In the two decades between 1910 and 1930, over ten percent to the

Question

In the two decades between 1910 and 1930, over ten percent to the black population of the United States left the South, where the preponderance of the black population had been located, and migrated to northern states, with the largest number moving, it is claimed, between 1916 and 1918. It has been frequently assumed, but not proved, that the majority of the migrants in what has come to be called the Great Migration came from rural areas and were motivated by two concurrent factors: the collapse of the cotton industry following the boll weevil infestation, which began in 1898, and increased demand in the north for labor following the cessation of European immigration caused by the outbreak of the first world war in 1914. This assumption has led to the conclusion that the migrants' subsequent lack of economic mobility in the north is tied to rural background, a background that implies unfamiliarity with urban living and a lack of industrial skills.

But the question of who actually left the south has never been rigorously investigated. Although numerous investigations document an exodus from rural southern areas to southern cities prior to the Great Migration. No one has considered whether the same migrants then moved on to northern cities. In 1910 over 600,000 black workers, or ten percent of the black work force, reported themselves to be engaged in "manufacturing and mechanical pursuits," the federal census category roughly encompassing the entire industrial sector. The Great Migration could easily have been made up entirely of this group and their families. It is perhaps surprising to argue that an employed population could be enticed to move, but an explanation lies in the labor conditions then prevalent in the South.

About thirty-five percent of the urban black population in the South was engaged in skilled trades. Some were from the old artisan class of slavery—blacksmiths, masons, carpenters—which had had a monopoly of certain trades, but they were gradually being pushed out by competition, mechanization, and obsolescence, the remaining sixty-five percent, more recently urbanized, worked in newly developed industries—tobacco, lumber, coal and iron manufacture, and railroads. Wages in the South, however, were low, and black workers were aware, through labor recruiters and the black press, that they could earn more even as unskilled workers in the North than they could as artisans in the South. After the boll weevil infestation, urban black workers faced competition from the continuing influx of both black and white rural workers, who were driven to undercut the wages formerly paid for industrial jobs. Thus, a move north would be seen as advantageous to a group that was already urbanized and steadily employed, and the easy conclusion tying their subsequent economic problems in the North to their rural background comes into question.

1. The author indicates explicitly that which of the following records has been a source of information in her investigation?

(A) United States immigration service reports from 1914 to 1930
(B) Payrolls of southern manufacturing firms between 1910 and 1930
(C) The volume of cotton exports between 1898 and 1910
(D) The federal census of 1910
(E) Advertisements of labor recruiters appearing in southern newspapers after 1910

2. In the passage, the author anticipates which of the following as a possible objection to her argument?

(A) It is uncertain how many people actually migrated during the great migration.
(B) The eventual economic status of the great migration migrants has not been adequately traced.
(C) It is not likely that people with steady jobs would have reason to move to another area of the country.
(D) It is not true that the term "manufacturing and mechanical pursuits" actually encompasses the entire industrial sector.
(E) Of the black workers living in southern cities, only those in a small number of trades were threatened by obsolescence.

3. According to the passage, which of the following is true of wages in southern cities in 1910?

(A) They were being pushed lower as a result of increased competition.
(B) They had begun to rise so that southern industry could attract rural workers.
(C) They had increased for skilled workers but decreased for unskilled workers.
(D) They had increased in large southern cities but decreased in small southern cities.
(E) They had increased in newly developed industries but decreased in the older trades.

4. The author cites each of the following as possible influences in a black worker's decision to migrate north in the great migration except

(A) Wage levels in northern cities
(B) Labor recruiters
(C) Competition from rural workers
(D) Voting rights in northern states
(E) The black press

5. It can be inferred from the passage that the "easy conclusion" mentioned in line 53 is based on which of the following assumptions?

(A) People who migrate from rural areas to large cities usually do so for economic reasons.
(B) Most people who leave rural areas to take jobs in cities return to rural areas as soon as it is financially possible for them to do so.
(C) People with rural backgrounds are less likely to succeed economically in cities than are those with urban backgrounds.
(D) Most people who were once skilled workers are not willing to work as unskilled workers.
(E) People who migrate from their birthplaces to other regions of country seldom undertake a second migration.

6. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) Support an alternative to an accepted methodology
(B) Present evidence that resolves a contradiction
(C) Introduce a recently discovered source of information
(D) Challenge a widely accepted explanation
(E) Argue that a discarded theory deserves new attention

7. According to information in the passage, which of the following is a correct sequence of groups of workers, from highest paid to lowest paid, in the period between 1910 and 1930?

(A) artisans in the north; artisans in the south; unskilled workers in the north; unskilled workers in the south
(B) artisans in the north and south; unskilled workers in the north; unskilled workers in the south
(C) artisans in the north; unskilled workers in the north; artisans in the south
(D) artisans in the north and south; unskilled urban workers in the north; unskilled rural workers in the south
(E) artisans in the north and south, unskilled rural workers in the north and south; unskilled urban workers in the north and south

8. the material in the passage would be most relevant to a long discussion of which of the following topics?

(A) the reasons for the subsequent economic difficulties of those who participated in the great migration
(B) the effect of migration on the regional economies of the united states following the first world war
(C) the transition from a rural to an urban existence for those who migrated in the great migration
(D) the transformation of the agricultural south following the boll weevil infestation
(E) the disappearance of the artisan class in the united states as a consequence of mechanization in the early twentieth century

Show SpoilerSource

Source : JOURNAL ARTICLE
Black Workers and the Great Migration North
Carole Marks
Phylon (1960-)
Vol. 46, No. 2 (2nd Qtr., 1985), pp. 148-161
Published by: Clark Atlanta University
DOI: 10.2307/274413
https://www.jstor.org/stable/274413
Page Count: 14

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Show Answer Question #1

Official Answer

D

Show Answer Question #2

Official Answer

C

Show Answer Question #3

Official Answer

A

Show Answer Question #4

Official Answer

D

Show Answer Question #5

Official Answer

C

Show Answer Question #6

Official Answer

D

Show Answer Question #7

Official Answer

C

Show Answer Question #8

Official Answer

A

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JarvisR · Accepted Answer

1. the author indicates explicitly that which of the following records has been a source of information in her investigation? 
(a) united states immigration service reports from 1914 to 1930 
(b) payrolls of southern manufacturing firms between 1910 and 1930 
(c) the volume of cotton exports between 1898 and 1910 
 (d) the federal census of 1910 
>>in 1910 over 600,000 black workers, or ten percent of the black work force, reported themselves to be engaged in "manufacturing and mechanical pursuits," the federal census category roughly encompassing the entire industrial sector.
 (e) advertisements of labor recruiters appearing in southern newspapers after 1910

2. in the passage, the author anticipates which of the following as a possible objection to her argument? 
(a) it is uncertain how many people actually migrated during the great migration. 
(b) the eventual economic status of the great migration migrants has not been adequately traced. 
 (c) it is not likely that people with steady jobs would have reason to move to another area of the country. 
>> it is perhaps surprising to argue that an employed population could be enticed to move, but an explanation lies in the labor conditions then prevalent in the south.  
(d) it is not true that the term "manufacturing and mechanical pursuits" actually encompasses the entire industrial sector. 
(e) of the black workers living in southern cities, only those in a small number of trades were threatened by obsolescence.

3. according to the passage, which of the following is true of wages in southern cities in 1910? 
 (a) they were being pushed lower as a result of increased competition. 
>> Line 40 - 50 
(b) they had begun to rise so that southern industry could attract rural workers. 
(c) they had increased for skilled workers but decreased for unskilled workers. 
(d) they had increased in large southern cities but decreased in small southern cities. 
(e) they had increased in newly developed industries but decreased in the older trades.

4. the author cites each of the following as possible influences in a black worker's decision to migrate north in the great migration except 
(a) wage levels in northern cities 
(b) labor recruiters 
(c) competition from rural workers
 (d) voting rights in northern states 
>>No mention regarding voting in arg 
(e) the black press

5. it can be inferred from the passage that the "easy conclusion" mentioned in line 53 is based on which of the following assumptions? 
(a) people who migrate from rural areas to large cities usually do so for economic reasons. 
(b) most people who leave rural areas to take jobs in cities return to rural areas as soon as it is financially possible for them to do so. 
 (c) people with rural backgrounds are less likely to succeed economically in cities than are those with urban backgrounds.
>>it has been frequently assumed, but not proved, that the majority of the migrants in what has come to be called the great migration came from rural areas...
this assumption has led to the conclusion that the migrants' subsequent lack of economic mobility in the north is tied to rural background, a background that implies unfamiliarity with urban living and a lack of industrial skills.  
(d) most people who were once skilled workers are not willing to work as unskilled workers. 
(e) people who migrate from their birthplaces to other regions of country seldom undertake a second migration.

6. the primary purpose of the passage is to 
(a) support an alternative to an accepted methodology 
(b) present evidence that resolves a contradiction 
(c) introduce a recently discovered source of information 
 (d) challenge a widely accepted explanation 
>> thus, a move north would be seen as advantageous to a group that was already urbanized and steadily employed, and the easy conclusion tying their subsequent economic problems in the north to their rural background comes into question.  
(e) argue that a discarded theory deserves new attention

7. according to information in the passage, which of the following is a correct sequence of groups of workers, from highest paid to lowest paid, in the period between 1910 and 1930? 
(a) artisans in the north; artisans in the south; unskilled workers in the north; unskilled workers in the south 
(b) artisans in the north and south; unskilled workers in the north; unskilled workers in the south 
 (c) artisans in the north; unskilled workers in the north; artisans in the south 
>>wages in the south, however, were low, and black workers were aware, through labor recruiters and the black press, that they could earn more even as unskilled 
workers in the north than they could as artisans in the south.  
(d) artisans in the north and south; unskilled urban workers in the north; unskilled rural workers in the south 
(e) artisans in the north and south, unskilled rural workers in the north and south; unskilled urban workers in the north and south

8. the material in the passage would be most relevant to a long discussion of which of the following topics? 
 (a) the reasons for the subsequent economic difficulties of those who participated in the great migration 
>>Line 10-20 and ending lines of para. 
(b) the effect of migration on the regional economies of the united states following the first world war 
(c) the transition from a rural to an urban existence for those who migrated in the great migration 
(d) the transformation of the agricultural south following the boll weevil infestation 
(e) the disappearance of the artisan class in the united states as a consequence of mechanization in the early twentieth century

GMATNinja · Answer

I wouldn't say you're reading too much into the passage. But remember that this question asks us to identify why the author wrote this whole thing in the first place.

In the first paragraph the author presents a frequently assumed explanation for the Great Migration. In the second paragraph the author questions this explanation by offering an alternative explanation. In the third paragraph the author provides evidence in support of that alternative explanation. So overall, the author wrote this passage to challenge the frequently assumed explanation.

(D) is the only choice that captures what the author is trying to do with the passage as a whole: attack the stated assumptions for why the Great Migration happened. And from the perspective of eliminating answer choices, equating "frequently assumed" with "widely accepted" isn't nearly as off-the-mark as these other phrases:

(A) "methodology" (challenging methodology, i.e. a specific, concrete technique of research and analysis, is not why the author wrote this) 
  (B) "resolves a contradiction" (as I mentioned earlier, this is isn't the main point of the passage) 
  (C) "Introduce a recently discovered source" (the author goes way beyond "introducing" and is not using information that was "recently discovered") 
  (E) "discarded theory" (there's absolutely no mention of the alternative theory having been "discarded")

I hope that clarifies why (D) is the best choice, and why (A) should be eliminated!

Juz2play · Answer

For question 2, we want the answer choice that weaken the author's argument that black immigrants who moved from the South to the North were not mostly from rural background.

2. in the passage, the author anticipates which of the following as a possible objection to her argument? 
(a) it is uncertain how many people actually migrated during the great migration.  This is irrelevant; it does not weaken the argument. 
(b) the eventual economic status of the great migration migrants has not been adequately traced.  This actually strengthens the author's argument by calling the widely accepted assumption into question. 
(c) it is not likely that people with steady jobs would have reason to move to another area of the country.  This weakens the argument. In the passage, it states that 35% of urban black population in the South was engaged in skilled trades (Line 35). And the remaining 65% of this population worked in newly developed industries (Line 40). Hence, this can imply that urban black population in the South had jobs. As a result, if choice (C) is true, the great migration  must  come from rural areas (This contradicts the author's argument and supported the accepted assumption).  
(d) it is not true that the term "manufacturing and mechanical pursuits" actually encompasses the entire industrial sector.  This is basically irrelevant. 
(e) of the black workers living in southern cities, only those in a small number of trades were threatened by obsolescence.  This actually strengthened the accepted assumption by showing that only a few urban black population's jobs were threatened.

For question 5, the information we needed to answer this question is from line 51 to 55. "Thus,  a move north would be seen as  advantageous  to a group that was already urbanized and steadily employed ,  and the easy conclusion tying their -subsequent economic problems in the north to their rural background comes into question " 
This matches Choice (C).

For question 8, we need to know that the passage is discussing the reasons why black people from the South moved to the North and challenging the accepted assumption that most black population who migrated from the South to the North were from rural background. With this in mind, we can easily answer choice (A).
(b) the effect of migration on the regional economies of the united states following the first world war.  The author discuss little about this.  
(c) the transition from a rural to an urban existence for those who migrated in the great migration.  The author perhaps never discuss about this at all.  
(d) the transformation of the agricultural south following the boll weevil infestation.  The author discuss little about this.  
(e) the disappearance of the artisan class in the united states as a consequence of mechanization in the early twentieth century.  Nothing is mentioned about the decline in the artisan class.

adkikani · Answer

Query for Gmatninja, Gmatninja2:

I have a couple of Qs for which I could get get correct OA.

Q6, Main purpose of passage : I selected B instead of D
Reasoning: Author does cites evidences in para 2 and 3 for weakening assumption / explanation by general people made in para 1

Q7, selected option A in place of OA C

Q8, confused between options C and A

GMATNinja · Answer

Choice (B) in Q6 is tempting because it contains the word "contradiction". It is true that the author's view  contradicts  (or challenges) the widely accepted explanation for "the migrants' subsequent lack of economic mobility in the north". However, the purpose of the passage is not to  resolve  an existing contradiction.

Q7 and Q8 do not appear to be official questions. As shown in the original post (and in OG 2015 itself), this passage should have six questions (Question No.: 134 - 139). I'm not sure where those last two came from, but I wouldn't worry about them, unless they came from another edition that I didn't check?

ShashankDave · Answer

Hi  GMATNinja ,
I got the 5th question wrong, the others are not so difficult. Please provide a strategy for attempting this question, as in where to look for answers in the passage and where to not look, and how to see hints in the passage pointing to the answer. Also please comment on why (E) is wrong and why C is correct?

GMATNinja · Answer

The "easy conclusion" ties the economic problems faced by the black population after their migration to the North to their rural background. The key to this question lies in the following portion:

It has been frequently assumed, but not proved, that the majority of the migrants in what has come to be called the Great Migration came from rural areas and were motivated by two concurrent factors: the collapse of the cotton industry following the boll weevil infestation, which began in 1898, and increased demand in the north for labor following the cessation of European immigration caused by the outbreak of the first world war in 1914. This assumption has led to the conclusion that the migrants' subsequent lack of economic mobility in the north is tied to rural background, a background that implies unfamiliarity with urban living and a lack of industrial skills.

In other words, the migrants came from rural areas. Thus, the migrants were unfamiliar with urban living and lacked industrial skills. As a result, the migrants faced economic challenges. In order for this reasoning to hold, we have to assume that being unfamiliar with urban living and lacking industrial skills would give the migrants an economic disadvantage. Imagine if we could prove that economic success in the North had nothing to do with familiarity with urban living or with having industrial skills. In that case, the "easy conclusion" could not be properly drawn.

Thus, choice (C) is necessary in order to draw the "easy conclusion." Whether such migrants undertake a second migration does not impact the "easy conclusion", so choice (E) can be eliminated.

For more advice on tackling RC passages, check out the  Ultimate RC Guide for Beginners .

I hope that helps!

keithnyw · Answer

Hi  GMATNinja  ,

For question 6, may I ask how can I conclude that it is a "widely accepted explanation" for (D)?

The reasons I eliminated (D) and chose (A) were because of the following.

1) "It has been frequently assumed, but not proved"
The usage of the word "frequently" does not give me the idea that it's widely accepted.

2) "the easy conclusion tying their subsequent economic problems in the North to their rural background comes into question."
The usage of the word "easy" (in my opinion) has connotations of convenience and hence the conclusion mentioned in the passage is only recognised by a certain group of people.

Am I reading too much into the passage or is my understanding wrong?

Thanks in advance!

mSKR · Answer

GMATNinja :

The whole passage seems to be in favour that author is in favour of the explanation. And Just at the end, he mentioned that this conclusion is questionable. 
I did wrong this question because i missed question while reading in the end as i had understood the gist of passage by then.
Lesson learnt: read till the end.

My Question:
Do you think reading only last line to determine the primary passage can work? ( can included reading first line of each passage and last line of passage at most)

Please share your comments when and when not such strategy to be applied?
 GMATNinja   AndrewN

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  imSKR . There is a big difference between  can  and  should  in your question. I would recommend reading the passage in its entirety if you have time to do so. That is, there are big-picture sentences that can be dropped just about anywhere in the passage. Sometimes the first line of the passage presents that main idea. Sometimes the first line of a subsequent paragraph marks a shift that ends up being reflected in the correct answer. And sometimes, as was the case here, the last line proves crucial. But the only way I would look to take a shortcut is if I had maybe a minute left to both read the passage and answer the questions attached to it. Contrary to what you might think, reading the passage often allows you to work through the questions more efficiently, rather than hunting down answers and hoping for the best.

- Andrew

GMATking94 · Answer

Hi  GMATNinja

I have a confusion in Q8. I accept the fact that (A) is a better choice than (D), which I choose, since I guess (D) says transformation of agricultural South and we do not have sufficient information regarding that in the passage. But coming back to (A), the passage do not provide any reasons for the problems of the migrated people. It says that the easy conclusion drawn wrt a particular belief is incorrect.

Does (A) cancels out one of the reasons for the economic problems so we can better focus on other reasons and in that way help??

Really confused.

Thanks!

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 8

Take another look at the exact wording of question 8:

In answering this question, we're not looking for something that is  already  discussed at length in the passage. Instead, we're looking for the  next  conversation that could get kicked off by the information that the author has presented. In other words, we're closer to making an inference, rather than looking for something that is explicitly examined in the passage.

In the passage, the author questions the common assumption that unskilled laborers moved from rural areas in the south during the Great Migration. The author wonders whether it was actually skilled workers from urban areas that made the move.

In the last sentence of the passage, the author says that "the easy conclusion tying their subsequent economic problems in the North to their rural background comes into question." This kicks off that "next discussion" that we're looking for: if subsequent economic problems  can't  be tied to their rural background, then what DID cause these problems?

That's the exact issue discussed in (A):

(A) is the correct answer for question 8.

I hope that helps!

sharmashagun770 · Answer

Hi  GMATNinja ,

Thank you for this explanation; it is helpful. However, I have a question regarding the stated assumption. Now, the first passage explicitly states the assumption for the conclusion which does indicate financial reasons for the relocation. Then, why would we eliminate A?

GMATNinja · Answer

Great question. As you say, the passage explicitly states an assumption that led to the "easy conclusion" mentioned in question 5.

Given that, it's probably fair to say that one of the assumptions that the "easy conclusion" is based is that the migrants referred to in the passage were motivated by economic factors (such as the collapse of the cotton industry). So what's wrong with (A)?

Well, notice that (A) is making a really general statement: that ANY time people migrate from rural areas to large cities, they're usually doing it for economic reasons. The argument doesn't make that broad of an assumption. It does assume that the specific migrants mentioned in the passage had economic motivations, but it doesn't assume that this is  usually  the case.

So since (A) is too  general  of a statement, we can't say it's an assumption that the "easy conclusion" is based on, and we can eliminate it.

I hope that helps!

VerbalBot · Answer

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In the two decades between 1910 and 1930, over ten percent to the

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In the two decades between 1910 and 1930, over ten percent to the

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