Two impressive studies have reexamined Eric Williams’ conclusion that

Hi everyone,
Took 16:15 minutes and got 5/7 correct. Took 4:15 minutes to read, write down paragraphs' summaries ad main point

P1

2 studies are mentioned. These 2 studies go against W' belief according to which only economic drivers were responsible for abolition and emancipation

P2

Sd's study is presented and its reasoning is explained BUT the study can't explain the support coming from the conservatives at the House of Lords

Takeway: the author favors this study over William's

P3

Eltis study is presented along with its reasoning. He identifies two key elements: low wages and DV laws as the core of industriousness and the advent of capitalism. Eltis partially agrees with williams and rejects some of D's ideas.

MP: To explain through studies which are the reasons for the abolition of slavery and emancipation

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1. Which one of the following best describes the main idea of the passage?

Pre-thinking:
Refer to main point above


(A) Although they disagree about the degree to which economic motives influenced Britain’s abolition of slavery, Drescher and Eltis both concede that moral
persuasion by abolitionists was a significant factor.
Opposite. Eltis does not agree on this with D. Hence incorrect

(B) Although both Drescher and Eltis have questioned Williams’ analysis of the motivation behind Britain’s abolition of slavery, there is support for part of Williams’ conclusion.
This seems correct and broad enough. Hence correct

(C) Because he has taken into account the populist characteristics of British abolitionism, Drescher’s explanation of what motivated Britain’s abolition of slavery is finally more persuasive than that of Eltis.
No such comparison is made throughout the passage. Hence incorrect

(D) Neither Eltis nor Drescher has succeeded in explaining why support for Britain’s abolition of slavery appears to have cut across lines of party, class, and religion.
Incorrect and certainly not the purpose of the passage. Hence incorrect

(E) Although flawed in certain respects, Williams’ conclusions regarding the economic condition of British slave colonies early in the nineteenth century have been largely vindicated.
inconsistent because of largely vindicated. Hence incorrect

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2. It can be inferred that Eltis cites the views of “certain notables” (line 35) in order to

Pre-thinking:
Describe a practice in use


(A) support the claim that British traditions of liberty were not as strong as Drescher believed them to be
out of the scope. Hence incorrect

(B) support the contention that a strong labor force was important to Britain’s economy
Correct and very clear from those lines. Hence correct

(C) emphasize the importance of slavery as an institution in preindustrial Britain
institution is incorrect here. Hence incorrect

(D) indicate that the laboring classes provided little support for the abolition of slavery
not the purpose f these lines.Hence incorrect

(E) establish that laborers in preindustrial Britain had few civil rights
again not the purpose.Hence incorrect

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3. Which one of the following best states Williams’ view of the primary reason for Britain’s abolition of the slave trade and the emancipation of slaves in its colonies?

Pre-thinking:
" Blighted by depleted
soil, indebtedness, and the inefficiency of coerced
labor, these colonies, according to Williams, had by
1807 become an impediment to British economic
progress."


(A) British populism appealed to people of varied classes, parties, and religions.
Out of context here. Hence incorrect

(B) Both capitalists and workers in Britain accepted the moral precepts of abolitionists.
they didn't accept the moral preps probably. Their reasons were economic.Hence incorrect

(C) Forced labor in the colonies could not produce enough goods to satisfy British consumers.
Never mentioned. Hence incorrect

(D) The operation of colonies based on forced labor was no longer economically advantageous.
In line with pre-thinking. Hence correct

(E) British workers became convinced that forced labor in the colonies prevented paid workers from receiving higher wages.
completely out of scope. Hence incorrect. The reason was that people were more productive if they had incentives.

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4. According to Eltis, low wages and Draconian vagrancy laws in Britain in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were intended to

Pre-thinking:
"Eltis points to continuing use of low wages and
Draconian vagrancy laws in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries to ensure the industriousness of
(35) British workers."


(A) protect laborers against unscrupulous employment practices
out of scope. Hence incorrect

(B) counter the move to enslave unemployed laborers
Never mentioned. Hence incorrect

(C) ensure a cheap and productive work force
In line with pre-thinking. Hence correct

(D) ensure that the work force experienced no unemployment
Never mentioned. Hence incorrect

(E) ensure that products produced in British colonies employing forced labor could compete effectively with those produced in Britain
Never mentioned. Hence incorrect


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5. It can be inferred that the author of the passage views Drescher’s presentation of British traditions concerning liberty as

Pre-thinking:
"Drescher does not finally
explain how England, a nation deeply divided by class
(25) struggles, could mobilize popular support for
antislavery measures proposed by otherwise
conservative politicians in the House of Lords and
approved there with little dissent."



(A) accurately stated
Not mentioned. Hence incorrect

(B) somewhat unrealistic
I line with pre-thinking. Hence correct

(C) carefully researched
Never mentioned. Hence incorrect

(D) unnecessarily tentative
Out of scope. Hence incorrect

(E) superficially convincing
Out of scope. Hence incorrect

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6. The information in the passage suggests that Eltis and Drescher agree that

Pre-thinking:
This question might be tricky to answer. Refer to these lines

"Significantly, it was products grown by slaves, such as
sugar, coffee, and tobacco, that stimulated new wants
at all levels of British society and were the forerunners
of products intended in modern capitalist societies to
satisfy what Eltis describes as “nonsubsistence or
(50) psychological needs.” Eltis concludes that in an
economy that had begun to rely on voluntary labor to
satisfy such needs, forced labor necessarily began to
appear both inappropriate and counterproductive to
employers.

The reasoning here is that all classes want those products and those products are better produced if the labor is volountary

Drescher idea is clearly mentioned in P2 on the other hand


(A) people of all classes in Britain supported the abolition of slavery
In line with pre-thinking. Hence correct

(B) the motives behind Britain’s abolition of slavery were primarily economic
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(C) the moral vision of abolitionists played a vital part in Britain’s abolition of slavery
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(D) British traditions of liberty have been idealized by historians
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

(E) Britain’s tradition of political activism was primarily responsible for Britain’s abolition of slavery
Not in line with pre-thinking. Hence incorrect

Note that in the other answers one of them agrees and the other disagrees or both of them disagree.

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7. According to the passage, Eltis argues against which one of the following contentions?

Pre-thinking:
Let's analyze the answer choices

(A) Popular support for antislavery measures existed in Britain in the early nineteenth century.
He agrees

(B) In the early nineteenth century, colonies that employed forced labor were still economically viable.
He doesn't argue against this one. He states that the highest productivity was associated with voluntary labor

(C) British views concerning personal liberty motivated nineteenth-century British opposition to slavery.
Personal liberty was not the real reason. the real reason is that voluntary labor was more productive than coerced labor. Refer to the last lines. Hence correct

(D) Widespread literacy in Britain contributed to public opposition to slavery in the early nineteenth century.
He agrees. Hence incorrect

(E) Antislavery measures proposed by conservative politicians in the early nineteenth century met with little opposition
He probably agrees. hence incorrect

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It's a good day to be alive, cheers!

Can someone explain question 3 and Question 6?

Hope it helps

took too long to read and then also made mistakes.
please explain Q2, Q4, Q6.
_________________

Hope it helps

Hi SajjadAhmad,

Can you please post the explanation for Q5?
_________________

Hope it helps

In Q6, I don't understand the use of the word 'ALL' in the answer choice (A).
There is no way I can say that all the classes in Britain agreed to any position. I would understand MOST.
Could you explain how one comes to the conclusion that it's not MOST but ALL ?

Well we don't need to count or speculate the number of classes that might exist in Britain. The lines below in the passage supports option A

Drescher has reconstructed the populist characteristics of British abolitionism, which appears to have cut across lines of class, party, and religion. Noting that between 1780 and 1830 antislavery petitions outnumbered those on any other issue, including parliamentary reform.

Thank you

Sajjad1994 IN question 6 correct answer is A but where in the passage did Eltis agreed that people of all classes supported the abolition of Slavery?
Please Help

Read explanation in the post in below link.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/two-impressi ... l#p2345760

Thank you

GMATNinja, GMATNinjaTwo

In Q5, I am unable to eliminate option D - (Unnecessarily Tentative)

Could you please explain how to eliminate it?

I was down to option B and option D.

Question 5

The author mildly criticizes Drescher, saying that in paragraph 2 that he doesn't explain how abolitionist policies were actually passed. Then, in paragraph 3, he/she again mildly criticizes Drescher's "idealization of British traditions of liberty." That fits nicely with (B) - the author thinks that Drescher's thoughts on liberty are "somewhat unrealistic."

"Tentative" means "hesitant" or "lacking in confidence." The author doesn't think that Drescher is "unnecessarily tentative" about the tradition of liberty -- if anything, the author takes the opposite view. He/she thinks that Drescher is way too confident that the British traditions of liberty somehow ended slavery.

Eliminate (D) for question 5.

I hope that helps!
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Thank you for your clear and spot-on explanation!
Cleared all my doubts in a second. You are a legend