ShmoopTube

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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the leisure class,

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every school's most popular elective.

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[ group ooh-ing ]

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All right, give the excerpt a read.

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[ mumbles ]

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[ mumbling continues ]

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[ further mumbling ]

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All right, and the question:

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What role did the government play in the growth of Veblen's leisure class

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after the Civil War?

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Hmm. And here are your potential answers.

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[ mumbles ]

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Well, Veblen's so-called leisure class enjoyed

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only the finest things, preferring to live

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"by the industrial community rather than in it."

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So let's see which answer best describes

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how the U.S. government contributed to the growth of these

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fancy feasts following the Civil War.

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Okay. Did the government help the expansion

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of the leisure class because A - it stopped the growth

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of monopolies through legislation aimed at breaking up trusts?

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Well, though the government eventually took anti-trust actions

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in the late 19th century, these moves would've

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tampered the financial success of wealthy industrialists,

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so that gets rid of A.

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Did the government contribute to the growth of the leisure class

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because B - it allowed all people to play a role

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in the government through the rise of political machines?

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Well, political machines were certainly playing their part

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in society in these days, but they didn't have much relevance

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to the leisure class. So we can get rid of B.

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Could the government have helped with the expansion

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of the leisure class because C - it made land

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in the western territories available at a low cost

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for those willing to farm it?

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Well, as Veblen mentions, the leisure class was able to live

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"by the industrial community rather than in it,"

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which meant they were definitely not working the land,

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even though they were still making tons of money.

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So get rid of C.

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And that means the government contributed to the growth

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of the leisure class because D - it subsidized ventures

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in transportation and new technologies, - ding, ding, ding -

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which created new markets.

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Government subsidies made it possible for wealthy Americans

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to jump into new markets with little risk,

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acquiring pools of money in the process.

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So D is the right answer.

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Eventually the government broke up the trusts and monopolies

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that gave the leisure class their wealth

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in the first place, making it much harder to sit back,

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relax, and enjoy life at a, uh...

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leisurely pace.

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[ meow ]

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