By the time the American colonists took up arms against Great Britain

Question

4-1A SECTION A 17-20

By the time the American colonists took up arms against Great Britain in order to secure their independence, the institution of Black slavery was deeply entrenched. But the contradiction inherent in this situation was, for many, a source of constant embarrassment. “It always appeared a most iniquitous scheme to me,” Abigail Adams wrote her husband in 1774, “to fight ourselves for what we are daily robbing and plundering from those who have as good a right to freedom as we have.”

Many Americans besides Abigail Adams were struck by the inconsistency of their stand during the War of Independence, and they were not averse to making moves to emancipate the slaves. Quakers and other religious groups organized antislavery societies, while numerous individuals manumitted their slaves. In fact, within several years of the end of the War of Independence, most of the Eastern states had made provisions for the gradual emancipation of slaves.   1 
 1. Which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?

(A) The War of Independence produced among many Black Americans a heightened consciousness of the inequities in American society.
(B) The War of Independence strengthened the bonds of slavery of many Black Americans while intensifying their desire to be free.
(C) The War of Independence exposed to many Americans the contradiction of slavery in a country seeking its freedom and resulted in efforts to resolve that contradiction.
(D) The War of Independence provoked strong criticisms by many Americans of the institution of slavery, but produced little substantive action against it.
(E) The War of Independence renewed the efforts of many American groups toward achieving Black emancipation.

2 
 2. The passage contains information that would support which of the following statements about the colonies before the War of Independence?

(A) They contained organized antislavery societies.
(B) They allowed individuals to own slaves.
(C) They prohibited religious groups from political action.
(D) They were inconsistent in their legal definitions of slave status.
(E) They encouraged abolitionist societies to expand their influence.

3 
 3. According to the passage, the War of Independence was embarrassing to some Americans for which of the following reasons?

I. It involved a struggle for many of the same liberties that Americans were denying to others.
II. It involved a struggle for independence from the very nation that had founded the colonies.
III. It involved a struggle based on inconsistencies in the participants’ conceptions of freedom.

(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) I and II only
(D) I and III only
(E) I, II, and III

4 
 4. Which of the following statements regarding American society in the years immediately following the War of Independence is best supported by the passage?

(A) The unexpected successes of the antislavery societies led to their gradual demise in the Eastern states.
(B) Some of the newly independent American states had begun to make progress toward abolishing slavery.
(C) Americans like Abigail Adams became disillusioned with the slow progress of emancipation and gradually abandoned the cause.
(D) Emancipated slaves gradually were accepted in the Eastern states as equal members of American society.
(E) The abolition of slavery in many Eastern states was the result of close cooperation between religious groups and free Blacks.

PhantomAY · Accepted Answer

The entire passage is about a change occurred during and after war of independence. Summarize the main idea and create the process map:

Paragraph 1: black slavery exist much before WoI (war of independence). People is embarrassed by the fact that they are not fair

Paragraph 2: During and after WoI, many orgs and individuals supported freeing slaves

With above in mind, let's look at the questions:

1. Which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?

(A) The War of Independence produced among many Black Americans a heightened consciousness of the inequities in American society. - it might be true but the consciousness of salves themselves are not mentioned, and certainly not main idea of the passage
(B) The War of Independence strengthened the bonds of slavery of many Black Americans while intensifying their desire to be free. - not mentioned so out of scope
(C) The War of Independence exposed to many Americans the contradiction of slavery in a country seeking its freedom and resulted in efforts to resolve that contradiction. - the whole passage talks about this contradiction (they want to free themselves from Britain, but slavery still existed in their own society) and corrective actions triggered by the awareness of that contradiction. This answer matches perfectly
(D) The War of Independence provoked strong criticisms by many Americans of the institution of slavery, but produced little substantive action against it. - 2nd paragraph indicates many takes actions and "provisions" are resulted
(E) The War of Independence renewed the efforts of many American groups toward achieving Black emancipation. - we don't know whether it "renew" efforts - all we know from 1st paragraph is that the institution of Black slavery is deeply entrenched

2. The passage contains information that would support which of the following statements about the colonies before the War of Independence?

(A) They contained organized antislavery societies. before WoI "slavery is deeply entrenched"
(B) They allowed individuals to own slaves. coincides with "deeply entrenched slavery", correct answer
(C) They prohibited religious groups from political action. we don't know, this is not mentioned
(D) They were inconsistent in their legal definitions of slave status. legal definition is not defined, and what's inconsistent was people's standing
(E) They encouraged abolitionist societies to expand their influence. abolitionist societies are not mentioned

3. According to the passage, the War of Independence was embarrassing to some Americans for which of the following reasons?

I. It involved a struggle for many of the same liberties that Americans were denying to others. this coincides with the "contradiction" that Americans should stand the same for themselves and for Black slavery
II. It involved a struggle for independence from the very nation that had founded the colonies. the passage didn't mention this as a struggle - and based on history they wanted to do it for a long time

III. It involved a struggle based on inconsistencies in the participants’ conceptions of freedom. conceptions of freedom is not inconsistent - but people's standing against different racial groups are

(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) I and II only
(D) I and III only
(E) I, II, and III

4. Which of the following statements regarding American society in the years immediately following the War of Independence is best supported by the passage?

(A) The unexpected successes of the antislavery societies led to their gradual demise in the Eastern states. no demise but prosperity
(B) Some of the newly independent American states had begun to make progress toward abolishing slavery. correct answer
(C) Americans like Abigail Adams became disillusioned with the slow progress of emancipation and gradually abandoned the cause. disillusioned with slow progress is not mentioned at all. The 2nd paragraph indicates positive tone by words like "numerous", "most", "provisions", "gradual emancipation"...
(D) Emancipated slaves gradually were accepted in the Eastern states as equal members of American society. this is a logic jump, being emancipated does not equal treated as equal member. There might be a long way to go (and based on history it is)
(E) The abolition of slavery in many Eastern states was the result of close cooperation between religious groups and free Blacks. cooperation between religious groups and free blacks are not mentioned so not counted as a factor

III. It involved a struggle based on inconsistencies in the participants’ conceptions of freedom. conceptions of freedom is not inconsistent - but people's standing against different racial groups are (A) I only (B) II only (C) I and II only (D) I and III only (E) I, II, and III 4. Which of the following statements regarding American society in the years immediately following the War of Independence is best supported by the passage? (A) The unexpected successes of the antislavery societies led to their gradual demise in the Eastern states. no demise but prosperity (B) Some of the newly independent American states had begun to make progress toward abolishing slavery. correct answer (C) Americans like Abigail Adams became disillusioned with the slow progress of emancipation and gradually abandoned the cause. disillusioned with slow progress is not mentioned at all. The 2nd paragraph indicates positive tone by words like "numerous", "most", "provisions", "gradual emancipation"... (D) Emancipated slaves gradually were accepted in the Eastern states as equal members of American society. this is a logic jump, being emancipated does not equal treated as equal member. There might be a long way to go (and based on history it is) (E) The abolition of slavery in many Eastern states was the result of close cooperation between religious groups and free Blacks. cooperation between religious groups and free blacks are not mentioned so not counted as a factor

trigradius · Answer

Passage Summary  - 
The first para talks about the contradiction inherent in the fight undertaken by American's for their independence, when black slavery was deeply entrenched. Abigail claims it is not fair, and also ironic.

The second para tells us that others like Abigail who are also aware of this contradiction are also keen on doing something about this. The passage then illustrates a few examples of efforts taken by them during and after the war to negate this contradiction.

Q1) Which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?

(A) The War of Independence produced among many Black Americans a heightened consciousness of the inequities in American society. - The passage suggests that the War made American's more aware of the contradiction and not Black Americans specifically. 
(B) The War of Independence strengthened the bonds of slavery of many Black Americans while intensifying their desire to be free. - No mention of bonds of slavery, or the desire of Black Americans to be free in the passage 
(C) The War of Independence exposed to many Americans the contradiction of slavery in a country seeking its freedom and resulted in efforts to resolve that contradiction. -  Fits the summary of the passage  
(D) The War of Independence provoked strong criticisms by many Americans of the institution of slavery, but produced little substantive action against it.- provoked strong criticisms is a bit strong here, but acceptable. The real problem is that no action was taken against the criticisms, when there clearly were some actions taken to try and abolish slavery. 
(E) The War of Independence renewed the efforts of many American groups toward achieving Black emancipation. - There is no mention in the passage of efforts taken before the American's took to arms against Britain. At best, it supports efforts taken during or after the War.

IMO C

2. The passage contains information that would support which of the following statements about the colonies before the War of Independence?

(A) They contained organized antislavery societies. - The time frame for this is unclear in the passage. From the passage, we can assume it could have taken place during the War or after. 
(B) They allowed individuals to own slaves. - It is mentioned in the passage that individuals "manumitted" their slaves (which from context seems to mean "liberated"). This could only happen if they had slaves to begin with before the War  
(C) They prohibited religious groups from political action. - No mention of this in the passage 
(D) They were inconsistent in their legal definitions of slave status. - No mention of this in the passage 
(E) They encouraged abolitionist societies to expand their influence. - No mention of this in the passage

IMO B

3. According to the passage, the War of Independence was embarrassing to some Americans for which of the following reasons?

I. It involved a struggle for many of the same liberties that Americans were denying to others. - Mentioned in the passage 
II. It involved a struggle for independence from the very nation that had founded the colonies. - No mention of Britain being the founding nation  
III. It involved a struggle based on inconsistencies in the participants’ conceptions of freedom. -  There were no inconsistencies in conceptions, just a contradiction

(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) I and II only
(D) I and III only
(E) I, II, and III

IMO A

Q4) Which of the following statements regarding American society in the years immediately following the War of Independence is best supported by the passage?

(A) The unexpected successes of the antislavery societies led to their gradual demise in the Eastern states. - No mention of this in the passage 
(B) Some of the newly independent American states had begun to make progress toward abolishing slavery.- Eastern States are mentioned to have moved towards emancipating slaves after the War. KEEP 
(C) Americans like Abigail Adams became disillusioned with the slow progress of emancipation and gradually abandoned the cause.- No mention of Abigail abandoning the cause. 
(D) Emancipated slaves gradually were accepted in the Eastern states as equal members of American society. - This is a bit of a stretch, since there is no mention of the emancipated slaves being accepted into society as equals. while this is definitely possible, the passage states nothing to support this. 
(E) The abolition of slavery in many Eastern states was the result of close cooperation between religious groups and free Blacks.- No mention of this 
 in the passage

IMO B

prototypevenom · Answer

In question 4, in my opinion use of the word “some” makes the choice wrong or at least competitive wrong to choice d

trigradius · Answer

You're right in that the word "some" casts some ambiguity - It means that that after the war of independence, among the states that were liberated as a result at least one made efforts to abolish slavery, but the passage suggests most of the Eastern States took efforts. It is possible that the Eastern states that were liberated never did anything to work towards the emancipation of the slaves, but it is an unlikely scenario because the passage mentions that MOST of the states (ie. at least half) took efforts, and that this was AFTER the war, which is likely to have liberated many if not all the states, else it would have been a failure.

In the presence of a better option, we could have dropped this option for this reason, but others have more fatal errors.

If choice D only talked about emancipation, it could have worked. But it also talks about inclusion into society as equal members which is out of the scope of the passage and a completely different idea.

believerinthy · Answer

In the 4th question, where does it state that the eastern states were the first ones to get freedom?
I am confused.
you use the same reasoning to define that D is not correct.
care to explain?

trigradius · Answer

The last line of the passage does talk of the eastern states working towards emancipation, but it doesn't talk about emancipated slaves being included in their states as equals. Emancipation and equality are two different things here - so between B and D, B is a better choice since it only talks about emancipation efforts by independent states. It is true that Eastern states are not mentioned explicitly as ones that obtained freedom after the war, but it is safe to say some of them were liberated if not all of them. So the independent states mentioned in option B can still refer to these Eastern States. Hope this helps!

VerbalBot · Answer

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By the time the American colonists took up arms against Great Britain

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By the time the American colonists took up arms against Great Britain

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