After completing the assigned reading, answer each question below in the space provided.  When you are done with all of the questions, click on the "Submit Answers" button at the bottom of the page.

You MUST enter your name, student ID # and class period to get credit.

Type your name here:  

Type your ID# here:  

Type your Class Period here:  

1.  Why is the U.S. merchant marine an important part of U.S. sea power?

2.  Why did our merchant marine decline during and after the Civil War?

3.  What did the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 authorize in order to assist American shipping companies to compete against foreign companies?

4.  What did the basic means for moving vast quantities of primary products and manufacturing goods throughout the world?

5.  What are the key factors that have caused American cargo in American ships to drop to less than 3 percent of total?

6.  A.  What were the five leading ports in the United States as of the year 2000?  B.  Where were the five largest U.S. shipyards as of the year 2000?

7.  In addition to the new types of tankers, what are the three main types of intermodal ships that have been joining the U.S. merchant marine?

8.  A.  How does the containership work?  B.  What are its most significant advantages?

9.  What is the major advantage of the RoRo ship?

10.  What type of ship comprises the largest segment of the U.S. merchant marine and is the most numerous on the high seas?

11.  What are the five ways in which the U.S. merchant marine contributes to national defense?

12.  A.  What is the mission of the Military Sealift Command?  B.  What are the three categories of strategic sealift vessels assigned to it?  C.  What other group of auxiliary ships does it operate?

13.  What are "effective U.S.-controlled" ships?

14.  What are the three unique military needs that must be met by the U.S. merchant marine in wartime?

15.  A.  Why are larger and larger ships being constructed for the U.S. merchant marine?  B.  How could this be a military disadvantage in event of war?

16.  How may merchant ships be used in direct support of military operations?