Most Americans are fascinated with their own history. particularly tha

Most Americans are fascinated with their own history, particularly that of the colonial era. Whenever a crisis affects the current government, pundits and plebeians alike invoke the writings and teachings of the eighteenth century in order to support or denounce modern viewpoints. Many citizens wax nostalgic for the glorious times of their nascent union, when some of the most shrewd and free-thinking minds came together to construct "a more perfect Union.“ A new book by Nathan Parker, however, suggests that colonial New England was never the egalitarian Eden that modern Americans make it out to be.

Popular imagination holds that the Puritans were a virtuous group determined to create a new government through direct democracy. Communities convened town hall meetings, at which policies were debated and decisions were made by the will of the people. Many renowned international thinkers, such as France's Alexis de Tocqueville and Hector St. John Crevecoeur, praised this new American commitment to the voice of the common man. According to Parker, admiration for New England's first settlers is profoundly misplaced. In a typical show of their historical revisionism, Americans have mythologized these town meetings to the point of embarrassment. Parker asserts that town-hall meetings were open only to a select few male property owners who wielded a strong financial influence on the community. Thus, the laws that were put into effect as a result of these meetings hardly an reflected the "consent of the governed". Therefore, there is vast evidence of voter apathy among the colonists.

Citing the disparity between the roll calls of several meetings and the voter registries of the towns in which they took place, Parker demonstrates that attendance atm town-hall meetings rarely exceeded 30 percent of all registered voters. In making these points, Parker hopes to lie to rest the notion that simple, family-oriented colonial New England was far preferable to the modern America that many an perceive has outgrown pure democracy. His objective is to lay bare the true nature of eighteenth-century governance and thus assure Americans that progress can't kill an equality that never was.

1. The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to

A. critique a system of logic
B. clarify an ambiguity
C. contrast two diverse notions
D. discredit a commonly held perception
E. question a dubious explanation

2. Which of the following best describes the purpose of the second paragraph?

A. It extols the virtue of the first American settlers who were not daunted by the prospect of creating an egalitarian society.
B. It first introduces de Tocqueville and Crevecoeur, by whom Parker was first inspired to write.
C. It lists several perceptions about the early American colonies that Parker believes to be more myth than fact.
D. It serves to emphasize the massive impact that French thinking had on New England's first settlers.
E. It provides evidence that the Puritans were not nearly as virtuous as they asserted themselves to be.

3. According to the passage. it is common practice to refer to the colonial era in order to

A. advocate the importance of pure democracy to a fledgling capitalist nation
B. illustrate how American society has always depended upon the family unit that was so highly esteemed in the eighteenth century
C. establish a historical context for the celebrated writings of de Tocqueville and Crevecoeur
D. praise the perseverance of the Puritans, who never receive the recognition they so richly deserve
E. indicate that the country's rampant growth since its creation has caused it to stray from its original path toward absolute democracy

4. According to the passage, Parker asserts which of the following about early colonial town meetings?

A. Those who owned property in the area served as representatives for everyone in the community.
B. Attendance at these meetings was restricted to wealthy landowners.
C. All registered voters were permitted to attend, but fewer than one-third of them actually did.
D. They became the inspiration for what is known today as direct democracy.
E. They were looked upon as models by the framers of the Constitution.