Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980s that after the American

Passage breakdown

In the first paragraph (P1), the author introduces Kerber's argument

• Kerber thinks that the ideology of “republican motherhood” increased educational opportunities for women AFTER the American Revolution.
• She states that the goal of this education was to enable women to raise politically virtuous sons.

In the second paragraph, the author presents evidence that challenges Kerber's work, then describes an issue caused by Kerber's influence

• Woody found that educational opportunities for girls increased BEFORE the American Revolution, undermining Kerber's timeline
• The author argues that Kerber's work may have obscured historian's ability to determine the truth of the revolution's influence on women's education.

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

Explanations for individual questions

• Question 1
• Question 2
• Question 3
• Question 5

Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980’s that after the American Revolution (1775-1783), an ideology of “republican motherhood” resulted in a surge of educational opportunities for women in the United States. Kerber maintained that the leaders of the new nation wanted women to be educated in order to raise politically virtuous sons. A virtuous citizenry was considered essential to the success of the country’s republican form of government; virtue was to be instilled not only by churches and schools, but by families, where the mother’s role was crucial. Thus,according to Kerber, motherhood became pivotal to the fate of the republic, providing justification for an unprecedented attention to female education.Introduction of the republican motherhood thesis dramatically changed historiography. Prior to Kerber’s work, educational historians barely mentioned women and girls; Thomas Woody’s 1929 work is the notable exception. Examining newspaper advertisements for academies, Woody found that educational opportunities increased for both girls and boys around 1750. Pointing to “An Essay on Woman” (1753) as reflecting a shift in view, Woody also claimed that practical education for females had many advocates before the Revolution. Woody’s evidence challenges the notion that the Revolution changed attitudes regarding female education, although it may have accelerated earlier trends. Historians’ reliance on Kerber’s “republican motherhood” thesis may have obscured the presence of these trends, making it difficult to determine to what extent the Revolution really changed women’s lives.

3) The passage suggests that, with regard to the history of women’s education in the United States, Kerber’s work differs from Woody’s primarily concerning which of the following?
A. The extent to which women were interested in pursuing educational opportunities in the eighteenth century
B. The extent of the support for educational opportunities for girls prior to the American Revolution
C. The extent of public resistance to educational opportunities for women after the American Revolution
D. Whether attitudes toward women’s educational opportunities changed during the eighteenth century
E. Whether women needed to be educated in order to contribute to the success of a republican form of government

LINDA )
Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980’s that after the American Revolution (1775-1783), an ideology of “republican motherhood” resulted in a surge of educational opportunities for women in the United States.

Linda's study concluded that revolution changed the education system for women (revolution happened in 1775-1783)

THOMAS WOODY)
1) Examining newspaper advertisements for academies, Woody found that educational opportunities increased for both girls and boys around 1750. Pointing to “An Essay on Woman” (1753) as reflecting a shift in view
2) Woody’s evidence challenges the notion that the Revolution changed attitudes regarding female education.

Woody's study tells that changed started happening almost 20 years before the revolution and that revolution has not played an important role in more efforts to educate woman.


NOW DEPENDING ON THE LEVEL OF YOUR EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE YOU WOULD EITHER INTERPRET THE QUESTION AS (1) INFERENCE OR (2) MUST BE TRUE
The two most attractive answer in these cases will be

IF YOU THINK THE QUESTION IS ASKING YOU FIND INFERENCE THEN THE ANSWER IS A
REASON :- Education opportunities were equal before and after the revolution. But women only started getting educated after the Revolution. It means earlier woman were not interested in education but after war they become interested in education . Meaning that that women's interest changed in education during the 18th century.
ANSWER IS A:- The extent to which women were interested in pursuing educational opportunities in the eighteenth century


IF YOU THINK THE QUESTION IS MUST BE TRUE THEN THE ANSWER IS B
REASON:- Because based on the information given in the passage it can be safely said that Linda considered [u]revolution to be the main factor of increased woman education, whereas Woody does not consider revolution as the chief cause of woman education but only as an accelerator to the cause.
ANSWR IS B The extent of the support for educational opportunities for girls prior to the American Revolution.


p.s:- The term "Suggests"in the question stem implies that it is an "INFERENCE" question .
THE CORRECT ANSWER IS A

3) The passage suggests that, with regard to the history of women’s education in the United States, Kerber’s work differs from Woody’s primarily concerning which of the following?
A. The extent to which women were interested in pursuing educational opportunities in the eighteenth century
B. The extent of the support for educational opportunities for girls prior to the American Revolution
C. The extent of public resistance to educational opportunities for women after the American Revolution
D. Whether attitudes toward women’s educational opportunities changed during the eighteenth century
E. Whether women needed to be educated in order to contribute to the success of a republican form of government

Woody’s evidence challenges the notion that the Revolution changed attitudes regarding female education

Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980’s that after the American Revolution (1775-1783), an ideology of “republican motherhood” resulted in a surge of educational opportunities for women in the United States.

So they were differed in their timeline (before or after the revolution) not the extent.
I think it should be D and not A.Whether attitudes toward women’s educational opportunities changed during the eighteenth century Although I feel instead of during the eighteenth century, it should be "American Revolution"

I dont understand why A, when there is nothing about "women were interested in pursuing educational opportunities in the eighteenth century or not"

A. The extent to which women were interested in pursuing educational opportunities in the eighteenth century : Interest of women is something not discussed.

if extent means timeframe of 18th century, B sound better than A &D.
an ideology of “republican motherhood” resulted in a surge of educational opportunities for women in the United States : Obviously that means support has increased

LogicGuru1
Suggest :"Inference" type of question
most likely to agree with : "Inference" type of question

Well,
Because must be true question would not use the term "Suggest" . Suggest is use to ask about inference because
1) SUGGEST means some thing that "can be" derived at using the information which is essentially also the definition of "Inference" .
2) SUGGEST also means hidden conclusions or plausible but not explicitly mentioned secondary information that can be logically guestimated from the available info.

Based on these two criterion I finally think this is a inference question and therefore the correct answer is A and not B

3) The passage suggests that, with regard to the history of women’s education in the United States, Kerber’s work differs from Woody’s primarily concerning which of the following?
A. The extent to which women were interested in pursuing educational opportunities in the eighteenth century
B. The extent of the support for educational opportunities for girls prior to the American Revolution
C. The extent of public resistance to educational opportunities for women after the American Revolution
D. Whether attitudes toward women’s educational opportunities changed during the eighteenth century
E. Whether women needed to be educated in order to contribute to the success of a republican form of government

In this Q, Are we not assuming quite a lot to infer Option A that women were not interested. But what if opportunities were not present.To an extent the passage hints at Option B at large. Experts, please clarify.

Thanks, Nightmare007! B is in fact the answer to question #3. Let's compare the works of Kerber and Woody...

The passage states that, "Linda Kerber argued {...} that after the American Revolution (1775-1783), an ideology of “republican motherhood” resulted in a surge of educational opportunities for women in the United States." Thus, according to Kerber, there were significantly more educational opportunities for women after the American Revolution than before the American Revolution. Why? Because "the leaders of the new nation wanted women to be educated in order to raise politically virtuous sons". These statements imply that there was more support for educational opportunities for women after the revolution than before the revolution. Notice that Kerber does not say anything about women's interest in actually pursuing those educational opportunities; rather, Kerber's work only suggests that there were more educational opportunities for women and more support for educational opportunities for women after the revolution.

Woody, on the other hand, "found that educational opportunities increased for both girls and boys around 1750" (before the revolution), and he "also claimed that practical education for females had many advocates before the Revolution." Thus, according to Woody, educational opportunities for females and support (ie advocates) for educational opportunities for females increased before the revolution. Again, Woody does not say anything about women's interest in actually pursuing those educational opportunities, so choice A can be eliminated.

We can, however, infer that Kerber believed that support for educational opportunities for women increased after the revolution and that Woody believed that support for educational opportunities for women increased before the revolution. Thus, the passage suggests that Woody's work would describe a higher level of support for educational opportunities for girls (females) prior to the American Revolution than Kerber's work would describe. Thus, choice B is appropriate.

Kerber argued that the change occurred because of the Revolution. "Woody’s evidence challenges the notion that the Revolution changed attitudes regarding female education, although it may have accelerated earlier trends." Woody believed that the shift in attitudes occurred before the Revolution (in the 1750s). So, yes, choice (D) could potentially be edited into a correct answer by referring to the Revolution instead of the 18th century.

Topic Locked.

It is discussed here: gmat-prep-rc-linda-kerber-argued-in-the-mid-1980-s-220751.html

Hello
I was just wrong about question 1, and I don't get it yet
could explain choice B&C why are wrong?

The key is in this portion: "Prior to Kerber’s work, educational historians barely mentioned women and girls; Thomas Woody’s 1929 work is the notable exception."
Most other educational historians of the time barely mentioned women and girls. Since Woody's work was an exception, it must have given attention to the education of women and girls. This fits with choice (E).

As for choice (B), Woody's work was not an exception because of the time period on which it was focused. In other words, there may have been numerous works focused on that time period. What made Woody's exceptional was that it mentioned women and girls.

As for choice (C), this would imply that most other educational historians focused on educational practices while Woody's work focused on education attitudes. This is not a difference described in the passage. Rather, as shown in the portion above, the difference was that Woody's work examined the education of girls and women.

Hi GMATNinja, hazelnut,

For question

4) According to the passage, Kerber maintained that which of the following led to an increase in educational opportunities for women in the United States after the American Revolution?

Kerber maintained that the leaders of the new nation wanted women to be educated in order to raise politically virtuous sons. A virtuous citizenry was considered essential to the success of the country’s republican form of government

Hence D. Am'I right?

Can you please explain question

2) According to the passage, Kerber argued that political leaders thought that the form of government adopted by the United States after the American Revolution depended on which of the following for its success?

A. Women assuming the sole responsibility for instilling political virtue in children
B. Girls becoming the primary focus of a reformed educational system that emphasized political virtue
C. The family serving as one of the primary means by which children were imbued with political virtue
D. The family assuming many of the functions previously performed by schools and churches
E. Men an women assuming equal responsibility for the management of schools, churches, and the family

Why not B?

Let me try to answer your questions.

Q:4 Yes you are correct.

Just to add on to what you have said, (I have highlighted the portions which points to option D)

After the American Revolution (1775-1783), an ideology of “republican motherhood” resulted in a surge of educational opportunities for women in the United States. Kerber maintained that the leaders of the new nation wanted women to be educated in order to raise politically virtuous sons. A virtuous citizenry was considered essential to the success of the country’s republican form of government.Thus, according to Kerber, motherhood became pivotal to the fate of the republic (the new nation's -- republican form of government), providing justification for an unprecedented attention to female education.

2) According to the passage, Kerber argued that political leaders thought that the form of government adopted by the United States after the American Revolution depended on which of the following for its success?

General Tip : According to the passage questions require you to directly look at the location from where the question is asked and answer directly from the details provided as compared to the Inference questions in which we have to infer instead of directly searching the answer from the details provided.

So, I am citing the location from where this question is asked.

A virtuous citizenry was considered essential to the success of the country’s republican form of government; virtue was to be instilled not only by churches and schools, but by families, where the mother’s role was crucial. This is what option C says,

C. The family serving as one of the primary means by which children were imbued with political virtue. The other means being the churches and schools.

Now coming to option B, I may not be exactly correct, but following is the reason what I thought while solving this question,

B. Girls becoming the primary focus of a reformed educational system that emphasized political virtue.

As can be read from the passage that “republican motherhood” resulted in a surge of educational opportunities for women in the United States. That does not mean that educational system relied its emphasis solely on the political virtue. Though, the leaders of the new nation wanted women to be educated in order to raise politically virtuous sons does not imply that the women were the the primary focus of a reformed educational system that emphasized political virtue.


Hope I clear your doubts. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks.
-Varun

1) According to the passage, within the field of educational history, Thomas Woody’s 1929 work was

A. innovative because it relied on newspaper advertisements as evidence
B. exceptional in that it concentrated on the period before the American Revolution
C. unusual in that it focused on educational attitudes rather than on educational practices
D. controversial in its claims regarding educational opportunities for boys
E. atypical in that it examined the education of girls

Prior to Kerber’s work, educational historians barely mentioned women and girls; Thomas Woody’s 1929 work is the notable exception.

This can be directly answered from the BOLDED PART. Thomas Woody’s 1929 work is the notable exception to the works of educational historians prior to the American Revolution in that it examined the education of girls while the other works barely mentioned women and girls.

Hope it answers your query!

That's right!


Kerber argued that "virtue was to be instilled not only by churches and schools, but by families." The nation needed politically virtuous sons for its success, and those sons were to depend on family to become virtuous, hence choice (C).

As for choice (B), girls were not to become the PRIMARY focus. Even though unprecedented attention was given to female education, the main goal was to raise politically virtuous sons. In other words, even though girls may have been given unprecedented attention in schools, the passage suggests that boys (sons) were still the primary focus.

Furthermore, we are not told whether the educational system itself would emphasize political virtue. Rather, mothers were to emphasize political virtue. Sure, the political leaders wanted the girls to be educated, but being educated in general does not necessarily imply attending schools that emphasize political virtue.

Choice (C) is a better answer.

5) The passage suggests that Woody would have agreed with which of the following claims regarding “An Essay on Woman”?

(A) It expressed attitudes concerning women's education that were reflected in new educational opportunities for women after 1750.
(B) It persuaded educators to offer greater educational opportunities to women in the 1750s.
(C) It articulated ideas about women's education that would not be realized until after the American Revolution.
(D) It offered one of the most original arguments in favor of women's education in the United States in the eighteenth century.
(E) It presented views about women's education that were still controversial in Woody's own time.

Introduction of the republican motherhood thesis dramatically changed historiography. Prior to Kerber’s work, educational historians barely mentioned women and girls; Thomas Woody’s 1929 work is the notable exception. Examining newspaper advertisements for academies, Woody found that educational opportunities increased for both girls and boys around 1750. Pointing to “An Essay on Woman” (1753) as reflecting a shift in view, Woody also claimed that practical education for females had many advocates before the Revolution. Woody’s evidence challenges the notion that the Revolution changed attitudes regarding female education, although it may have accelerated earlier trends.

I we read the highlighted part then we can infer only A from the paragraph.

A correct
B Not the essay did not persuade educators to offer greater educational opportunities.
C These ideas we already present before the revolution.
D There is no information about this in the passage.
E This is tricky we are given information about women education but still we do know whether these ideas were controversial.

Regarding Q5;

5) The passage suggests that Woody would have agreed with which of the following claims regarding “An Essay on Woman”?

(A) It expressed attitudes concerning women's education that were reflected in new educational opportunities for women after 1750.
(C) It articulated ideas about women's education that would not be realised until after the American Revolution.

Please can you help the key differentiators between A & C that would have helped me/all choose A over C.

I chose C because passage sentence referenced that practical education for women had many " advocates before the revolution" , while as C though quite close to the context of what' being conveyed i.e. ideas for women' eduction and realisation after the revolution, somehow I found that right answer should speak about the ideas and support the cause had and how it was realised later.

Please do advice, if you believe rational shared by me needs correction. Thank You

According to the passage, within the field of educational history, Thomas Woody’s 1929 work was
A. innovative because it relied on newspaper advertisements as evidence … when you call something innovative, you’re targeting the approach behind it … the approach behind woody’s work did not set it apart as per the passage … the subjects of his study (women and girls) did
B. exceptional in that it concentrated on the period before the American Revolution … it indeed was an exception with regards to the field at the time, however, it was the subjects of his study that set it apart rather than the period studied
C. unusual in that it focused on educational attitudes rather than on educational practices … nothing in the passage confirms that the usual norm was to focus on the educational practices
D. controversial in its claims regarding educational opportunities for boys … Woody’s work having sparked off a controversy is probably the least inferable option
E. atypical in that it examined the education of girls … the answer choice mentions the subjects of his work / study … perfectly inferred from passage … CORRECT
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According to the passage, Kerber argued that political leaders thought that the form of government adopted by the United States after the American Revolution depended on which of the following for its success?
A. Women assuming the sole (meaning them and them alone … extreme - AVOID) responsibility for instilling political virtue in children … passage confirm that mothers (not women in general) were an additional source of instilling virtue
B. Girls becoming the primary focus of a reformed educational system that emphasized political virtue … the educational system was never reformed as per the passage … the attention to female education saw an unprecedented rise as per the passage … however, girls becoming the primary focus and surpassing the boys regarding the focus give to them is not confirmed from the passage
C. The family serving as one of the primary means by which children were imbued with political virtue … ‘one of the’ confirms the family to serve as an additional source to the ones already existing … pretty decent match of what passage say … CORRECT
D. The family assuming many of the functions previously performed by schools and churches … ‘many of the functions’ is something not confirmed from the passage … the passage mentions the family to start acting as an additional source NOT taking over the roles of schools and churches
E. Men and women assuming equal responsibility for the management of schools, churches, and the family … neither the men nor the women are seen assuming any such responsibility anywhere in the passage
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The passage suggests that, with regard to the history of women’s education in the United States, Kerber’s work differs from Woody’s primarily concerning which of the following?
A. The extent to which women were interested in pursuing educational opportunities in the eighteenth century … the only interest the passage concerns itself with is in getting the women educated at the government’s end … the interest of the women themselves is not a part of the passage
B. The extent of the support for educational opportunities for girls prior to the American Revolution … passage confirm that while Woody believed such support had begun as early as the 1750s, Linda was of the opinion that the support only came into being post the revolution implying Linda to be of the opinion that such support had little existence prior to the revolution … perfectly inferable … CORRECT
C. The extent of public resistance to educational opportunities for women after the American Revolution … public or any resistance for that matter is never an issue raised in the passage
D. Whether attitudes toward women’s educational opportunities changed during the eighteenth century … Had the two differed from each other regarding this exact point, Linda would have said NOT changed in response to Woody having said changed or vice versa … however note that the passage shows both of them to agree on the point that attitudes did change during the eighteenth century (the 1700s) … the only difference being Linda saying only after the American revolution (i.e. after 1783) and Woody saying from 1750 something
E. Whether women needed to be educated in order to contribute to the success of a republican form of government … the timeline of when the answer to the this option was realized as a YES answer is what the two differed on … not whether the answer to the option is YES or NO
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According to the passage, Kerber maintained that which of the following led to an increase in educational opportunities for women in the United States after the American Revolution?
A. An unprecedented demand by women For greater educational opportunities in the decades following the Revolution … the only thing unprecedented in the passage is the attention to female education which according to the passage is a part of the effect not cause … women are never seen to put forward any demand in the passage
B. A new political ideology calling for equality of opportunity between women and men in all aspects (specific to general) of life … the ideology isn’t inclined towards inequality as much as it is towards ensuring a virtuous republican representation at the government level for which female education was seen as a must
C. A belief that the American educational system could be reformed only if women participated more fully in that system … the educational system is neither mentioned nor is the point of discussion here in the passage … the success of the republican form of government is … for ‘more’ to be justified in this option there has to be a mention of some measure of participation in the passage … there is none
D. A belief that women needed to be educated if they were to contribute to the success of the nation’s new form of government … Initial part of passage perfectly summarized by this option … there is no such word in the option that may not be verified from the content of the passage … CORRECT
E. A recognition that women needed to be educated if they were to take an active role in the nation’s schools and churches … their education was seen necessary for raising politically virtuous sons … no such role (active or passive) is confirmed from the passage