After the American Civil War (1861-1865), the advocates for the

After the American Civil War (1861-1865), the advocates for the extension of voting rights (suffrage) to African Americans and the advocates for the extension of voting rights to women were initially unified in their efforts. However, as it became clear that voting rights would be extended only to male African Americans, antagonism developed between African Americans and white woman suffragists. In an attempt to overcome this antagonism, African American historian, sociologist, and civil rights advocate W.E.B. Du Bois (1898- 1963)—whose role as advocate for women’s rights has been largely overlooked by scholars—offered appeals to both sides of the rift, including detailed arguments for why African Americans should support woman suffrage.

Du Bois offered both principle-based and pragmatic appeals. His principle-based arguments suggested that the higher ideals of American democracy demanded that African Americans support woman suffrage: to deny woman suffrage was to deny democracy, while to support it was to support democracy. This appeal likely resonated with many African Americans in the early twentieth century, for whom the notion of democracy was an especially powerful cultural idiom. Du Bois’s principle-based arguments also confronted the claim by some woman suffragists that woman suffrage and black suffrage were philosophically unrelated. By unifying the ideas under the banner of democracy, Du Bois argued that woman suffrage and black suffrage were philosophically linked, and that to deny that link was to undermine democracy.

In his pragmatic appeals, Du Bois argued that woman suffrage would have positive consequences for all African Americans. Because the African American population had a greater proportion of women than did the American population as whole, extending the vote to women would be especially advantageous to the African American population. However, the most prominent aspect of Du Bois’s pragmatic appeals was his assertion that black women voters would be especially valuable to African Americans because of "women’s influence in politics—the influence of the mother, the wife, the teacher." Although black voters would be somewhat more than doubled in number, black voters would be outnumbered by white voters. But the enfranchisement of African American women, Du Bois argued, "will not be a mere doubling of our vote: it will tend to stronger and more normal political life."

1. The passage most strongly suggests that which of the following statements expresses an appeal that Dubois made to a non-African- American audience?

A. The antagonism between the various advocates for voting rights was counterproductive for all of the advocates.
B. The notion of democracy presents a "powerful cultural idiom" that can be used to convince people to support woman suffrage.
C. There are more women in the United States than men.
D. To deny the link between woman suffrage and black suffrage is to undermine democracy.
E. Woman suffrage would "tend to a stronger and more normal political life."


2. The passage most strongly suggests that Du Bois would have agreed with which of the following claims?

A. African American men will benefit even more than African American women when African American women are able to vote.
B. Democracy in the United States should not be undermined.
C. Democracy in the United States tends to get stronger over time.
D. There were more African American men in the United States than African American women.
E. When women are able to vote, the proportion of them who vote is greater than the proportion of men who vote.


3. The passage is primarily concerned with

A. presenting some of Du Bois’s arguments for why women should have the right to vote
B. describing the basis for the rift between African Americans and white women suffragists
C. discussing some of the reasons for scholars’ relative neglect of an important aspect of Du Bois’s activism
D. pointing out some contradictions between Du Bois’s principle- based arguments and his pragmatic appeals
E. tracing the effect of Du Bois’s arguments in favor of woman’s suffrage


4. According to the passage, the most prominent consideration in Du Bois's pragmatic appeals was the

A. benefits of mending political divisions between different suffragist groups
B. benefits to all African Americans if democracy is strengthened
C. benefits to all women if voting rights were extended specifically to African American women
D. goal of increasing the proportion of African American voters within the population of American voters as a whole
E. value of the political influence that African American women voters would exercise