Historians sometimes forget that history is continually being made and experienced before it is studied, interpreted, and read. These latter activities have their own history, of course, which may impinge in unexpected ways on public events. It is difficult to predict when “new pasts” will overturn established historical interpretations and change the course of history. In the fall of 1954, for example, C. Vann Woodward delivered a lecture series at the University of Virginia which challenged the prevailing dogma concerning the history, continuity, and uniformity of racial segregation in the South. He argued that the Jim Crow laws of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries not only codified traditional practice but also were a determined effort to erase the considerable progress made by Black people during and after Reconstruction in the 1870’s. This revisionist view of Jim Crow legislation grew in part from the research that Woodward had done for the NAACP legal campaign during its preparation for Brown v. Board of Education. The Supreme Court had issued its ruling in this epochal desegregation case a few months before Woodward’s lectures. The lectures were soon published as a book, The Strange Career of Jim Crow . Ten years later, in a preface to the second revised edition, Woodward confessed with ironic modesty that the first edition “had begun to suffer under some of the handicaps that might be expected in a history of the American Revolution published in 1776.” That was a bit like hearing Thomas Paine apologize for the timing of his pamphlet Common Sense , which had a comparable impact. Although Common Sense also had a mass readership, Paine had intended to reach and inspire: he was not a historian, and thus not concerned with accuracy or the dangers of historical anachronism. Yet, like Paine, Woodward had an unerring sense of the revolutionary moment, and of how historical evidence could undermine the mythological tradition that was crushing the dreams of new social possibilities. Martin Luther King, Jr., testified to the profound effect of The Strange Career of Jim Crow on the civil rights movement by praising the book and quoting it frequently. 1 1. The “new pasts” mentioned in line 6 can best be described as the (A) occurrence of events extremely similar to past events (B) history of the activities of studying, interpreting, and reading new historical writing (C) change in people’s understanding of the past due to more recent historical writing (D) overturning of established historical interpretations by politically motivated politicians (E) difficulty of predicting when a given historical interpretation will be overturned 2 2. It can be inferred from the passage that the “prevailing dogma” (line 10) held that (A) Jim Crow laws were passed to give legal status to well-established discriminatory practices in the South (B) Jim Crow laws were passed to establish order and uniformity in the discriminatory practices of different southern states (C) Jim Crow laws were passed to erase the social gains that Black people had achieved since Reconstruction (D) the continuity of racial segregation in the South was disrupted by passage of Jim Crow laws (E) the Jim Crow laws of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were passed to reverse the effect of earlier Jim Crow laws 3 3. Which of the following is the best example of writing that is likely to be subject to the kinds of “handicaps” referred to in line 27? (A) A history of an auto manufacturing plant written by an employee during an auto-buying boom (B) A critique of a statewide school-desegregation plan written by an elementary school teacher in that state (C) A newspaper article assessing the historical importance of a United States President written shortly after the President has taken office (D) A scientific paper describing the benefits of a certain surgical technique written by the surgeon who developed the technique (E) Diary entries narrating the events of a battle written by a soldier who participated in the battle 4 4. The passage suggests that C. Vann Woodward and Thomas Paine were similar in all of the following ways EXCEPT: (A) Both had works published in the midst of important historical events. (B) Both wrote works that enjoyed widespread popularity. (C) Both exhibited an understanding of the relevance of historical evidence to contemporary issues. (D) The works of both had a significant effect on events following their publication. (E) Both were able to set aside worries about historical anachronism in order to reach and inspire. 5 5. The attitude of the author of the passage toward the work of C. Vann Woodward is best described as one of (A) respectful regard (B) qualified approbation (C) implied skepticism (D) pointed criticism (E) fervent advocacy 6 6. Which of the following best describes the new idea expressed by C. Vann Woodward in his University of Virginia lectures in 1954? (A) Southern racial segregation was continuous and uniform. (B) Black people made considerable progress only after Reconstruction. (C) Jim Crow legislation was conventional in nature. (D) Jim Crow laws did not go as far in codifying traditional practice as they might have. (E) Jim Crow laws did much more than merely reinforce a tradition of segregation.

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Historians sometimes forget that history is continually being made and

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GMATNinja

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05 Jul 2023, 15:45

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Question 5

nikitathegreat

In ques 5, doesn't the author also mention that the first edition began to suffer handicaps. Isn't that a negative thing about Vann??

Hence, the answer can be qualified approbabtion?

As you point out, the passage discusses "handicaps" in relation to Woodward's book. But whose point of view is this? Does the author think Woodward's book has handicaps? Or is that someone else's point of view?

Notice, the question of point of view is central for question 5, which is specifically asking about the "attitude of the author."

Delving into the third paragraph, we can determine that the idea of handicaps is not the author's idea, but an idea of Woodward himself.

Quote:

Woodward confessed with ironic modesty that the first edition “had begun to suffer under some of the handicaps that might be expected in a history of the American Revolution published in 1776.”

So how does the author feel about this idea that the book had handicaps? Well, the author doesn't seem too critical of Woodward's book. He or she compares Woodward's criticism of his own book to Thomas Paine apologizing for his pamphlet "Common Sense." But we know the author thinks that Common Sense had a large impact. Developing his or her point of view further, the author tells us that "Woodward had an unerring sense of the revolutionary moment."

So while the author presents Woodward's own idea that his book had "handicaps," the author doesn't seem to endorse this point of view. On the contrary, the author seems to minimize this criticism, and to focus on Woodward's positive qualities.

With all that in mind, let's take another look at answer choice (B):

Quote:

5. The attitude of the author of the passage toward the work of C. Vann Woodward is best described as one of

(B) qualified approbation

While Woodward himself may have mixed feelings about his book, the author doesn't seem to share this point of view. When the author expresses his or her point of view on Woodward, we only get positive comments.

So, since the author's approval of Woodward isn't "qualified," we can eliminate (B).

I hope that helps!

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07 May 2024, 05:31

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GMATNinja -

For Question no.4, please let me know if the reasoning for choosing E is correct:

Both were able to set aside worries about historical anachronism in order to reach and inspire. - We know C. Vann wasn't able to put aside worries about historical anachronism because when the 2nd edition is released he clearly mentions his bias.

But for Paine we don't know if he did or did not care about historical anachronism since it is no where mentioned in the passage. Am I correct?

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23 May 2024, 12:25

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Question 4

harvinderkaurprep

Your explanation regarding Paine sounds good.

But Vann "reached and inspired" before the 2nd edition was released, so you'd have to apply the same argument to Vann, instead of concluding that Vann was not able to put aside worries about historical anachronism.

For more on this one, check out this post: https://gmatclub.com/forum/historians-s ... l#p2011823.

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Hey experts GMATNinja, ChiranjeevSingh, KarishmaB, I'm sorry, having gone through all the explanations still unable to come to terms with Question-2.

If prevailing dogma is "Jim Crow laws codified traditional practice" and CVW says exactly the same i.e. "Jim Crow laws not only codified traditional practice but also...." then where is the challenge?

Isn't CVW also just reinstating the prevailing dogma and not challenging it?

It's like A saying : Hey, it is warm today and B saying : Hey, it is not only warm but also very humid".

Essentially A & B both agree on it being a warm day, just that B says its additionally humid besides being warm. I don't see how CVW has challenged the prevailing dogma.

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Question 2

chiplesschap

I'm sorry, having gone through all the explanations still unable to come to terms with Question-2.

If prevailing dogma is "Jim Crow laws codified traditional practice" and CVW says exactly the same i.e. "Jim Crow laws not only codified traditional practice but also...." then where is the challenge?

Isn't CVW also just reinstating the prevailing dogma and not challenging it?

It's like A saying : Hey, it is warm today and B saying : Hey, it is not only warm but also very humid".

Essentially A & B both agree on it being a warm day, just that B says its additionally humid besides being warm. I don't see how CVW has challenged the prevailing dogma.

Fair point, but the "but also" part of CVW's view is significant enough to constitute a challenge.

According to the prevailing dogma, the laws codified traditional practice (stuff that was already going on). The implications of that were presumably significant (though the passage doesn't get into that). Regardless, this is a pretty limited view of the laws and their impact.

CVW, on the other hand, argued that these laws were NOT just a simple codification of stuff that was already going on. Instead, the laws were a determined effort to erase the considerable progress made by Black people during and after Reconstruction in the 1870’s. That's a pretty bold and damning allegation, and it's enough to constitute a challenge to someone who does NOT believe the "but also" part.

In other words, if Person A believes that the laws WERE a determined effort to erase the progress made by Black people and Person B believes the laws were NOT a determined effort to erase the progress made by Black people, Person A and Person B are certainly not in agreement about these laws and their impact. And it's fair to say that Person A's view is a challenge to Person B's view, even if they agree on certain aspects of the laws and their impacts.

Again, that is certainly a confusing aspect of the passage (maybe that's why it was cut from the OG over 20 years ago!), so don't lose too much sleep over it. But (A) is our best option, as explained here and here.

I hope that helps!

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09 Mar 2026, 18:40

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GMATNinja, just one thing how do we know the handicap is basically that he wrote it too early & hence might not be the correct picture.
if i didn't know as a GK aspect that when did american revolution start?

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Passage breakdown

In the first paragraph (P1), the author:

Argues that history is not fixed.
Explains that “new pasts” can change interpretations and influence future events.

In the second paragraph, the author:

Supports his/her argument in P1 by citing Woodward’s Jim Crow lectures.
Explains that these lectures challenged the “prevailing dogma” on segregation.

In the final paragraph, the author:

Provides support for his/her argument in P1 by showing Woodward’s book affected future events (i.e. civil rights movement).
Suggests that Woodward saw “handicaps” in his work -- inaccuracies caused by writing too close to the time he wrote about.

For more on the process of breaking down RC passages, check out this article and our live RC videos.

Explanations for individual questions

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You actually do NOT need any outside knowledge here. The passage gives you everything you need to understand the handicap.

Here's the key: focus on the words and context the passage itself provides.

1. Woodward says his book suffered from handicaps that might be expected in 'a history of the American Revolution published in 1776.' The critical word here is 'history' - meaning an assessment or analysis of the Revolution. And then it was 'published in 1776' - meaning it came out at a very specific (early) point in time.

2. Right after this, the passage says: 'That was a bit like hearing Thomas Paine apologize for the TIMING of his pamphlet Common Sense.' The word 'timing' is your biggest clue. The passage is explicitly telling you the handicap is about WHEN the work was published.

3. The passage also mentions 'the dangers of historical anachronism' - meaning the risk of judging past events through the lens of an incomplete, still-changing present.

So even without knowing that 1776 was the very start of the American Revolution, the passage signals clearly: the problem is writing a historical assessment of something while it is still happening. Events hadn't fully played out yet, so any conclusions could become outdated.

This is why C is correct - assessing a President's historical importance 'shortly after the President has taken office' is the same handicap: you're trying to make a historical judgment way too early, before the full story has unfolded.

Answer: C

rak08