Question

pirates of the industrial revolution
creating connections social studies: world history iii

alexander hamilton is a united states revolutionary legend who had all kinds of ideas to help get the united states off to a strong start. one of those ideas, by current standards, was somewhat questionable. but the dubious deeds it prompted transformed the u.s. into an industrial superpower.

as u.s. treasury secretary from 1789 to 1795, hamilton thought a robust manufacturing base was essential for the new nation to survive, and he wanted the u.s. to increase its pace of manufacturing fast, because britain’s advanced machinery was already way ahead of the global competition. one idea was to industrialize by starting from scratch with original inventions, but according to historians, hamilton thought that would take too long. instead, he favored looting technology from the competition as the way to go.

hamilton took advantage of the fact that the constitution gave the federal government the ability to grant copyrights and patents. hamilton dangled copyrights and patents, along with cash, as bait to lure anyone with technological information that would benefit the u.s.—no matter where that information came from or how it was obtained.

this allowed for intellectual property piracy—the stealing of ideas.

the british were savvy to the tech piracy plot, though. after all, the u.s.

the article states:
the british were savvy to the tech piracy plot, though. after all, the u.s. wasn’t the first or the only country willing to cheat a little to gain an edge. to protect its powerhouse industrial status, britain made it illegal to export textile machinery and banned its factory workers from immigrating abroad. smuggling industrial equipment could cost someone as much as 500 pounds—about 55,000 american dollars in today’s money—in fines from the british government.

the author’s purpose for writing this passage was to _______.
a. compare u.s. efforts to steal britain’s intellectual property with those of other countries
b. provide details about how britain attempted to prevent intellectual property piracy
c. explain why factory workers like samuel slater disliked the british government
d. highlight the terrible working conditions that british factory workers were forced to endure

image credit: wellcome collection
machinery at work in a textile factory

Explanation:

To determine the author's purpose, we analyze each option:

• Option A: The passage focuses more on Britain's actions to prevent piracy rather than comparing US efforts with other countries. Eliminate A.
• Option B: The blue - boxed text details Britain's measures like making textile machinery export illegal, banning factory workers' immigration, and the fines for smuggling. This matches the idea of providing details on how Britain tried to prevent intellectual property piracy.
• Option C: The passage doesn't discuss why factory workers disliked the British government. Eliminate C.
• Option D: There is no mention of British factory workers' working conditions. Eliminate D.

Answer:

B. provide details about how Britain attempted to prevent intellectual property piracy