The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were realists. They

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

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. "

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

SajjadAhmad : can you please answer?

Regards,
Arup Sarkar

Posted from my mobile device

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.