America since the days of Captain John Smith has been the land of hope

Question

America since the days of Captain John Smith has been the land of hope for multitudes in Europe. In many a humble home, perhaps in some English village, or an Ulster farm, or in the Rhine valley, one might find a family assembled for the reading of a letter from son, or brother, or friend, who had made the great venture of going to the New World. “Land is abundant here and cheap,” the letter would state. “Wages are high, food is plentiful, farmers live better than lords. If one will work only five days a week one can live grandly.”

In pamphlets intended to encourage immigration, the opportunities for advancement were set forth in glowing colors. In Virginia alone, it was stated, in 1649, there were “of kine, oxen, bulls, calves, twenty thousand, large and good.” When the traveller Welby came to America he was surprised to “see no misery, no disgusting army of paupers, not even beggars;” while Henry B. Fearson noted that laborers were “more erect in their posture, less careworn in their countenances” than those of Europe.

In Virginia, as in other colonies, it was the cheapness of land and the dearness of labor which gave the newcomer his chance to rise. The rich man might possess many thousands of acres, but they would profit him nothing unless he could find the labor to put them under cultivation. Indentured workers met his needs in part, but they were expensive, hard to acquire, and served for only four years. If he hired freemen, he would have to pay wages which in England would have seemed fantastic.

Thus, the so-called servants who had completed their terms and men who had come over as freemen found it easy to earn enough to buy small plantations of their own. One has only to glance at the Rent Roll to see that the large plantations were vastly outnumbered by the small farms of the yeomen. It proves that Virginia at the beginning of the eighteenth century was not the land of huge estates, worked by servants and slaves, but of a numerous, prosperous middle class.   1 
 1. The author mentions the accounts of Welby and Fearson in the passage in order to:

(A) provide further evidence for the conclusion that there were plenty of opportunities for advancement available to laborers in America 
(B) provide the explanation for why workers in Virginia were paid higher wages than those in Europe 
(C) weaken the conclusion that the primary reason workers shifted from Europe to America was the abundance of opportunities available in America 
(D) strengthen the conclusion that land was cheap in Virginia and labor was scarce 
(E) highlight the importance of labor in the economy of Virginia at that time

2 
 2. According to the passage, which of the following is a reason that provided migrants the opportunity to rise in American colonies?

(A) There was a huge supply of land in these colonies. 
(B) Labor was available for cheap in these colonies.
(C) The migrants were more business savvy than their American counterparts. 
(D) Labor was in short supply in these colonies. 
(E) Land prices were high in these colonies and most of these migrants were land owners.

3 
 3. According to the passage, which of the following is an incorrect statement about Virginia in the eighteenth century?

(A) In Virginia, land was cheap but labour was expensive. 
(B) Virginia was a land of opportunities for migrant workers from Europe. 
(C) The landscape of Virginia primarily comprised several large estates interspersed with a few smaller ones. 
(D) The Rent Roll makes a mention of plantations in Virginia in at least one place. 
(E) The middle class was prospering in Virginia.

4 
 4. Which of the following assertions is best supported by the above passage?

(A) Hiring indentured workers in the US colonies was cheaper than hiring migrant workers. 
(B) Rich landlords in American colonies had the option of hiring indentured workers. 
(C) European laborers had a deformity in their posture. 
(D) Indentured workers were not allowed to buy land in American colonies. 
(E) The plight of migrant workers in Virginia was different from their plight in other American colonies.

Skywalker18 · Answer

All correct in 7 mins 45 seconds, including 3 mins 15 seconds to read

Para 1- America- the land of hope for multitudes in Europe
Para 2- opportunities for advancement written in pamphlets
Para 3- cheap land + dearness of labor in the colonies
Para 4- prosperous middle class in Virginia

1. The author mentions the accounts of Welby and Fearson in the passage in order to:
(A) provide further evidence for the conclusion that there were plenty of opportunities for advancement available to laborers in America - Correct; the accounts of the W&M mention good things about America

When the traveller Welby came to America he was surprised to “see no misery, no disgusting army of paupers, not even beggars;” while Henry B. Fearson noted that laborers were “more erect in their posture, less careworn in their countenances” than those of Europe.

2. According to the passage, which of the following is a reason that provided migrants the opportunity to rise in American colonies? 
(D) Labor was in short supply in these colonies.

In Virginia, as in other colonies, it was the cheapness of land and the dearness of labor which gave the newcomer his chance to rise. 
Thus, the so-called servants who had completed their terms and men who had come over as freemen found it easy to earn enough to buy small plantations of their own.

3. According to the passage, which of the following is an incorrect statement about Virginia in the eighteenth century?

(A) In Virginia, land was cheap but labour was expensive. - incorrect
(B) Virginia was a land of opportunities for migrant workers from Europe. - incorrect
(C) The landscape of Virginia primarily comprised several large estates interspersed with a few smaller ones. - Correct; 
One has only to glance at the Rent Roll to see that the large plantations were vastly outnumbered by the small farms of the yeomen. It proves that Virginia at the beginning of the eighteenth century was not the land of huge estates, worked by servants and slaves, but of a numerous, prosperous middle class.
(D) The Rent Roll makes a mention of plantations in Virginia in at least one place. - incorrect
(E) The middle class was prospering in Virginia. - incorrect

4. Which of the following assertions is best supported by the above passage?

(A) Hiring indentured workers in the US colonies was cheaper than hiring migrant workers. - incorrect; we do not know which of these workers were cheaper
(B) Rich landlords in American colonies had the option of hiring indentured workers. - Correct; 
Indentured workers met his needs in part, but they were expensive, hard to acquire, and served for only four years.
(C) European laborers had a deformity in their posture. - incorrect;
Henry B. Fearson noted that laborers were “more erect in their posture, less careworn in their countenances” than those of Europe. --> We can't infer that European laborers had a deformity in their posture
(D) Indentured workers were not allowed to buy land in American colonies. - incorrect; Thus, the so-called servants who had completed their terms and men who had come over as freemen found it easy to earn enough to buy small plantations of their own.
(E) The plight of migrant workers in Virginia was different from their plight in other American colonies.- incorrect

minustark · Answer

Took a lil more than 8 minutes.
Got Ques 1, 2, 4 correct. 
Here is my attempt to summarize my understandings:

Explanation for Question 1: From the very beginning, the passage starts to praise the vast opportunities provided by America to workers immigrated there from various parts of the world. Accounts of Welby and Fearson depicts the reality of this point ,that America has lots of opportunities for advancement of the laborers. SO, ANSWER should be A.

Q 2: Although land was plenty in America, it was not the reason for the prosperity of migrants. Labor was scarce to make the lands usable, which gave migrant workers a great chance to flourish, so the ANSWER IS D.

Q 3: In the last para, the author told us in Virginia large farms were outnumbered by small farms owned by yeomen, which is just opposite of option C- the landscape of Virginia primarily comprised large estates interspersed by few small farms. So, here ANSWER IS C .

Q 4: Except B, all 4 options are out of scope. We only know from the passage that landlords could hire indentured workers for cultivating the lands and those laborers were quite expensive , scarce and could serve only for 4 years. Option A, C, D, E all state information not found in the passage. So, ANSWER IS B .

akashjoshi531 · Answer

Good question. One of the techniques is to eliminate the extreme choices and mark a choice of answer which resonates with the tone of the passage.

America since the days of Captain John Smith has been the land of hope

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America since the days of Captain John Smith has been the land of hope

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