4. Both the Interstate Commerce Act and the Sherman Antitrust
Act were
(1) inspired by the effectiveness
of earlier state laws
(2) designed to protect business
from foreign competition
(3) declared unconstitutional by
the Supreme Court in the late
1800s
(4) passed by the federal
government to regulate big
business

the completion of the erie canal spurred the first great westward movement of american settlers, gave access to the rich land and resources west of the appalachians and made new york the preeminent commercial city in the united states.

nothing certain is known about what happened, but it seems that the country declined gradually, perhaps due to bad government, or, more likely, due to a series of bad harvests, which resulted in widespread and recurrent famine.