In mid-February 1917 a women’s movement independent of political

Question

In mid-February 1917 a women’s movement independent of political affiliation erupted in New York City, the stronghold of the Socialist Party in the United States. Protesting against the high cost of living, thousands of women refused to buy chickens, fish, and vegetables. The boycott shut down much of the City’s foodstuffs marketing for two weeks, riveting public attention on the issue of food prices, which had increased partly as a result of increased exports of food to Europe that had been occurring since the outbreak of the First World War.

By early 1917 the Socialist party had established itself as a major political presence in New York City. New York Socialists, whose customary spheres of struggle were electoral work and trade union organizing, seized the opportunity and quickly organized an extensive series of cost-of-living protests designed to direct the women’s movement toward Socialist goals. Underneath the Socialists’ brief commitment to cost-of-living organizing lay a basic indifference to the issue itself. While some Socialists did view price protests as a direct step toward socialism, most Socialists ultimately sought to divert the cost-of-living movement into alternative channels of protest. Union organizing, they argued, was the best method through which to combat the high cost of living. For others, cost-of-living or organizing was valuable insofar as it led women into the struggle for suffrage, and similarly, the suffrage struggle was valuable insofar as it moved United States society one step closer to socialism.

Although New York’s Socialists saw the cost-of-living issue as, at best, secondary or tertiary to the real task at hand, the boycotters, by sharp contrast, joined the price protest movement out of an urgent and deeply felt commitment to the cost-of-living issue. A shared experience of swiftly declining living standards caused by rising food prices drove these women to protest. Consumer organizing spoke directly to their daily lives and concerns; they saw cheaper food as a valuable end in itself. Food price protests were these women’s way of organizing at their own workplace, as workers whose occupation was shopping and preparing food for their families.

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A

1. The author suggests which of the following about New York Socialists' commitment to the cost-of-living movement?

(A) It lasted for a relatively short period of time

(B) It was stronger than their commitment to the suffrage struggle.

(C) It predated the cost-of-living protest that erupted in 1917.

(D) It coincided with their attempts to bring more women into union organizing.

(E) It explained the popularity of the Socialist party in NYC.

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A

2. It can be inferred from the passage that the goal of the boycotting women was the

(A) achievement of an immediate economic outcome

(B) development of a more socialistic society

(C) concentration of a widespread consumer protest on the more narrow issue of food prices.

(D) development of one among a number of different approaches that the women wished to employ in combating the high cost of price.

(E) attraction of more public interest to issues that the women and the socialist considered important.

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A

3.Which of the following best states the function of the passage as a whole?

(A) To contrast the views held by the Socialist party and the boycotting women in the cost-of-living issue.

(B) To analyze the assumption underlying opposing viewpoints with the NY socialist party of 1917

(C) To provide a historical perspective on different approaches to the resolution of cost-of-living issue.

(D) To chronicle the sequence of events that lead to the NY socialist party's emergency as a political power.

(E) To analyze the motivations behind the socialist party's involvement in the women's suffrage movement.

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B

4. According to the passage, most New York Socialists believed which of the following about the cost-of-living movement?

(A) It was primarily a way to interest women in joining the Socialist Party.

(B) It was an expedient that was useful only insofar as it furthered other goals.

(C) It would indirectly result in an increase in the number of women who belonged to labor unions.

(D) It required a long-term commitment but inevitably represented a direct step toward socialism.

(E) It served as an effective complement to union organizing.

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JOURNAL ARTICLE
Housewives, Socialists, and the Politics of Food: The 1917 New York Cost-of-Living Protests
Dana Frank
Feminist Studies
Vol. 11, No. 2 (Summer, 1985), pp. 255-285
Published by: Feminist Studies, Inc.
DOI: 10.2307/3177923
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3177923
Page Count: 31

Attachment:

frank1985.pdf

Skywalker18 · Accepted Answer

-The author talks about the emergence of a women’s movement in New York in 1917
-The author then talks about the motives held by the socialist party to support the women’s movement

1 . “Underneath the Socialists’ brief commitment to cost-of-living organizing lay a basic indifference to the issue itself"
The word brief in the excerpt above suggests that it lasted for a relatively short period of time . Answer A

2. “the boycotters, by sharp contrast, joined the price protest movement out of an urgent and deeply felt commitment to the cost-of-living issue"
The word urgent in the above excerpt suggests that option (A) is the right answer choice.

3. The passage’s basic function is to analyze the motives held by the socialist party in supporting the women’s movement that erupted in New York in 1917. Hence option (E) is the correct answer choice.

4. “most Socialists ultimately sought to divert the cost-of-living movement into alternative channels of protest"
Option (B) is a word justification of the above and is hence correct.

mahesh004 · Answer

Since we agree on second one B... I will try to explain first and third

The author suggests which of the following about New York Socialists?commitment to the cost-of-living movement? 
A. It lasted for a relatively short period of time 
B. It was stronger than their commitment to the suffrage struggle. 
 Not mentioned 
C. It predated the cost-of-living protest that erupted in 1917. 
 the time period was not pre 1917 
D. It coincided with their attempts to bring more women into union organizing. 
 no mention of bringing more women into union 
E. It explained the popularity of the Socialist party in NYC. 
 irrelevant 

Which of the following best states the function of the passage as a whole? 
A. To contrast the views hold by the Socialist party and the boycotting women in the cost-of-living issue. 
 Yeah. passage suggest kind of ignorance/tertiary priority by social party vs prime importance by boycotting women 
B. To analyze the assumption underlying opposing viewpoints with the NY socialist party of 1917 
 socialist party is not central idea 
C. To provide a historical perspective on different approaches to the resolution of cost-of-living issue. 
 passage discusses only one approach. too broad a choice 
D. To chronicle the sequence of events that lead to the NY socialist party's emergency as a political power. 
 socialist party is not central idea 
E. To analyze the motivations behind the socialist party's involvement in the women's suffrage movement. 
 socialist party is not central idea

commdiver · Answer

1. The author explicitly mentions this near (30). He says the commitment was brief, meaning that it only lasted a short time.

3. A is incorrect because the author mentions how the New York Socialist Party used the women to further their own goals. This can be seen in (25). B is incorrect because the author never mentions any opposing viewpoints. C is incorrect because the author never mentions any other perspectives. D is incorrect because the author never goes into any detail about the Party's history. The author simply mentions that they were a power.

I hope that helps

JarvisR · Answer

Time Taken 8:16
The author suggests which of the following about the New York Socialists’ commitment to the costof- living movement?
 A. It lasted for a relatively short period of time.
  >> By POE.
B. It was stronger than their commitment to the Suffrage struggle.
C. It predated the cost-of-living protests that Erupted in 1917.
D. It coincided with their attempts to bring more Women into union organizing.
E. It explained the popularity of the Socialist party in New York City.

It can be inferred from the passage that the goal of the boycotting women was the 
 A. achievement of an immediate economic outcome
 >> Again by POE.
B. development of a more socialistic society 
C. concentration of widespread consumer protests on the more narrow issue of food prices
D. development of one among a number of different approaches that the women wished to employ in combating the high cost of living.
E. attraction of more public interest to issues that the women and the New York Socialists considered important.

Which of the following best states the function of the passage as a whole?
A.  To contrast the views held by the Socialist party and by the boycotting women of New York City on the cost-of-living issue 
B.  To analyze the assumptions underlying opposing viewpoints within the New York Socialist party of 1917 
C. To provide a historical perspective on  different approaches to the resolution  of the cost-ofliving issue.
D. To chronicle the sequence of events that led to the  New York Socialist party’s emergence as a political power 
 E. To analyze the motivations behind the Socialist party’s involvement in the women’s suffrage movement
 
According to the passage ,most New York Socialists believed which of the following about the cost-of-living movement?
A. It was  primarily a way to interest women in joining  the Socialist party.
 B. It was an expedient that was useful only insofar as it furthered other goals.
 >> between (30) to (50)
C. It would indirectly  result in an increase in the number of women who belonged to labor unions. 
D. It required  a long-term commitment  but Inevitably represented a direct step Toward socialism.
E. It served as  an effective complement to union organizing

JS1290 · Answer

Hi GMATNinja & VeritasKarishma,

I was wondering could one of you experts please explain why option E is correct for Q3? I read GMATNinja's explanation for option A and it makes sense; however, I still have trouble accepting option E as the correct answer. Mainly because it is very narrow in scope.

souvikgmat1990 · Answer

Can somebody explain why in Q4 E is incorrect?
In the passage it states:
While some Socialists did view price protests as a direct step toward socialism,  most Socialists ultimately sought to divert the cost-of-living movement into alternative channels of protest. Union organizing, they argued, was the best method through which to combat the high cost of living.

Doesn't that mean they thought it was a good complement to Union organization? I don't see understand how "furthering goals" as mentioned in option B is correct?

GMATNinja · Answer

Oops, the original OA was a typo (which has since been fixed), and I apologize for defending it! The passage certainly does "analyze the motivations behind the socialist party's involvement in the women's suffrage movement." However, this does not represent the "function of the passage as a whole" (see, even the experts can get lazy and misread a question!). The correct answer for question #3 is (A): "To contrast the views held by the Socialist party and the boycotting women in the cost-of-living issue."

To reach this answer, let's break down the passage by paragraph:

Paragraph 1: Introduces a "women’s movement independent of political affiliation" to boycott food items and protest against a high cost of living. 
 Paragraph 2: Examines why the Socialist Party "seized the opportunity" to join in on these protests. In effect, the Socialist Party wanted to use these protests as stepping stones toward the larger goal of moving the US society closer to socialism. 
 Paragraph 3: Contrasts the motivations of Socialists to those of the women involved in the protests. While the women "saw cheaper food as a valuable end in itself," the Socialists "saw the cost-of-living issue as, at best, secondary or tertiary to the real task at hand."

From this analysis, it is clear that both the views of the women protesters and those of the Socialist Party are important to the passage, and that the passage's primary purpose is to contrast these two views. This is reflected in answer choice (A):
 
(A) is the correct answer for question #3.

I hope that helps!

PeachTea2020 · Answer

1. The author suggests which of the following about New York Socialists' commitment to the cost-of-living movement? 
  From this: Underneath the Socialists’ brief commitment to cost-of-living organizing lay a basic indifference to the issue itself.  
 (A) It lasted for a  relatively short period of time  
--> Underneath the Socialists’  brief commitment  to cost-of-living organizing lay a basic indifference to the issue itself. 
(B) It was stronger than their commitment to the suffrage struggle.
--> Nowhere in the passage compares commitment to the cost-of-living movement with commitment to the suffrage struggle. The only sentence mentioned about suffrage is of Socialists, not the author.
(C) It predated the cost-of-living protest that erupted in 1917.
--> No it happened after the protest. Look at this: seized the opportunity and quickly organized an extensive series of cost-of-living protests designed to direct the women’s movement toward Socialist goals.
(D) It coincided with their attempts to bring more women into union organizing.
--> Nowhere mentioned.
(E) It explained the popularity of the Socialist party in NYC.
--> Nowhere mentioned.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that the goal of the boycotting women was the  
  From this: boycotters, by sharp contrast, joined the price protest movement out of an urgent and deeply felt commitment to the cost-of-living issue.  
  (A) achievement of an  immediate economic outcome    
--> by sharp contrast, boycotters joined the price protest movement out of an  urgent  and deeply felt commitment to the cost-of-living issue. 
(B) development of a more socialistic society 
--> Nowhere mentioned. 
(C) concentration of a widespread consumer protest on the more narrow issue of food prices.  
--> Wrong 
(D) development of one among a number of different approaches that the women wished to employ in combating the high cost of price.  
--> Wrong
(E) attraction of more public interest to issues that the women and the socialist considered important.
 --> Wrong

3.Which of the following best states the function of the passage as a whole? 
  Paragraph 1: Introduce about woman’s movement
Paragraph 2: Views by Socialists about cost-of-living issues.
Paragraph 3: Views by boycotting women about cost-of-living issues.    
 (A) To contrast the views held by the Socialist party and the boycotting women in the cost-of-living issue. 
--> Correct  
(B) To analyze the assumption underlying opposing viewpoints with the NY socialist party of 1917  
--> Opposing viewpoints with the NY socialist party of 1917 only happened in 2nd paragraph, not the whole paragraph. 
(C) To provide a historical perspective on different approaches to the resolution of cost-of-living issue.  
--> It’s not about historical perspective. 
(D) To chronicle the sequence of events that lead to the NY socialist party's emergency as a political power.
--> No sequence of events here.  
(E) To analyze the motivations behind the socialist party's involvement in the women's suffrage movement.
--> Details in 2nd paragraph.

4. According to the passage, most New York Socialists believed which of the following about the cost-of-living movement? 
  From this: most Socialists ultimately sought to divert the cost-of-living movement into alternative channels of protest.   
  (A) It was primarily a way to interest women in joining the Socialist Party.
 --> Nowhere mentioned.  
 (B) It was an expedient that was useful only insofar as it furthered other goals.   
--> It was an alternative channel to achieve other goals. 
(C) It would indirectly result in an increase in the number of women who belonged to labor unions.  
--> Nowhere mentioned. 
(D) It required a long-term commitment but inevitably represented a direct step toward socialism.  
--> Nowhere mentioned. 
(E) It served as an effective complement to union organizing.
 --> Nowhere mentioned.

sssanskaar · Answer

For Q#2, can someone explain his/her thought process on how to eliminate option C. It looks dangerously close to the correct answer.

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 2

The purposes and goals of the boycotting women are mentioned in the final paragraph of the passage. It states that the boycotters “joined the price protest movement out of an urgent and deeply felt commitment to the cost-of-living issue.”

With that in mind, let’s consider (C):

The boycotting women were definitely concerned with the issue of food prices. But (C) indicates that the women were attempting to CONCENTRATE a  widespread consumer protest  on the issue of food prices. The problem is that that women did not CONCENTRATE any protest. In fact, it’s unclear on the basis of the passage whether we could really say that a widespread consumer protest existed, and the passage certainly doesn’t indicate that boycotting women attempted to redirect an existing protest. Rather, they joined the price protest movement because they were committed to the same cost-of-living issue that the movement was committed to and the movement focused on food prices.

Because boycotting women do not try to concentrate a wider protest, we can eliminate (C).

I hope that helps!

Aboyhasnoname · Answer

Took me around 12 mins.....but there are a few key takeways/learnings....which I will write in the end.....first lets see why the correct answers are correct, and why incorrect are incorrect.......

1. The author suggests which of the following about New York Socialists' commitment to the cost-of-living movement?

(A) It lasted for a relatively short period of time
 
'The Brief commitment is clearly mentioned, so it should be a no brainer(although I marked D lol.)

(B) It was stronger than their commitment to the suffrage struggle.
  Clearly not, their price committment was definitely not the priority. 
 
 (C) It predated the cost-of-living protest that erupted in 1917.
  Nowhere Mentioned

(D) It coincided with their attempts to bring more women into union organizing. 
 This. I chose this. but why? Because I saw, the words 'seized the opportunity' means both happened at the same time...but actually..coincided means that it was a separate aim which coincided with the others, which is clearly not the case...they socialists, motivation to support the price rice protest was that they wanted more women in union organising...It did not coincide separately, rather was motivated by it....which is intentional..coincide is not......hence wrong....

(E) It explained the popularity of the Socialist party in NYC. 
Not even close......

Learning: 1 word is enough to make a difference...'brief' was a giveaway...
Did the commitment coincide? It happened at the same time but did not coincide, rather was motivated by their larger goals...
 ---------------------------------------

3.Which of the following best states the function of the passage as a whole?

I chose process of elimination in this, but its important to undestand the selection part of it.

(A) To contrast the views held by the Socialist party and the boycotting women in the cost-of-living issue. 
 The last passage often completes the picture of the purpose of the passage. 
  Although New York’s Socialists saw the cost-of-living issue as, at best, secondary or tertiary to the real task at hand, the boycotters,  by sharp contrast , joined the price protest movement out of an urgent and deeply felt commitment to the cost-of-living issue. 
 Here the author is. contrasting.....

Passage 1. Background 
Passage 2: Role of Socialists 
Passage 3: The difference between the initial protestors and socialists purposes...

Hence...This is certainly the right answer.

(E) To analyze the motivations behind the socialist party's involvement in the women's suffrage movement.
 'Well it was not the suffrage movement as the center piece but the cost of living issue...had it been motivations behind socialist party's involvement in women's cost of living protest, I would have chosen this. but since its not...its clearly not the answer....

egmat · Answer

Understanding the Question

The question asks what  MOST  New York Socialists believed about the cost-of-living movement.

Why (E) is Incorrect

You quoted this line:
 "most Socialists ultimately sought to  divert  the cost-of-living movement  into alternative channels  of protest. Union organizing, they argued, was the best method..."

The trap:  Reading "union organizing was the best method" and thinking this means cost-of-living organizing  complemented  union work.

But look at the key word:  DIVERT

Divert  = redirect AWAY from one thing INTO another
 Complement  = two things working TOGETHER

These are  opposite relationships .

The Socialists didn't want cost-of-living organizing AND union organizing working together. They wanted to  redirect  women FROM cost-of-living protests INTO union organizing—meaning  replace  one with the other.

Why (B) is Correct

The passage states:
 "cost-of-living organizing was valuable  insofar as  it led women into the struggle for suffrage"

"Insofar as" = "only to the extent that"

Answer (B) says:  "useful only insofar as it furthered other goals"

This is  nearly verbatim  from the passage.

Key Takeaway

The Socialists viewed cost-of-living organizing as a  funnel -  a way to attract women and then redirect them toward "real" goals (unions, suffrage, socialism). They were  indifferent  to food prices themselves.

Answer: (B)

In mid-February 1917 a women’s movement independent of political

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In mid-February 1917 a women’s movement independent of political

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