In a new book about the antiparty feeling of the early political

Question

In a new book about the antiparty feeling of the early political leaders of the United States, Ralph Ketcham argues that the first six Presidents differed decisively from later Presidents because the first six held values inherited from the classical humanist tradition of eighteenth-century England. In this view, government was designed not to satisfy the private desires of the people but to make them better citizens; this tradition stressed the disinterested devotion of political leaders to the public good. Justice, wisdom, and courage were more important qualities in a leader than the ability to organize voters and win elections. Indeed, leaders were supposed to be called to office rather than to run for office. And if they took up the burdens of public office with a sense of duty, leaders also believed that such offices were naturally their due because of their social preeminence or their contributions to the country. Given this classical conception of leadership, it is not surprising that the first six Presidents condemned political parties. Parties were partial by definition, self-interested, and therefore serving something other than the transcendent public good.

Even during the first presidency (Washington's), however, the classical conception of virtuous leadership was being undermined by commercial forces that had been gathering since at least the beginning of the eighteenth century. Commerce—its profit-making, its self-interestedness, its individualism—became the enemy of these classical ideals. Although Ketcham does not picture the struggle in quite this way, he does rightly see Jackson's tenure (the seventh presidency) as the culmination of the acceptance of party, commerce, and individualism. For the Jacksonians, nonpartisanship lost its relevance, and under the direction of Van Buren, party gained a new legitimacy. The classical ideals of the first six Presidents became identified with a privileged aristocracy, an aristocracy that had to be overcome in order to allow competition between opposing political interests. Ketcham is so strongly committed to justifying the classical ideals, however, that he underestimates the advantages of their decline. For example, the classical conception of leadership was incompatible with our modern notion of the freedoms of speech and press, freedoms intimately associated with the legitimacy of opposing political parties.   1 
 1. The passage is primarily concerned with

(A) describing and comparing two theories about the early history of the United States
(B) describing and analyzing an argument about the early history of the United States
(C) discussing new evidence that qualifies a theory about the early history of the United States
(D) refuting a theory about political leadership in the United States
(E) resolving an ambiguity in an argument about political leadership in the United States

2 
 2. According to the passage, the author and Ketcham agree on which of the following points?

(A) The first six Presidents held the same ideas about political parties as did later Presidents in the United States.
(B) Classical ideals supported the growth of commercial forces in the United States.
(C) The first political parties in the United States were formed during Van Buren's term in office.
(D) The first six Presidents placed great emphasis on individualism and civil rights.
(E) Widespread acceptance of political parties occurred during Andrew Jackson's presidency.

3 
 3. It can be inferred that the author of the passage would be most likely to agree that modern views of the freedoms of speech and press are

(A) values closely associated with the beliefs of the aristocracy of the early United States
(B) political rights less compatible with democracy and individualism than with classical ideals
(C) political rights uninfluenced by the formation of opposing political parties
(D) values not inherent in the classical humanist tradition of eighteenth-century England
(E) values whose interpretation would have been agreed on by all United States Presidents

4 
 4. Which of the following, if true, provides the LEAST support for the author's argument about commerce and political parties during Jackson's presidency?

(A) Many supporters of Jackson resisted the commercialization that could result from participation in a national economy.
(B) Protest against the corrupt and partisan nature of political parties in the United States subsided during Jackson's presidency.
(C) During Jackson's presidency the use of money became more common than bartering of goods and services.
(D) More northerners than southerners supported Jackson because southerners were opposed to the development of a commercial economy.
(E) Andrew Jackson did not feel as strongly committed to the classical ideals of leadership as George Washington had felt.

5 
 5. The author of the passage would most likely to agree with which of following statements about Ketcham?

(A) He overemphasizes the influence of classical ideals on the first six Presidents of the United States.
(B) He fails to recognize that classical ideals had little influence on politics in the United States.
(C) He does not pay adequate attention to the negative aspects of the first six Presidents’ commitment to classical ideals.
(D) He inaccurately suggests that classical ideals gave rise to our modern notion of democracy.
(E) He underestimates the effect of ideologies other than the humanist tradition on the first six Presidents.

6 
 6. Which of the following best describes the attitude of the first six Presidents toward political parties as it is discussed in the passage?

(A) Political parties were essential to the notions of democracy on which the United States government was based.
(B) Personal character in leadership was as important as affiliation with a political party.
(C) Political parties were one way to ensure that government could meet the needs of all citizens.
(D) Political parties, though undesirable, were inevitable in a democratic political system.
(E) Political parties represented opposing political interests rather than the general public good.

Skywalker18 · Accepted Answer

The below is Ron's answer to the above question - https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/foru ... 11468.html first, you have to figure out what the highlighted thing means. (in general, if a question prompt contains vague words, you must clarify the vague language before answering the question.) the highlighted thing, from the passage, means: "he does rightly see Jackson's tenure (the seventh presidency) as the culmination of the acceptance of party, commerce, and individualism . " (A) RESISTED commerce -- there's your correct answer. (B) they started to accept parties, i.e., part of the highlighted thing. (C) they started to accept modern commerce, i.e., part of the highlighted thing. (D) jackson's opponents opposed him because he supported commerce, i.e., part of the highlighted thing. (E) the classical ideals were anti-parties, so jackson's drifting away from those ideals supports the highlighted thing. here (a) is the clear favorite, since it's the only answer choice that directly contradicts the highlighted thing.

JarvisR · Answer

Time taken 13 mins. Is it bad? <Updated time:10 mins>
1. The passage is primarily concerned with
B. describing and analyzing an argument about the early history of the United States
Argument first descibes the era of earlier leadership (first 6 presidents) .
From second para, it introduces the changes in the system since the era of later Presidents.Finally, it mentions it views on the pros and cons of both the eras.

2. According to the passage, the author and Ketcham agree on which of the following points?
A. The first six Presidents held the same ideas about political parties as did later Presidents in the United States.
B. Classical ideals supported the growth of commercial forces in the United States.
C. The first political parties in the United States were formed during Van Buren's term in office.
D. The first six Presidents placed great emphasis on individualism and civil rights.
E. Widespread acceptance of political parties occurred during Andrew Jackson's presidency.
>> For me it was between C &E. C is wrong bec arg says that Party found legal status but that doesn't mean they weren't formed before that.

3. It can be inferred that the author of the passage would be most likely to agree that modern views of the freedoms of speech and press are
D. values not inherent in the classical humanist tradition of eighteenth-century England
"the classical conception of leadership was incompatible with our modern notion of the freedoms of speech and press, freedoms intimately associated with the legitimacy of opposing political parties."

4. Which of the following, if true, provides the LEAST support for the author's argument about commerce and political parties during Jackson's presidency?
A. Many supporters of Jackson resisted the commercialization that could result from participation in a national economy.
"he does rightly see Jackson's tenure (the seventh presidency) as the culmination of the acceptance of party, commerce, and individualism. For the Jacksonians, nonpartisanship lost its relevance, "

5. The author of the passage would most likely to agree with which of following statements about Ketcham?
C. He does not pay adequate attention to the negative aspects of the first Presidents’ commitment to classical ideals.
"Ketcham is so strongly committed to justifying the classical ideals, however, that he underestimates the advantages of their decline. "

JJakeRRoberts · Answer

Author's argument about J's presidency is: During J's presidency, commerce became important. (I know this is vague approximation). - So, something happened which made commerce important. Let's see what was that.
A - If they resisted commerce, then commerce would not have become important during J's time. - So least support.
B - If the protests against corrupt (money) decreased, then commerce became important. (no resistance to commerce.)
C - If money became imp. then so did commerce.
D - Irrelevant.
E - If true, means J was modern, so more commerce.

ANS = A.

abhimahna · Answer

Breaking down the passage:

Paragraph 1: One person differentiates how first six presidents differed decisively from others. It then describes those differences.

Paragraph 2: It says their leadership concept was undermined by some forces. Then it discusses how the 7th presidency on wards the changes were seen. And the negative impacts of new things(e.g. nonpartisanship lost its relevance, the culmination of the acceptance of party, commerce, and individualism.). Then at the end author said "NO Dude, you are overemphasizing those classical ideas. There were some benefits as well." Then at the end he gives an example to prove his point.

I hope it makes sense. Feel free to reach out in case of any concern.

GMATNinja · Answer

Nice work,  abhimahna !

Yes, the first paragraph explains that the first six presidents embraced the classical conception of leadership and the antiparty values inherited from the classical humanist tradition.

The second paragraph then explains how, since at least the beginning of the eighteenth century, the values and ideals embraced by the first six presidents were being undermined by the forces of commerce, which stressed profit-making, self-interestedness, and individualism. The decline in the values embraced by the first six presidents culminated in the tenure (or "term") of the seventh president, Jackson.

The author believes that Ketcham is too strongly committed to justifying the classical ideals upheld by the first six presidents -- and that Ketcham therefore fails to consider the advantages of the decline of those classical ideals.

GMATNinjaTwo · Answer

Refer to the last sentence: "the classical conception of leadership was incompatible with our modern notion of the freedoms of speech and press, freedoms intimately associated with the legitimacy of opposing political parties."

This specifically tells us that modern views of the freedoms of speech and press are not compatible with the  classical  conception of leadership, which falls under the umbrella of the "classical humanist tradition of eighteenth-century England." Thus, the author would  most likely  agree that modern views of freedoms of speech and press are "values not inherent in the classical humanist tradition of eighteenth-century England" (D).

GMATNinja · Answer

The passage does discuss two different types of leadership: the classical conception of leadership (embraced by the first 6 presidents) and the party system (embraced by Jacksonians), but it does not discuss two theories about the early history of the United States. Instead the passage only discusses Ralph Ketcham's argument ("that the first six Presidents differed decisively from later Presidents because the first six held values inherited from the classical humanist tradition of eighteenth-century England"). The author of the passage describes and analyzes Ketcham's view, pointing out the argument's strengths and weaknesses.

Thus, choice (B) is a better answer.

Thus, choice (B) is a better answer.

dave13 · Answer

i was wondering if note taking helps during RC ?

i tend to miss important details. for example q.#2 i answred incorrectly cause i missed important information , but once i answred i could find correct answer in the tesxt. is it lack of concentration or attention to details ?

thanks !

GMATNinjaTwo · Answer

dave13 , there's a section in the  Ultimate RC Guide for Beginners  called "So what about note-taking?". See if that helps!

zoezhuyan · Answer

would you help point out what's the wrong with A. it took me few hours , I still have no idea

GMATNinja · Answer

Sure! As a reminder, the question is, "The author of the passage would most likely agree with which of the following statements about Ketcham?"

And here's choice (A) again:

Let's be as precise as possible in reading this answer choice. Does Ketcham  overemphasize the influence of classical ideals on the first six Presidents ?

Choosing (A) is NOT the same as stating that Ketcham overemphasizes the influence of classical ideals on the United States in general. It is NOT the same as stating that Ketcham overemphasizes the influence of classical ideals on how historians describe the first six Presidents.

We can ONLY keep choice (A) if the passage states or implies that  Ketcham overemphasizes how much classical ideals influenced the first six Presidents themselves . And this statement just isn't supported by the passage.

Now, perhaps you thought that the author comes close to this statement at the start of the second paragraph:

"Even during the first presidency (Washington's), however, the classical conception of virtuous leadership was being undermined by commercial forces that had been gathering since at least the beginning of the eighteenth century. Commerce—its profit-making, its self-interestedness, its individualism—became the enemy of these classical ideals."

Here, the author describes how forces opposed to the classical conception of leadership emerged early in the history of the U.S. and grew during the tenure of the first six presidents.

Again, this is NOT the same thing as saying or implying that  Ketcham overemphasized the influence of classical ideals  on the first six presidents. The author is simply pointing out that the Jacksonian turning point didn't come out of nowhere, and the classical ideals of the first six presidents were not necessarily fully accepted by the people they were leading.

This, and nothing else in the passage, lines up with the meaning of choice (A). That's why we eliminate it and keep choice (C), which is supported strongly by the end of the second paragraph:

"Ketcham is so strongly committed to justifying the classical ideals, however, that he underestimates the advantages of their decline. For example, the classical conception of leadership was incompatible with our modern notion of the freedoms of speech and press, freedoms intimately associated with the legitimacy of opposing political parties."

I hope this helps!

DivyanshuGupta61 · Answer

Why is option A incorrect? 
Its difficult to choose between A and B as in the 2nd paragraph of the passage, although the ideology of the 7th president and that of the presidents after him is being described but it is also being compared with that of the first 6 presidents.
So, ruling out A is not that easy, in fact A takes precedence over B

GMATNinja · Answer

You're correct that the leadership  ideology  of the first six Presidents is compared to the  ideology  of the 7th President.

Answer choice (A), however, doesn't say that the passage is comparing Presidential  ideologies  -- instead, it says that the passage is primarily concerned with "describing and comparing  two theories about the early history of the United States ." The Presidents didn't have theories about the the early history of the US, because they were living through that history. In this context, only someone coming after the fact (such as a historian), could present such a theory.

While two leadership ideologies are compared to one another in the passage, only one theory about the early history of the US is discussed -- namely, Ketcham's theory (or argument). For this reason, (A) is not the correct answer to question #1.

I hope that helps!

jaisonsunny77 · Answer

1. The passage is primarily concerned with

the passage uses Ketcham's work to analyze antiparty feeling of the early political leaders of the United States. The first paragraph describes the classical concept of leadership (as followed by the first 6 US presidents). The second paragraph describes how the ''anti-party'' feeling changed to party gaining a new legitimacy. (B) captures this thought perfectly.

(B) describing and analyzing an argument about the early history of the United States

Hence,   (B) is the right answer choice. 
 
  2. According to the passage, the author and Ketcham agree on which of the following points?

Towards the middle of the second paragraph, we have "...Ketcham..... he does rightly see Jackson's tenure as the culmination of the acceptance of party...." This is exactly what (E) has.

(E) Widespread acceptance of political parties occurred during Andrew Jackson's presidency.

Hence,   (E) is the right answer choice.

3. It can be inferred that the author of the passage would be most likely to agree that modern views of the freedoms of speech and press are

Towards the end of the second passage, we have "the classical conception of leadership (which originated in eighteenth-century England) was incompatible with our modern notion of the freedoms of speech and press". This idea is captured in (D)

(D) values not inherent in the classical humanist tradition of eighteenth-century England

Hence,   (D) is the right answer choice.

4. Which of the following, if true, provides the LEAST support for the author's argument about commerce and political parties during Jackson's presidency?

(A) Many supporters of Jackson resisted the commercialization that could result from participation in a national economy. - the author makes the assertion that "Jackson's presidency can be seen as the culmination of the acceptance of party, commerce, and individualism." But (A) introduces a statement that challenges this assertion: (A) introduces the idea that president Jackson did not have enough support to go ahead with commercialization. Hence, the assertion made by the author will not hold. Therefore,  (A) is the right answer choice .  
 
(B) Protest against the corrupt and partisan nature of political parties in the United States subsided during Jackson's presidency.  -  this actually supports the author's assertion (That Jackson's presidency can be seen as the culmination of the acceptance of party, commerce, and individualism.) 
 
(C) During Jackson's presidency the use of money became more common than bartering of goods and services .  - supports the author's assertion. 
  
(D) More northerners than southerners supported Jackson because southerners were opposed to the development of a commercial economy . -  we can infer from (D) that majority of those who supported Jackson(the ''northerners'') did indeed considered ''commercial economy'' as important. (D) actually agrees with the author's assertion.  
 (E) Andrew Jackson did not feel as strongly committed to the classical ideals of leadership as George Washington had felt . -  agrees with the author's assertion.  
 
 5. The author of the passage would most likely to agree with which of following statements about Ketcham?

Towards the end of the passage, we have "Ketcham....he  underestimates  the advantages of their  decline  (of the classical ideas)''. This is what we have in (C)
(C) He does not pay adequate attention to the negative aspects of the first six Presidents’ commitment to classical ideals.

Hence,   (C) is the right answer choice.  
 
  6. Which of the following best describes the attitude of the first six Presidents toward political parties as it is discussed in the passage?

Towards the end of the first paragraph, we have " the first six Presidents condemned political parties. Parties were partial by definition, self-interested, and therefore serving something other than the transcendent public good.". Only (E) reflect this thought.

(E). Political parties represented opposing political interests rather than the general public good.

Hence,   (E) is the right answer choice.

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 4

To answer question 4, we need to understand the author's argument about commerce and political parties during Jackson's presidency.

In the paragraph 1, we learn that, according to a historian named Ketcham,  the first six presidents condemned political parties . The early presidents hated parties so much because they held a "classical conception of virtuous leadership," and thought that party politics prevent leaders from selflessly embodying this ideal.

Then Jackson comes along as president #7, and this is what the author says about his presidency:

"  does rightly see Jackson's tenure (the seventh presidency) as the culmination of the  acceptance of party, commerce, and individualism . For the Jacksonians, nonpartisanship lost its relevance, and under the direction of Van Buren, party gained a new legitimacy."

So, the author argues that there is a  contrast  between the first six presidents (under whom party politics were discouraged), and Jackson (under whom political parties and commerce were accepted).

In answering the question, we're looking for a piece of information that DOES NOT support this argument. Let's go through the answer choices:
 
(A) tells us that Jackson supporters RESISTED commercialization. That goes completely against the author's claim that, under Jackson, commerce became ACCEPTED.

(A) doesn't support the author's argument, so keep it for now.

If protest against political parties  subsided , it seems like people grew more favorable toward political parties. This supports the claim that political parties were more accepted during Jackson's presidency.

Because (B) supports the author's claim, we can eliminate it.

From (C), we can gather that commercial activity was on the rise during Jackson's presidency. This supports the author's claim that commerce became more accepted during this time.

(C) is out.

This tells us a bit more about Jackson's supporters -- they were northerners who were more open to the idea of developing a commercial economy. This supports the author's claim that Jacksonianism and commercialism go hand-in-hand.

(D) supports the author's argument, so get rid of (D).

This supports the author's claim that, under Jackson, there was a shift away from classical ideals of leadership and toward commerce/political parties.

Eliminate (E).

(A) is the correct answer to question #4.

I hope that helps!

nikitamaheshwari · Answer

5. The author of the passage would most likely to agree with which of following statements about Ketcham?

(A) He overemphasizes the influence of classical ideals on the first six Presidents of the United States. - need explanation on this

(B) He fails to recognize that classical ideals had little influence on politics in the United States. - not mentioned in the passage

(C) He does not pay adequate attention to the negative aspects of the first six Presidents’ commitment to classical ideals.

(D) He inaccurately suggests that classical ideals gave rise to our modern notion of democracy. - classical conception of leadership was incompatible with our modern notion of the freedoms of speech and press, freedoms intimately associated with the legitimacy of opposing political parties.
Ketcham didnt even suggest that classical ideals gave rise to modern notion of democracy. It's just that he didnt wanted the classical notion to decline
 
(E) He underestimates the effect of ideologies other than the humanist tradition on the first six Presidents. - he underestimated the effect of one ideology - commerce and the ideologies usage is incorrect?

GMATNinja   TargetTestPrep   VeritasKarishma  - can you please check my analysis and answer my questions 
Thanks

KarishmaB · Answer

5. The author of the passage would most likely to agree with which of following statements about Ketcham?

(A) He overemphasizes the influence of classical ideals on the first six Presidents of the United States.
The author does not say that Ketcham overemphasised the influence of classical ideals on first 6 Presidents. The author just informs us that Ketcham talks about the influence of classical ideals on first 6 Presidents. 
The author instead says that Ketcham over justifies classical ideals (not their influence on Presidents)

(B) He fails to recognize that classical ideals had little influence on politics in the United States.

First 6 Presidents had adopted the classical ideals. Is the author saying that classical ideals had little influence on US politics? Perhaps not. Then whether Ketcham recognised this or not is out of question.

(C) He does not pay adequate attention to the negative aspects of the first six Presidents’ commitment to classical ideals.

Last two lines:
 Ketcham is so strongly committed to justifying the classical ideals, however, that he underestimates the advantages of their decline. For example, the classical conception of leadership was incompatible with our modern notion of the freedoms of speech and press, freedoms intimately associated with the legitimacy of opposing political parties.

The author says that Ketcham does not pay attention to the negative aspects of commitment to classical ideals. Hence (C) is correct.

(D) He inaccurately suggests that classical ideals gave rise to our modern notion of democracy.

The author does not say that Ketcham suggests that classical ideals gave rise to modern notion of democracy.

(E) He underestimates the effect of ideologies other than the humanist tradition on the first six Presidents.

The author doesn't talk about what Ketcham felt about the effect of other ideologies. He only talks about what Ketcham felt about classical ideology.

Answer (C)

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 1

In the passage, the author discusses a " new  book" written by Ralph Ketcham. Then, the author disagrees with certain aspects of Ketcham's theory.

So, does the author  qualify  this theory? Sure, I think you could say that. But does the author discuss " new evidence " that qualifies this theory, as specified in (C)? No, he/she does not. The only "new" thing in the passage IS Ketcham's book. The author qualifies Ketcham's theory with information that doesn't seem to be particularly new.

That's why you can eliminate (C).

Here's (D):
 
The author doesn't wholly reject Ketcham's argument. He/she actually admits that Ketcham gets some stuff right ("Ketcham does rightly see Jackson's tenure (the seventh presidency) as the culmination of the acceptance of party, commerce, and individualism.")

In addition, the author doesn't necessarily think that Ketcham's theory  itself  is incorrect. Sure, the author mentions that the divide between the first six presidents and later presidents isn't as clean-cut as Ketcham argues. But the author's main criticism isn't that Ketcham's  theory  is wrong, but that Ketcham's sense of  good and bad  is biased. So it's really not the theory that the author takes issue with, but the analysis of that theory.

For those reasons, you can get rid of (D).

I hope that helps!

Kimberly77 · Answer

Great explanation GMATNinja , regarding question 1. I still find it very hard to comprehend to the level especially when under exam/timed condition that " The Presidents didn't have theories about the the early history of the US, because they were living through that history. In this context, only someone coming after the fact (such as a historian), could present such a theory." My understanding of A is Ketcham's theory of two leadership ideologies are being compared to one another in the passage. So somehow A still wins over B. Where is my understaanding still going wrong here? Thanks GMATNinja

In a new book about the antiparty feeling of the early political

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In a new book about the antiparty feeling of the early political

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