expressed in terms of what the goods cost in
A. 1929.
B. 2000.
C. The base period.
D. The optimal period.
76. The Producer Price Index (PPI) is the best index to measure average price changes faced
by
A. Consumers.
B. Producers.
C. Importers.
D. Labor unions negotiating COLAs.
77. If you were interested in charting prices of resources used by producers of energy, which of
the following would you use?
A. The Producer Price Index (PPI).
B. The Consumer Price Index (CPI).
C. The GDP deflator.
D. The Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA).
78. Which of the following is often watched closely as a clue to potential changes in consumer
prices in the future?
A. The CPI.
B. The PPI.
C. The GDP deflator.
D. The COLAs.
80. The price index that refers to all final goods and services produced in a country is the
A. GDP deflator.
B. PPI.
C. CPI.
D. GDP inflator.
81. Which of the following is not true for the GDP deflator?
A. It is based on a fixed basket of goods and services.
B. It refers to all goods and services produced in GDP.
C. It typically reveals a lower inflation rate than the CPI.
D. It reflects both price changes and market responses.
82. At the beginning of 1989, the GDP deflator was 93.6. At the end of 2004, it was 189.2. What
was the total percentage change in prices over this 15-year period?
A. 98.9 percent.
B. 102.14 percent.
C. 59.6 percent.
D. 150.0 percent.
84. Which of the following reflects changes in expenditure patterns as well as price changes?
A. The CPI.
B. The PPI.
C. The GDP deflator.
D. The COLA.
85. Nominal GDP is the
A. Price index that refers to all goods and services included in GDP.
B. Value of final output produced using American-owned factors of production.
C. Value of final output produced, measured in current prices.
D. Value of final output produced, adjusted for changing prices.
87. If nominal GDP is constant, then the GDP deflator varies inversely with
A. The unemployment rate.
B. Real GDP.
C. COLAs.
D. The CPI.
88. If nominal GDP is $9,600 billion and the GDP deflator is 118.5, real GDP is
A. $6,586.7 billion.
B. $10,852.7 billion.
C. $3,657.0 billion.
D. $8,101.3 billion.
89. Based on Table 7.1, the rate of inflation between 2002 and 2003 using the CPI was
A. 1.5 percent.
B. 2.2 percent.
C. 6.2 percent.
D. 4.1 percent.
90. Based on Table 7.1, the rate of inflation between 2003 and 2004, using the GDP deflator,
was
A. 2.4 percent.
B. 2.9 percent.
C. 6.2 percent.
D. 4.1 percent.
91. Based on Table 7.1, the real GDP for 2003 was
A. $4,832.0 billion.
B. $6,811.7 billion.
C. $6,584.2 billion.
D. $6,984.1 billion.
92. Based on Table 7.1, the real GDP for 2004 was
A. $4,970.3 billion.
B. $6,811.7 billion.
C. $6,584.2 billion.
D. $6,984.1 billion.
93. Based on Table 7.2, the rate of inflation between 2001 and 2002 using the CPI was
A. 2.65 percent.
B. 2.58 percent.
C. 3.40 percent.
D. 2.02 percent.
94. Based on Table 7.2, the rate of inflation between 2002 and 2003, using the GDP deflator,
was
A. 1.62 percent.
B. 2.68 percent.
C. 4.91 percent.
D. None of the other choices.
95. Based on Table 7.2, the real GDP for 2002 was
A. $7,749.0 billion.
B. $4,783.6 billion.
C. $5,122.0 billion.
D. $8,297.1 billion.
96. Based on Table 7.2, the real GDP for 2003 was
A. $8,588.4 billion.
B. $4,981.7 billion.
C. $9,282.0 billion.
D. $5,384.0 billion.
97. In the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978, price stability means that
A. There is zero inflation each year.
B. Inflation is less than 5 percent per year.
C. The inflation rate is the same each year.
D. Inflation is less than 3 percent per year.
98. If some specific prices fall, some relative prices rise, and average prices remain unchanged,
there has been a period of
A. Stable price levels.
B. Inflation.
C. Deflation.
D. Disinflation.
101 An inflation goal set at a low rate but greater than zero allows all of the following except
. A. The economy to achieve both full employment and price stability at the same time.
B. For errors because of new products.
C. For price increases caused by quality improvements.
D. The Fed to meet less often.
102 If the CPI doesn't measure product quality improvements, the CPI tends to
. A. Understate the inflation rate.
B. Overstate the inflation rate.
C. Understate economic growth.
D. Be artificially low.
103 Which one of the following statements about the United States is true?
. A. Prior to World War II, the United States experienced periods of both deflation and inflation.
B. The United States has experienced inflation virtually every year since 1800.
C. Since World War II, the United States has experienced deflation.
D Prior to World War II, the United States experienced deflation virtually every year; since World War II, the United
. States has consistently experienced inflation.
104 All of the following statements about inflation in the United States are correct except
. A. Since the Great Depression, average prices have risen almost every year.
B. The inflation rate was 13.5 percent in 1980.
C. Prior to World War II, the United States experienced periods of both deflation and inflation.
D. Inflation was at its worst during the Great Depression.
105 If consumers attempt to buy more goods than the economy can produce, the result is
. A. Unemployment.
B. Demand-pull inflation.
C. Cost-push inflation.
D. The wealth effect.
106 If the economy is producing at capacity and consumers are willing and able to buy more, this
. may cause
A. Demand-pull inflation.
B. Cost-push inflation.
C. Supply-side inflation.
D. The price effect.
107 When natural disasters, such as hurricanes on the U.S. Gulf Coast or an earthquake in Japan,
. disrupt supply chains and push up the costs of production, this may result in
A. Labor-push inflation.
B. Demand-pull inflation.
C. Wage-pull inflation.
D. Cost-push inflation.
108 When production costs increase and producers raise output prices, the result is
. A. The price effect.
B. Unemployment.
C. Cost-push inflation.
D. Demand-pull inflation.
109 If OPEC raises the price of oil and production costs increase, this may cause
. A. Cost-push inflation.
B. Demand-pull inflation.
C. Hyperinflation.
D. Super-pull inflation.
110 A COLA is
. A. A mortgage that adjusts the nominal interest rate to changing rates of inflation.
B. A price index that refers to all goods and services included in GDP.
C. An automatic adjustment of nominal income to the rate of inflation.
D. An inflation rate of at least 200 percent, lasting more than one year.
112 A mortgage that adjusts the nominal interest rate to changing rates of inflation is
. A. An ARM.
B. A PPI.
C. A GDM.
D. A COLA.
115 All of the following are true of the real interest rate except it
. A. Is equal to the nominal interest rate minus the anticipated rate of inflation.
B. Is stabilized by ARMs.
C. Is the inflation-adjusted rate of interest.
D. Equals the foreign exchange rate minus the inflation rate.
116 If the nominal interest rate is 13 percent and the anticipated rate of inflation is 8 percent, the real
. interest rate is
A. 13 percent.
B. 21 percent.
C. 5 percent.
D. -5 percent.
117 If the nominal interest rate is 6 percent and the anticipated rate of inflation is 6 percent, the real
. interest rate is
A. 6 percent.
B. 12 percent.
C. 3 percent.
D. 0 percent.
118 If the nominal interest rate is 10 percent and the real interest rate is 6 percent,
. A. The expected rate of inflation is 4 percent.
B. The expected rate of inflation is 6 percent.
C. Real GDP must exceed nominal GDP.
D. Nominal GDP equals real GDP.
119
.
A. Greater during the period from 1970 to 1975 than it was during the period from 1980 to 1985.
B. The same in 1970 and 1995.
C. Greater in 1970 than in 1995.
D. Greater during the period from 1980 to 1985 than it was during the period from 1970 to 1975.
120
.
For the economy represented in Figure 7.4, which of the following statements is definitely true?
Consider the economy represented in Figure 7.4. If actual inflation was greater than anticipated
inflation,
125 If your nominal income rises faster than the price level,
. A. Your real income has fallen.
B. Your real income has risen.
C. You can buy fewer goods and services.
D. There must be deflation.
126 According to the text, which group of assets increased the most in percentage terms from 1991
. to 2001?
A. Housing.
B. Gold.
C. Stocks.
D. Bonds.
127 All of the following are detrimental macro consequences of inflation except
. A. Uncertainty.
B. Speculation.
C. Bracket creep.
D. COLAs.
128 Which of the following indexes tracks changes in the average prices paid by consumers?
. A. CPI.
B. PPI.
C. GDP deflator.
D. The market basket.
129 If your nominal income remains constant at $3,000 while the price of an important product in
. your budget, such as cell phone service, rises from $50 to $100, your real income has
A. Decreased by $50.
B. Decreased by $100.
C. Decreased by $150.
D. Remained constant.
133 Inflation is an increase in the average level of prices of goods and services.
. True False
134 Relative price changes are a desirable and essential ingredient of the market mechanism.
. True False
135 When restaurant prices rise faster than prices of food at grocery stores, real income rises for
. people who visit restaurants relative to those who cook for themselves.
True False
136 If your real income rises but your nominal income falls, then you benefit from deflation.
. True False
138 Money illusion results from expectations based on real purchasing power rather than current
. nominal income.
True False
140 The undesirable effects of bracket creep can be eliminated by indexing marginal tax rates.
. True False
141 The CPI is a measure of changes in the average price of consumer goods and services.
. True False
142 The core inflation rate involves all price changes including food and energy.
. True False
143 If the average price level increases by 2 percent this year, price stability has been achieved.
. True False
145 Demand-pull inflation is the result of excessive pressure on the demand side of the economy.
.
True False
146 Cost-push inflation can occur as the result of higher wage rates.
. True False
147 The real interest rate is the rate of inflation minus the nominal interest rate.
. True False
148 During a period of inflation, are all prices rising? Explain your answer.
.
151 What is the difference between demand-pull inflation and cost-push inflation?
.
152 Discuss two mechanisms that offer protection from the effects of inflation.
.
153 Based on the real interest rate, who tends to benefit from unanticipated inflation in terms of
. borrowing and lending?
Chapter 07 Test Bank Key
1. Inflation is
A. A rise in the price of every good but not any service.
B. An increase in relative prices of all goods and services.
C. A situation in which purchasing power increases.
D. An increase in the average level of prices of goods and services.
Inflation does not mean that all prices of goods and services are rising or there has been a
change in any specific price. Rather, it means the average price of all goods and services is
rising.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: WHAT IS INFLATION?
2. Inflation rates above 10 percent occur
A. In most countries today.
B. Rarely in the United States.
C. During wartime periods.
D. None of the other choices.
In recent years inflation over 10 percent per year has been confined to only a handful
of countries such as Zimbabwe and Venezuela.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: WHAT IS INFLATION?
3. Inflation means
A. Specific prices are rising, and relative prices are falling.
B. Both relative prices and average prices are rising.
C. Relative prices are rising, but it is not certain what is happening to average prices.
D. Average prices are rising, but it is not certain what is happening to relative prices.
The relative price of a good or service can rise or fall depending on if it is rising faster than
inflation or slower than inflation.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: WHAT IS INFLATION?
4. A decrease in the average level of prices of goods and services is
A. Deflation.
B. Recession.
C. Depression.
D. Inflation.
Deflation does not mean that all prices are necessarily falling, but on average prices are
falling.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: WHAT IS INFLATION?
5. Deflation is a/an ____________ in the average level of prices of goods and services.
A. increase
B. decrease
C. stagnation
D. increase followed by a decrease
With deflation, even though the price level may be falling, some prices may be rising
or remaining constant.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: WHAT IS INFLATION?
6. When there is no deflation or inflation,
A. Prices of all goods change by the same percentage.
B. Relative prices remain unchanged.
C. Average prices do not change.
D. Full employment is achieved.
Some prices may rise or fall, but on average prices are constant.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: WHAT IS INFLATION?
7.
A. Relative prices may have been changing, but average prices were constant.
B. Relative prices were definitely constant.
C. Average prices and relative prices were definitely changing.
D. Average prices were constant, and unemployment was increasing.
As the textbook will later explain in great detail, many forces in both the private sector and
public sector affect the price level. In this case, the forces were balanced, and the price level
was stable.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 03 Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: WHAT IS INFLATION?
8.
According to Figure 7.1, which of the following statements was definitely true about Country
B?
In the year 1995, which of the following statements is true about the two countries
represented in Figure 7.2?
During the time period represented in Figure 7.3, the purchasing power of the average
worker
A. 1.5 percent.
B. 2.2 percent.
C. 6.2 percent.
D. 4.1 percent.
The inflation rate is equal to the difference in the price index divided by the CPI in 2002.
=(153.8-151.6)/151.6*100
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 03 Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: MEASURING INFLATION
90. Based on Table 7.1, the rate of inflation between 2003 and 2004, using the GDP deflator,
was
A. 2.4 percent.
B. 2.9 percent.
C. 6.2 percent.
D. 4.1 percent.
The inflation rate is equal to the difference in the price index divided by the GDP deflator
in 2003.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 03 Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: MEASURING INFLATION
91. Based on Table 7.1, the real GDP for 2003 was
A. $4,832.0 billion.
B. $6,811.7 billion.
C. $6,584.2 billion.
D. $6,984.1 billion.
Real GDP can be calculated by dividing the nominal GDP by the GDP deflator and
then multiplying the result by 100. = 7431.6/109.1*100
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: MEASURING INFLATION
92. Based on Table 7.1, the real GDP for 2004 was
A. $4,970.3 billion.
B. $6,811.7 billion.
C. $6,584.2 billion.
D. $6,984.1 billion.
One can calculate real GDP by dividing the nominal GDP by the GDP deflator and
then multiplying the result by 100. = 7843.2/112.3*100
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 03 Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: MEASURING INFLATION
93. Based on Table 7.2, the rate of inflation between 2001 and 2002 using the CPI was
A. 2.65 percent.
B. 2.58 percent.
C. 3.40 percent.
D. 2.02 percent.
The inflation rate can be calculated by taking the difference in the CPI values and dividing
the result by the value of the CPI in 2001. = (131.7-28.3)/128.3*100
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 03 Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: MEASURING INFLATION
94. Based on Table 7.2, the rate of inflation between 2002 and 2003, using the GDP deflator,
was
A. 1.62 percent.
B. 2.68 percent.
C. 4.91 percent.
D. None of the other choices.
The inflation rate using the GDP deflator is calculated by taking the difference in the GDP
deflator values and dividing the result by the value of the GDP deflator in 2002. = (126.3-
123)/123*100
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 03 Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: MEASURING INFLATION
95. Based on Table 7.2, the real GDP for 2002 was
A. $7,749.0 billion.
B. $4,783.6 billion.
C. $5,122.0 billion.
D. $8,297.1 billion.
The real GDP can be determined by dividing the nominal GDP by the GDP deflator and then
multiplying the result by 100. = 6300/123*100
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: MEASURING INFLATION
96. Based on Table 7.2, the real GDP for 2003 was
A. $8,588.4 billion.
B. $4,981.7 billion.
C. $9,282.0 billion.
D. $5,384.0 billion.
Real GDP can be determined by dividing the nominal GDP by the GDP deflator and
then multiplying the result by 100. = 6800/126.3*100
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 03 Hard
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: MEASURING INFLATION
97. In the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978, price stability means that
A. There is zero inflation each year.
B. Inflation is less than 5 percent per year.
C. The inflation rate is the same each year.
D. Inflation is less than 3 percent per year.
Price stability means low inflation, not necessarily 0 percent inflation.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 The meaning of "price stability."
Topic: THE GOAL: PRICE STABILITY
98. If some specific prices fall, some relative prices rise, and average prices remain unchanged,
there has been a period of
A. Stable price levels.
B. Inflation.
C. Deflation.
D. Disinflation.
Relative prices may change like the waves on a lake, but price stability means that the
average price, like the average level of the lake, is unchanging.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 The meaning of "price stability."
Topic: THE GOAL: PRICE STABILITY
99. In the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978,
A. Congress set an inflation goal of no more than 3 percent.
B. The president set an inflation goal of 0 percent.
C. Alan Greenspan set an inflation goal of 0 percent.
D. An unemployment goal of 4 percent was set, but no inflation goal could be set.
Maintaining low inflation is an important macroeconomic goal.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 The meaning of "price stability."
Topic: THE GOAL: PRICE STABILITY
100. Price stability
A. Is defined as a 0 percent rate of inflation in the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978.
B. Is targeted at a 3 percent rate of inflation by Alan Greenspan, the head of the Federal Reserve.
C. Has been officially set by Congress at 3 percent or less.
th
D. Has been achieved consistently in the 20 century in the United States.
It is important to maintain price stability so that price changes do not cause instability
and speculation.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 The meaning of "price stability."
Topic: THE GOAL: PRICE STABILITY
101. An inflation goal set at a low rate but greater than zero allows all of the following except
A. The economy to achieve both full employment and price stability at the same time.
B. For errors because of new products.
C. For price increases caused by quality improvements.
D. The Fed to meet less often.
There is no particular relationship between the inflation rate and the number of times the Fed
needs to meet.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 03 Hard
Learning Objective: 07-03 The meaning of "price stability."
Topic: THE GOAL: PRICE STABILITY
102. If the CPI doesn't measure product quality improvements, the CPI tends to
A. Understate the inflation rate.
B. Overstate the inflation rate.
C. Understate economic growth.
D. Be artificially low.
If the CPI registers a price increase that is due to quality improvements, unfortunately
that is mistaken for inflation; but in fact consumers are paying more to get more.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-03 The meaning of "price stability."
Topic: THE GOAL: PRICE STABILITY
103. Which one of the following statements about the United States is true?
A. Prior to World War II, the United States experienced periods of both deflation and inflation.
B. The United States has experienced inflation virtually every year since 1800.
C. Since World War II, the United States has experienced deflation.
D. Prior to World War II, the United States experienced deflation virtually every year; since World War II,
the United States has consistently experienced inflation.
Before World War II, the economy expanded and experienced inflation and contracted,
experiencing deflation with changes to the business cycle.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: THE HISTORICAL RECORD
104. All of the following statements about inflation in the United States are correct except
A. Since the Great Depression, average prices have risen almost every year.
B. The inflation rate was 13.5 percent in 1980.
C. Prior to World War II, the United States experienced periods of both deflation and inflation.
D. Inflation was at its worst during the Great Depression.
During the Great Depression, de</i>flation was actually a significant concern.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: THE HISTORICAL RECORD
105. If consumers attempt to buy more goods than the economy can produce, the result is
A. Unemployment.
B. Demand-pull inflation.
C. Cost-push inflation.
D. The wealth effect.
When excess demand causes the price level to rise, the result is demand-pull inflation
because it is the increase in demand that is causing prices to rise.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: CAUSES OF INFLATION
106. If the economy is producing at capacity and consumers are willing and able to buy more, this
may cause
A. Demand-pull inflation.
B. Cost-push inflation.
C. Supply-side inflation.
D. The price effect.
Excess demand that results in an increasing price level is known as demand-pull inflation.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: CAUSES OF INFLATION
107. When natural disasters, such as hurricanes on the U.S. Gulf Coast or an earthquake
in Japan, disrupt supply chains and push up the costs of production, this may result in
A. Labor-push inflation.
B. Demand-pull inflation.
C. Wage-pull inflation.
D. Cost-push inflation.
Inflation that results from higher production costs in known as cost-push inflation.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: CAUSES OF INFLATION
108. When production costs increase and producers raise output prices, the result is
A. The price effect.
B. Unemployment.
C. Cost-push inflation. D.
Demand-pull inflation.
When inflation results from higher production costs, the economy is experiencing cost-push
inflation.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: CAUSES OF INFLATION
109. If OPEC raises the price of oil and production costs increase, this may cause
A. Cost-push inflation.
B. Demand-pull inflation.
C. Hyperinflation.
D. Super-pull inflation.
Cost-push inflation occurs when input costs rise, leading producers to raise prices to
maintain profitability.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: CAUSES OF INFLATION
110. A COLA is
A. A mortgage that adjusts the nominal interest rate to changing rates of inflation.
B. A price index that refers to all goods and services included in GDP.
C. An automatic adjustment of nominal income to the rate of inflation.
D. An inflation rate of at least 200 percent, lasting more than one year.
To maintain constant real income, COLAs (cost-of-living adjustments) can be used to
keep nominal income rising at the same rate as the price level.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS
111. Cost-of-living adjustments
A. Reduce the price effect of inflation.
B. Allow individuals to maintain their purchasing power during inflation.
C. Cause individuals to shorten their time horizons.
D. Maintain constant real interest rates.
Real income can be maintained at a constant level if the nominal income is allowed to adjust
in step with the price level.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 03 Hard
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS
112. A mortgage that adjusts the nominal interest rate to changing rates of inflation is
A. An ARM.
B. A PPI.
C. A GDM.
D. A COLA.
An ARM, or adjustable-rate mortgage, is designed to protect the lender from
unanticipated inflation.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS
113. When inflation suddenly increases, ARMs
A. Protect against rising real interest rates.
B. Protect the purchasing power of workers'wages.
C. Protect borrowers against the effects of inflation.
D. Maintain a stable real interest rate.
The real interest rate can be held constant if the nominal interest rate adjusts with changes in
the inflation rate.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS
114. The real interest rate is
A. The difference between the prime rate and the rate charged by the government (the Federal Reserve)
on loans.
B. The nominal interest rate minus the anticipated rate of inflation.
C. The inflation rate minus the percentage increase in average wages.
D. The sum of inflation rates and unemployment rates.
The real rate of interest is the return to the lender after adjusting for inflation.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS
115. All of the following are true of the real interest rate except it
A. Is equal to the nominal interest rate minus the anticipated rate of inflation.
B. Is stabilized by ARMs.
C. Is the inflation-adjusted rate of interest.
D. Equals the foreign exchange rate minus the inflation rate.
The real interest rate equals the nominal interest rate minus the rate of inflation.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS
116. If the nominal interest rate is 13 percent and the anticipated rate of inflation is 8 percent,
the real interest rate is
A. 13 percent.
B. 21 percent.
C. 5 percent.
D. -5 percent.
The real interest rate, which measures the change in purchasing power, is determined by
subtracting the anticipated rate of inflation from the nominal interest rate.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 03 Hard
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS
117. If the nominal interest rate is 6 percent and the anticipated rate of inflation is 6 percent, the
real interest rate is
A. 6 percent.
B. 12 percent.
C. 3 percent.
D. 0 percent.
The real interest rate is equal to the nominal interest rate minus the anticipated rate of
inflation.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 03 Hard
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS
118. If the nominal interest rate is 10 percent and the real interest rate is 6 percent,
A. The expected rate of inflation is 4 percent.
B. The expected rate of inflation is 6 percent.
C. Real GDP must exceed nominal GDP.
D. Nominal GDP equals real GDP.
The expected rate of inflation is equal to the nominal real rate of interest minus the real
rate of interest.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 03 Hard
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS
119.
A. Greater during the period from 1970 to 1975 than it was during the period from 1980 to 1985.
B. The same in 1970 and 1995.
C. Greater in 1970 than in 1995.
D. Greater during the period from 1980 to 1985 than it was during the period from 1970 to 1975.
Because the gap between the nominal interest rate and the real interest rate was larger in
the 1980 to 1985 period, there was a higher expected inflation rate.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 03 Hard
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS
120.
For the economy represented in Figure 7.4, which of the following statements is definitely
true?
Consider the economy represented in Figure 7.4. If actual inflation was greater than
anticipated inflation,
TRUE
Relative prices change when there is a change in relative scarcity.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: WHAT IS INFLATION?
135. When restaurant prices rise faster than prices of food at grocery stores, real income rises for
people who visit restaurants relative to those who cook for themselves.
FALSE
The real income of those who visit restaurants actually falls because the relative price of
meals has increased.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 03 Hard
Learning Objective: 07-02 Why inflation is a socioeconomic problem.
Topic: REDISTRIBUTIVE EFFECTS OF INFLATION
136. If your real income rises but your nominal income falls, then you benefit from deflation.
TRUE
In this case, the price level is falling faster than your nominal income is, so your real income
rises.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-02 Why inflation is a socioeconomic problem.
Topic: REDISTRIBUTIVE EFFECTS OF INFLATION
137. Redistribution of wealth is a microeconomic effect of inflation.
TRUE
Assuming that buyers'nominal incomes remain constant, redistribution of wealth occurs
because buyers of goods will be worse off and sellers will be better off when prices rise.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-02 Why inflation is a socioeconomic problem.
Topic: REDISTRIBUTIVE EFFECTS OF INFLATION
138. Money illusion results from expectations based on real purchasing power rather than current
nominal income.
FALSE
Money illusion is based on expectations of nominal income, not purchasing power.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-02 Why inflation is a socioeconomic problem.
Topic: REDISTRIBUTIVE EFFECTS OF INFLATION
139. Uncertainty and speculation are microeconomic effects of inflation.
FALSE
Uncertainty and speculation are macroeconomic effects of inflation.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-02 Why inflation is a socioeconomic problem.
Topic: MACRO CONSEQUENCES
140. The undesirable effects of bracket creep can be eliminated by indexing marginal tax rates.
TRUE
If incomes rise due to inflation, this will move some earners into a higher tax bracket unless
tax rates are indexed to the price level.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-02 Why inflation is a socioeconomic problem.
Topic: MACRO CONSEQUENCES
141. The CPI is a measure of changes in the average price of consumer goods and services.
TRUE
The CPI is a price index that is designed to track the spending patterns of the typical
consumer.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: MEASURING INFLATION
142. The core inflation rate involves all price changes including food and energy.
FALSE
The core inflation rate excludes the prices of food and energy.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 01 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-01 How inflation is measured.
Topic: MEASURING INFLATION
143. If the average price level increases by 2 percent this year, price stability has been achieved.
TRUE
Price stability as defined by the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978 is an
inflation of 3 percent or less per year.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 The meaning of "price stability."
Topic: THE GOAL: PRICE STABILITY
144. In order to achieve price stability, inflation must be zero.
FALSE
As long as inflation is 3 percent or less, price stability has been achieved.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-03 The meaning of "price stability."
Topic: THE GOAL: PRICE STABILITY
145. Demand-pull inflation is the result of excessive pressure on the demand side of the
economy.
TRUE
When there is too much demand relative to supply in the overall economy, there will be
demand-pull inflation.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: CAUSES OF INFLATION
146. Cost-push inflation can occur as the result of higher wage rates.
TRUE
Anything that causes costs to rise in production will lead to cost-push inflation.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
Topic: CAUSES OF INFLATION
147. The real interest rate is the rate of inflation minus the nominal interest rate.
FALSE
The real interest rate is the nominal interest rate minus the anticipated rate of inflation.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 02 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 The broad causes of inflation.
148. During a period of inflation, are all prices rising? Explain your answer.
No. Inflation is defined as an increase in the average level of prices. Inflation does not mean that all prices
are rising. Relative prices may stay the same, increase, or decrease during inflation.
No. During inflation some people are better off and some people are worse off. Inflation does not affect
everyone equally because people buy and sell different combinations of goods and assets. Inflation
redistributes income and wealth by altering relative prices.
The goal was set at 3 percent because of unemployment concerns and to allow for quality changes. If the
inflation goal is set too low, the government might decrease spending to stay within the limits of the goal, and
this would cause unemployment to increase. In this case, some inflation is the cost to keep unemployment from
rising. In addition, over time the quality of goods improves and new products are introduced. The CPI measures
price changes but not product changes and thus may overstate inflation. The goal of 3 percent allows for these
changes.
Demand-pull inflation occurs because of excessive pressure on the demand side of the economy. If consumers
want to buy more goods than the economy can produce, prices are bid up. During this process, total demand
in the economy increases, and there is inflation. Cost-push inflation occurs because of pressure on the supply
side. If production costs begin to rise, producers are likely to raise output prices in an effort to maintain profits.
As producers pass along their costs to consumers in the form of higher prices, this also causes inflation.
Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are automatic adjustments of nominal income to the rate of inflation.
COLAs protect real incomes when prices are rising. Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) protect creditors during
periods of inflation. ARMs adjust the nominal interest rate to changes in the rate of inflation. The goal is to
maintain a stable real interest rate.
The real interest rate is the nominal interest rate minus the anticipated inflation rate. During periods of
unanticipated inflation, borrowers tend to benefit and lenders tend to lose. If the nominal interest rate is fixed,
the real interest rate tends to become very low or even negative as inflation increases. Borrowers enjoy
paying the low real interest rate, but lenders do not enjoy earning it.
After refusing the Boston church, Roger Williams was invited by the Salem
church to be assistant to Mr. Skelton, their aged teacher. He accepted their
invitation and became Teacher, April 12, 1631. The General Court in Boston
remonstrated with the Salem church. The persecution of this court led
doubtless to his retirement from Salem at the close of that summer.
He left the Massachusetts Bay Colony and became assistant to Ralph
Smith, the pastor at Plymouth. The Plymouth people, being strict
Separatists, were more congenial company, since they had withdrawn from
the Established Order to form a church after the pattern of the Primitive
Church model. Williams remained in Plymouth for about two years.
Governor Bradford soon detected his advanced positions, relative to
separation of Church and State, but considered it “questionable judgment.”
He praised his qualities as a minister, writing thus of him:
His teaching, well approved, for þe benefit whereof I still bless God, and am
thankful to him, even for his sharpest admonitions and reproofs, so far as
they agreed with truth.
Governor Winthrop, with Mr. Wilson, teacher of the Boston church, visited
Plymouth at this time.
They were very kindly treated and feasted every day at several houses. On
the Lord’s Day, there was a sacrament which they did partake in; and, in the
afternoon, Mr. Roger Williams (according to their custom) propounded a
question, to which the Pastor, Mr. Smith, spoke briefly; then Mr. Williams
prophesied; and after the Governor of Plymouth spoke to the question. Then
the elder (Mr. William Brewster) desired the Governor of Massachusetts and
Mr. Wilson to speak to it, which they did. When this was ended, the deacon,
Mr. Fuller, put the congregation in mind of their duty of contribution;
whereupon the Governor and all the rest went down to the deacon’s seat,
and put into the box and then returned.
Williams came in contact with the Indians who visited Plymouth from time to
time, and gained the confidence of Massasoit, the father of the famous
Philip. He studied their language and cultivated their friendship. He writes in
one of his letters, “My soul’s desire was to do the natives good!” Near the
close of his life he referred to this early experience: “God was pleased to
give me a painful patient spirit, to lodge with them in their filthy smoke, to
gain their tongue.” Surely the Providence of God was thus preparing the
way for the founding of a new colony, to be made possible through these
very Indians who had implicit confidence in this man of God.
A Key into the
LANGUAGE
OF
AMERICA:
OR,
An help to the Language of the Natives
in that part of America, called
NEW-ENGLAND.
Together, with briefe Observations of the Customes,
Manners and Worships, &c. of the
aforesaid Natives, in Peace and Warre,
in Life and Death.
BY ROGER WILLIAMS
of Providence in New-England.
LONDON,
Printed by Gregory Dexter, 1643.
Boston, 1632
From an old print
The Fort and Chapel on the Hill Where Roger Williams Preached
Used by permission of A. S. Burbank, Plymouth, Mass.
Pembroke College
Reduced from Loggan’s print, taken about 1688
Teacher and people at Salem were indignant, and a letter was addressed to
the churches of the colony in protest against such injustice. The churches
were asked to admonish the magistrates and deputies within their
membership. These churches refused or neglected to do this. In some
cases the letters never came before the church. Williams then called on his
own church to withdraw communion with such churches. It declined to do
this, and he withdrew from the Salem church, preaching his last sermon,
August 19, 1635. Here was a repetition of the first conflict. Straus writes:
Here stood the one church already condemned, with sentence suspended
over it. Against it were arrayed the aggregate power of the colony—its nine
churches, the priests, and the magistrates. What could the Salem church and
community do, threatened with disfranchisement, its deputies excluded from
the General Court, and its petition for land to which it was entitled, denied?
Dragooned into submission it had to abandon its persecuted minister to
struggle alone against the united power of Church and State. To deny
Williams the merit of devotion to a principle in this contest, wherein there was
no alternative but retraction or banishment, is to belie history in order to
justify bigotry, and to convert martyrdom into wrong-headed obstinacy. This is
exactly what Cotton sought to do in his version of the controversy given ten
years later in order to vindicate himself and his church brethren from the
stigma of their acts in the eyes of a more enlightened public opinion in
England. Williams pursued no half-hearted or half-way measures. He stood
unshaken upon the firm ground of his convictions, and declared to the Salem
church that he could no longer commune with them, thereby entirely
separating himself from them and them from him.
He went so far as to refuse to commune with his own wife in the new
communion which he formed in his own home, until she would completely
withdraw from the Salem church.
The time for the next General Court drew near. The Salem church letter and
Williams’ withdrawal from his church made his foes determined to crush
him. They had thoughts of putting him to death.
1635. Whereas Mr. Roger Williams, one of the elders of the church of
3rd Sept.Salem, hath broached and divulged dyvers newe and dangerous
opinions against the aucthorite of magistrates, as also with others
of defamcon, both of the magistrates and churches here, and that before any
conviccon, and yet maintaineth the same without retraccon, it is therefore
ordered, that the said Mr. Williams shall depte out of this jurisdiccon within
sixe weekes nowe nexte ensueing, wch if hee neglect to pforme, it shall be
lawfull for the Gouv’r and two of the magistrates to send him to some place
out of this jurisdiccon, not to returne any more without licence from the Court.
Fac-simile from Original Records of the Order for the Banishment
of Roger Williams.
Although Williams had withdrawn from the church at Salem, yet his
character was such that the town was indignant at this decree of the court.
About this time, his second child was born. Like the prophets of old, he
gave the child a significant name, calling her “Freeborn.” Mr. Williams’
health at this time was far from being robust. A stay of sentence was
therefore granted, and he was to be allowed to remain until the following
spring. He did not refrain from advocating his opinions, and soon the
authorities heard of meetings in his house at Salem and of twenty who were
prepared to go with him to found a new colony at the head of the
Narragansett Bay. At its January meeting, the Court decided to send him to
England at once in a ship then about to return. He was cited to appear in
Boston, but reported inability due to his impaired health. They then sent a
pinnace for him by sea. Being forewarned, he fled to the wilderness in the
depths of which, for fourteen weeks, he suffered the hardships of a New
England winter.
* * * * * *
The original Roger Williams Church is still preserved at Salem. The first
church in the first town of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was at the corner
of Washington and Essex Streets. There is a brick structure there now and
a marble tablet marks it as the site of the first church in the Massachusetts
Bay Colony. On another tablet, is the inscription:
The frame of the first Meeting House in which the civil affairs of the Colony
were transacted, is preserved and now stands in the rear of Plummer Hall.
Plummer Hall is on Essex Street not very far from the First Church. In the
rear is the Roger Williams Church, a small building, measuring twenty feet
long by seventeen wide by twelve high at its posts. Originally it had a
gallery over the door at the entrance and a minister’s seat in the opposite
corner. On the wall opposite to the entrance is a list of its succession of
pastors and the years of their service:
Francis Higginson 1629-1630
Samuel Skelton 1629-1634
Roger Williams 1631-1635
Hugh Peters 1636-1641 etc., etc.
It could accommodate about one hundred people. There were only forty
families in Salem in 1632. There were only six houses, besides that of
Governor Endicott, when Higginson arrived in 1629. Here in this ancient
meeting-house Roger Williams preached those truths which led to his
banishment. From its pulpit came, clearly stated, the ideals that millions
have since accepted. The glory of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, or the Royal
Sancte Chapella, of Paris, can never equal the glory of this crude edifice,
the cradle of religious liberty in the New World.
The Roger Williams Home at Salem is still preserved. It is better known as
“the Witch House” because it was occupied by Judge Carwin, one of the
judges connected with the tragedy of 1692. It stands at the western corner
of Essex and North Streets. It was built by the founder of Rhode Island and
was at that time second only to the Governor’s home. Though it has been
altered and repaired, the original rooms in this building are as follows: The
eastern room on the first floor, 18 × 21½, and the room directly over it, 20 ×
21½; the western room on the first floor, 16½ × 18, and the room over it,
16½ × 20. The chimney is 8 × 12. The part of the house which retains its
original appearance is the projecting corner of the western part, fronting on
Essex Street. Roger Williams mortgaged this house, “for supplies,” to
establish the colony at Providence.
Mr. Upham, in his report to the Essex Institution, says of this wonderful
house:
Here, within these very walls, lived, two hundred and fifty years ago, that
remarkable and truly heroic man, who, in his devotion to the principle of free
conscience, and liberty of belief, untrammeled by civil power, penetrated in
midwinter in the depths of an unknown wilderness to seek a new home, a
home which he could find only among savages, whose respect for the
benevolence and truthfulness of his character made them, then and ever
afterward, his constant friends. From this spacious and pleasant mansion, he
fled through the deep snows of a New England forest, leaving his wife and
young children to the care of Providence, whose silent “voice” through the
conscience, was his only support and guide. The State which he founded
may ever look back with a just pride upon the history of Roger Williams.
II
THE FOUNDING OF PROVIDENCE
A community on the unheard-of principles of absolute religious liberty
combined with perfect civil democracy.—Professor Mason.
Thus for the first time in history a form of government was adopted which
drew a clear and unmistakable line between the temporal and the spiritual
power, and a community came into being which was an anomaly among the
nations.—Prof. J. L. Diman.
No one principle of political or social or religious policy lies nearer the base of
American institutions and has done more to shape our career than this
principle inherited from Rhode Island, and it may be asserted that the future
of America was in a large measure determined by that General Court which
summoned Roger Williams to answer for “divers new and dangerous
opinions,” and his banishment became a pivotal act in universal history.—
Prof. Alonzo Williams.
In summing up the history of the struggle for religious liberty it may be said
that papal bulls and Protestant creeds have favored tyranny. Theologians of
the sixteenth century and philosophers of the seventeenth, Descartes,
Spinoza, and Hobbes, favored the State churches. It was bitter experience of
persecution that led jurists, and statesmen of Holland and France, in face of
the opposition of theologians and philosophers, to enforce the toleration of
dissent. While there was toleration in Holland and France, there was, for the
first time, in the history of the world in any commonwealth, liberty and
equality and separation of Church and State in Rhode Island.—W. W. Evarts,
in “The Long Road to Freedom of Worship.”
In the code of laws established by them, we read for the first time since
Christianity ascended the throne of the Cæsars, the declaration that
conscience should be free and men should not be punished for worshiping
God in the way they were persuaded he requires.—Judge Story.
R
OGER WILLIAMS left Salem on or about January 15, 1636, making the
journey alone through the forests. With a pocket compass, and a sun-
dial to tell the hours, he set out, probably taking the road to Boston for
some distance. Nearing Boston, presumably at Saugus, he went west for a
while and then straight south until he reached the home of Massasoit, the
Wampanoag sachem, at Mount Hope, near Bristol. The ground was
covered with snow, and he must have suffered sorely on this journey of
eighty or ninety miles. Thirty-five years later in a letter to Major Mason, he
refers to this experience:
First, when I was unkindly and unchristianly, as I believe, driven from my
house and land, and wife and children (in the midst of a New England winter,
now about thirty-five years past), at Salem, that ever-honored Governor, Mr.
Winthrop, privately wrote me to steer my course to Narragansett Bay and the
Indians, for many high and public ends, encouraging me, from the freeness
of the place from any English claims or patents. I took his prudent notion as a
hint and voice from God, and waving all other thoughts and notions, I steered
my course from Salem (though in winter snow, which I feel yet) unto those
parts wherein I may say “Peniel”; that is, I have seen the face of God.
He also wrote: “I was sorely tossed for one fourteen weeks, in a bitter
winter season, not knowing what bread or bed did mean!” In his old age he
exclaimed, “I bear to this day in my body the effects of that winter’s
exposure.” In one of his books he refers to “hardships of sea and land in a
banished condition.”
The precious relics of this flight are the sun-dial and compass, now in the
possession of the Rhode Island Historical Society.
Williams finally reached Seekonk Cove, about the twenty-third of April. The
spot was at Manton’s Neck, near the cove, where there was a good spring
of water. Here he was joined by four companions, his wife, and two
children. “I gave leave to William Harris, then poor and destitute,” said
Williams, “to come along in my company. I consented to John Smith, miller
at Dorchester (banished also), to go with me, and, at John Smith’s desire,
to a poor young fellow, Francis Wickes, as also a lad of Richard
Waterman’s.” The latter was doubtless Thomas Angell. Joshua Verein came
later. Some historians think that others joined them at the Seekonk before
they were compelled to leave. Here they remained for two months. After
providing rude shelters and sowing seeds, they received a warning to move
on. “I received a letter,” said Williams,
from my ancient friend, Mr. Winslow, the Governor of Plymouth, professing
his own and others’ love for me, yet lovingly advising me, since I was fallen
into the edge of their bounds, and they were loathe to displease the Bay, to
remove to the other side of the water, and there, he said, I had the country
free before me, and might be free as themselves, and we should be loving
neighbors together.
Sun-dial and Compass Used by Roger Williams in His Flight
Courtesy of “Providence Magazine”
His removal cost him the “loss of a harvest that year.” Historians are agreed
that about the end of June he left Seekonk. The two hundred and fiftieth
anniversary was celebrated, June 23 and 24, 1886. Embarking in a crude
Indian canoe, Williams and his companions, six in all, crossed over the river
to a little cove on the west side, where they were halted by a party of
Indians, with the friendly interrogation, “What cheer?” Here the party landed
on a rock which has been known ever since as “What Cheer Rock.” The
cove is now filled and the rock covered from sight. A suitable monument
has been erected over the rock. It is in an open park space at the corner of
Roger and Williams Streets, Providence. A piece of this rock is preserved at
the First Baptist Church of Providence, and another has recently been
placed in cross form in the lobby floor of the new Central Baptist Church of
the same city. It is hoped that a piece of this rock will be worked into the
National Baptist Memorial in our country’s capital.
Spring at the Seekonk Settlement Tablet Marking Seekonk Site