The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were realists. They

Question

New Project RC Butler 2019  -  Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday   
Passage # 326, Date : 12-Sep-2019
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The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were realists. They knew that the greatest battles would take place after the convention, once the Constitution had already been drafted and signed. The delegates had overstepped their bounds. Instead of amending the Articles of Confederation by which the American states had previously been governed, they had proposed an entirely new government. Under these circumstances, the convention was understandably reluctant to submit its work to the Congress for approval.

Instead, the delegates decided to pursue what amounted to a revolutionary course. They declared that ratification of the new Constitution by nine states would be sufficient to establish the new government. In other words, the Constitution was being submitted directly to the people. Not even the Congress, which had called the convention, would be asked to approve its work.

The leaders of the convention shrewdly wished to bypass the state legislatures, which were attached to states’ rights and which required in most cases the agreement of two houses. For speedy ratification of the Constitution, the single-chambered, specially elected state ratifying conventions offered the greatest promise of agreement.

Battle lines were quickly drawn. The Federalists, as the supporters of the Constitution were called, had one solid advantage: they came with a concrete proposal. Their opponents, the Antifederalists, came with none. Since the Antifederalists  were opposing something with nothing , their objections, though sincere, were basically negative. They stood for a policy of drift while the Federalists were providing clear leadership.

Furthermore, although the Antifederalists claimed to be the democratic group, their opposition to the Constitution did not necessarily spring from a more democratic view of government. Many of the Antifederalists were as distrustful of the common people as their opponents. In New York, for example, Governor George Clinton criticized the people for their fickleness and their tendency to “vibrate from one extreme to another.” Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, who refused to sign the Constitution, asserted that “the evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy,” and John F. Mercer of Maryland professed little faith in his neighbors as voters when he said that “the people cannot know and judge the character of candidates.”   1 
 1. The author is primarily concerned with

A. Contrasting the opposing sides in a battle
B. Analyzing the effects of an event
C. Urging a reassessment of history
D. Criticizing the opponents of a plan
E. Describing the background of conflict

2 
 2. According to the passage, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention did not submit their work to Congress for approval because

A. They knew that most members of congress would want to broaden the powers of the national government
B. It was unclear whether Congress had the legal right to offer or withhold such approval
C. They considered it more democratic to appeal directly to the citizens of the separate states
D. They believed that Congress would not accept the sweeping changes they had proposed
E. Congress was dominated by a powerful group of Antifederalist leaders

3 
 3. According to the passage, in contrast to most state legislatures, state ratifying conventions were

A. Elected
B. Unicameral
C. Characterized by strong leadership
D. Nearly unanimous in their support of the new Constitution
E. Opposed to states’ rights

4 
 4. The author characterizes the leaders of the Constitutional Convention as

A. Shrewd and visionary
B. Liberal and enlightened
C. Radical and idealistic
D. Clever and pragmatic
E. Eloquent and persuasive

5 
 5. In stating that the Antifederalists “were opposing something with nothing” ( Highlighted ), the author suggests that the Antifederalists

A. Based most of their arguments on their antidemocratic sentiments
B. Lacked leaders who were as articulate as the Federalist leaders
C. Were unable to rally significant support for their position among the populace
D. Had few reasonable arguments to put forth in support of their position
E. Offered no alternative plan of government of their own

6 
 6. Which of the following statements about Elbridge Gerry can be inferred from the passage?

A. He was a delegate to the Massachusetts state ratifying convention.
B. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention.
C. He was the architect of the “policy of drift” (line 30) advocated by the Antifederalists.
D. He claimed to have a more democratic view of government than the Federalists.
E. He was one of the leaders of the Antifederalist Party.
 7 
 7. The author’s quotation of John F. Mercer serves which of the following functions in the passage?

A. It summarizes the last paragraph.
B. It furnishes a concrete example.
C. It articulates the main point of the passage.
D. It clarifies the preceding quotation.
E. It expresses a general conclusion.

8 
 8. Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the passage?

A. Divided Leadership at the Constitutional Convention
B. How the Constitution Became Law
C. The U.S. Constitution: Its Strengths and Weaknesses
D. The Battle for Ratification of the Constitution
E. The Views of the Antifederalists on Democracy

Sajjad1994 · Accepted Answer

Hello  Alpha14  I really appreciate when someone ask questions BUT I really don't like the way you ask the question "Pls provide sol for Q 3,4,6,7 ?" It shows no interest no engagement from your side. Asking question like that may take less than a minute but providing explanation for such a question may take up to an hour. And asking question in this fashion is not in the favor of the person who ask because the person who has to answer didn't know where you got strucked and what type of explanation you need. There are a lot of issues a person gets trapped in:

Not understanding the requirement of the question 
 Not comprehend the answer choices 
 Trapped by some answer choice a, b, c and so on.

I request you and all other respected GMAT Aspirants to please ask questions in some meaningful way which show your engagement, interest and seriousness so that the person who replies, reply with full dedication. So whenever you have any question like this above please elaborate:

Whether you understand the question completely? 
 Whether you comprehend the answer choices clearly? 
 Which option in your point of view should be the answer? and why? state your reasoning so that we may also learn something sometimes.

In this way we make this forum a forum to learn from each other.

Thanks and regards

Alpha14 · Answer

SajjadAhmad  Pls provide sol for Q 3,4,6,7 ?

suchithra · Answer

Q2. Answer D is the right now since it is mentioned in 1st para that "Under these circumstances, the convention was understandably reluctant to submit its work to the Congress for approval"

Q3 Answer C since Unicarmel means single chambered body.

Q4. Answer D since its mentioned in 1st Para "The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were realists"

Q5. Nothing is the key word here. So Answer E is right.

Q6. Need help

Q7. B. You can see in previous sentence that the author is giving out few examples

Q8. D. Refer to First Para and Third para

Q7. B. You can see in previous sentence that the author is giving out few examples Q8. D. Refer to First Para and Third para

ssihmar · Answer

2. According to the passage, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention did not submit their work to Congress for approval because

Best answer comes with POE

A. They knew that most members of congress would want to broaden the powers of the national government -> not mentioned in the passage
B. It was unclear whether Congress had the legal right to offer or withhold such approval -> not mentioned
C. They considered it more democratic to appeal directly to the citizens of the separate states -> wrong interpretation just mentioned In other words, the Constitution was being submitted directly to the people.
D. They believed that Congress would not accept the sweeping changes they had proposed => Best answer
E. Congress was dominated by a powerful group of Antifederalist leaders -> not mentioned

3. According to the passage, in contrast to most state legislatures, state ratifying conventions were

A. Elected
B. Unicameral => "For speedy ratification of the Constitution, the single-chambered, specially elected state ratifying conventions offered the greatest promise of agreement"
C. Characterized by strong leadership
D. Nearly unanimous in their support of the new Constitution => trap answer, passage mentioned "would would be sufficient to establish the new government"
E. Opposed to states’ rights

4. The author characterizes the leaders of the Constitutional Convention as

A. Shrewd and visionary =>trap answer
B. Liberal and enlightened
C. Radical and idealistic
D. Clever and pragmatic => 1st para "The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were realists." "The delegates had overstepped their bounds. Instead of amending the Articles of Confederation by which the American states had previously been governed, they had proposed an entirely new government." 3rd para states "The leaders of the convention shrewdly wished to bypass the state legislatures, which were attached to states’ rights and which required in most cases the agreement of two houses."
E. Eloquent and persuasive

5. In stating that the Antifederalists “were opposing something with nothing” (Highlighted), the author suggests that the Antifederalists

A. Based most of their arguments on their antidemocratic sentiments
B. Lacked leaders who were as articulate as the Federalist leaders => trap answer
C. Were unable to rally significant support for their position among the populace
D. Had few reasonable arguments to put forth in support of their position
E. Offered no alternative plan of government of their own => Federalists had one solid advantage, they came with a concrete proposal whereas AntiF had no proposals

Para 4 states that "Battle lines were quickly drawn. The Federalists, as the supporters of the Constitution were called, had one solid advantage: they came with a concrete proposal. Their opponents, the Antifederalists, came with none. "

prateeksab · Answer

Q6 - was a trick question. Like many I marked E and found that OA B is indeed correct. Here is my explanation -
Q 6 - Which of the following statements about Elbridge Gerry can be inferred from the passage?

A. He was a delegate to the Massachusetts state ratifying convention.
B. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. => Per the passage - Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts,  who refused to sign the Constitution , asserted that “the evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy,”. Since he refused to sign the constitution he must have been on the convention. 
C. He was the architect of the “policy of drift” (line 30) advocated by the Antifederalists.
D. He claimed to have a more democratic view of government than the Federalists.
E. He was one of the leaders of the Antifederalist Party. - No proof; since last para talks about how both groups were anti democracy

Q 7 - 7. The author’s quotation of John F. Mercer serves which of the following functions in the passage?

A. It summarizes the last paragraph.
B. It furnishes a concrete example.
C. It articulates the main point of the passage.
D. It clarifies the preceding quotation.
E. It expresses a general conclusion.

I am confused between A & B. I am unable to justify why not A?

HASTOWINGMAT · Answer

Hi,

For qs4, why option A is not correct. Based on my understanding of the passage the leaders of Constitution Convention were Shrewd which is similar to Clever and visionary as they had a aim to create new government.

bM22 · Answer

Hi  HASTOWINGMAT

For Question 4, we need to consider the lines: "The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were realists.", which is what is stated in option D. Option A is incorrect, as though the leaders of the Constitution shrewdly wished to bypass the the state legislatures,, we cannot infer if they were visionary. They were pragmatic in their approach of drafting the Constitution and that be clearly inferred from the first para of the passage. Thus, option is only partly correct, but D is a better choice.

Hope This Helps.
Thanks.

Nitikamehta1993 · Answer

I have a query regarding Ques 7 here. 
7. The author’s quotation of John F. Mercer serves which of the following functions in the passage?

A. It summarizes the last paragraph.
B. It furnishes a concrete example.
C. It articulates the main point of the passage.
D. It clarifies the preceding quotation.
E. It expresses a general conclusion.

It is correct that the author quoted John F Mercer to provide an example. That example was provided in order to substantiate the first two sentences of the last paragraph. Hence I selected A. The point of confusion for me here is the quoted sentence is itself an example which was given to prove something. Then why do we say that the functioning of the author's quotation of John F Mercer is to furnish a concrete example?

bM22 · Answer

Hi  Nitikamehta1993 ,

Option A for Question 7 is incorrect, as the examples are not meant to summarize the last para, author is simply illustrating the situation and the view of the Antifederalists using different examples. You could say that the examples given prove that the Antifederalists did not the trust the common people (exactly what the examples are added for) but they are not summarizing the last para of the passage, instead the author is using the examples to provide evidence for his claim about the Antifederalists.

Hope This Helps.
Thanks.

ArupRS · Answer

Can someone please explain Q #6 ?

6. Which of the following statements about Elbridge Gerry can be inferred from the passage?

A. He was a delegate to the Massachusetts state ratifying convention.
B. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention.  I don't understand how this is the correct answer. 
C. He was the architect of the “policy of drift” (line 30) advocated by the Antifederalists.
D. He claimed to have a more democratic view of government than the Federalists.
E. He was one of the leaders of the Antifederalist Party. I thought he was a leader of anti federalist party as he was reluctant to sign the constitution.

Please explain.

ArupRS · Answer

SajjadAhmad  : can you please answer?

Regards,
Arup Sarkar

Posted from my mobile device

bM22 · Answer

Hi  ArupRS ,

Option B is the correct answer choice, as when we consider the lines: "Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts,  who refused to sign the Constitution , asserted that “the evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy,”", we can infer that Elbridge Gerry was definitely in the Convention with some authority as he refused to sign the Constitution.

Option E is definitely tempting but incorrect, as we have no information to infer if Elbridge Gerry was a leader of the Antifederalist Party. The author simply uses him as an example to point out the views of Antifederalists, but the author doesn't mention any particular leader as the leader of the Antifederalist Party.

Let me know if you still have doubts.

Thanks.

petrichor · Answer

my two cents on Q #6

6. Which of the following statements about Elbridge Gerry can be inferred from the passage?

from the first paragraph ...
 The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were realists. They knew that the greatest battles would take place after the convention, once the Constitution had already been  drafted and signed .

So delegates are the ones who drafted and signed the Constitution.

Now, in last paragraph ...
 Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, who  refused to sign the Constitution , asserted that ...

So Elbridge is indeed a part of the convention  B is correct , may be his refusal to sign was the reason why the delegate thought a conflict of opinion would arise!

E is a trap, He may be an anti-federalist but not necessarily a leader in anti federalist party.

Sakshi_tuteja_20 · Answer

Hi, please help in explanation of the line - For speedy ratification of the Constitution, the single-chambered, specially elected state ratifying conventions offered the greatest promise of agreement.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

The line "For speedy ratification of the Constitution, the single-chambered, specially elected state ratifying conventions offered the greatest promise of agreement" means that the delegates recognized that in order to achieve a prompt approval of the Constitution, a specific method needed to be employed. They believed that utilizing state ratifying conventions, which consisted of a single chamber and were specially elected for the purpose of ratifying the Constitution, would be the most effective approach to ensure widespread agreement.

The delegates understood that going through the traditional state legislatures, which typically required the agreement of two houses, could potentially delay or hinder the ratification process. By bypassing the state legislatures and opting for the state ratifying conventions, they aimed to expedite the process and increase the likelihood of achieving the necessary ratification by the states.

The use of "single-chambered" indicates that these conventions consisted of a single legislative body, as opposed to the more common two-house structure. This streamlined the process and eliminated the potential complications that could arise from disagreements or delays between multiple legislative bodies.

Additionally, the mention of "specially elected" indicates that the delegates wanted to ensure that the members of these conventions were specifically chosen for the purpose of ratifying the Constitution. This would allow for a focused and efficient evaluation and decision-making process.

Overall, the line emphasizes the delegates' strategic thinking and their recognition that the state ratifying conventions, with their single-chambered structure and specially elected members, presented the best opportunity for expediting the ratification of the Constitution.

PalakMan · Answer

For Question 6, why can't option A be the answer as it is written in the passage that "Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, who refused to sign the Constitution" so we can infer this that since he is from Massachusetts, he is a delegate to the Massachusetts state ratifying convention.

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

Sajjad1994 · Answer

The passage does not provide direct information about whether Elbridge Gerry was a delegate to the Massachusetts state ratifying convention. The passage only mentions that Elbridge Gerry refused to sign the Constitution and made a statement about the excess of democracy, but it does not specify his role in any state ratifying convention. Therefore,  option (A)  cannot be inferred from the information given in the passage.

The passage primarily discusses the roles and actions of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention, their decision to bypass the state legislatures, the positions of the Federalists and Antifederalists, and the reasons behind the opposition to the Constitution. It does not provide specific details about the roles of individual delegates in state ratifying conventions.

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