The fields of antebellum (pre-Civil War) political history and womens

Question

The fields of antebellum (pre-Civil War) political history and women’s history use separate sources and focus on separate issues. Political historians, examining sources such as voting records, newspapers, and politicians’ writings, focus on the emergence in the 1840’s of a new “American political nation,” and since women were neither voters nor politicians, they receive little discussion. Women’s historians, meanwhile, have shown little interest in the subject of party politics, instead drawing on personal papers, legal records such as wills, and records of female associations to illuminate women’s domestic lives, their moral reform activities, and the emergence of the woman’s rights movement.

However, most historians have underestimated the extent and significance of women’s political allegiance in the antebellum period. For example, in the presidential election campaigns of the 1840’s, the Virginia Whig party strove to win the allegiance of Virginia’s women by inviting them to rallies and speeches. According to Whig propaganda, women who turned out at the party’s rallies gathered information that enabled them to mold party-loyal families, reminded men of moral values that transcended party loyalty, and conferred moral standing on the party. Virginia Democrats, in response, began to make similar appeals to women as well. By the mid-1850’s the inclusion of women in the rituals of party politics had become commonplace and the ideology that justified such inclusion had been assimilated by the Democrats.   1 
 1. The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to

A. examine the tactics of antebellum political parties with regard to women
B. trace the effect of politics on the emergence of the woman’s rights movement
C. point out a deficiency in the study of a particular historical period
D. discuss the ideologies of opposing antebellum political parties
E. contrast the methodologies in two differing fields of historical inquiry

2 
 2: The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements regarding most historians of the antebellum period?/b]

A. They have failed to adequately contrast the differing roles that women played in the Democratic and Whig parties in the 1850’s.
B. They have failed to see that political propaganda advocating women’s political involvement did not reflect the reality of women’s actual roles.
C. They have incorrectly assumed that women’s party loyalty played a small role in Whig and Democratic party politics.
D. They have misinterpreted descriptions of women’s involvement in party politics in records of female associations and women’s personal papers.
E. They have overlooked the role that women’s political activities played in the woman’s rights movement.

3 
 3: According to the second paragraph of the passage (lines 20-42), Whig propaganda included the assertion that

A. women should enjoy more political rights than they did
B. women were the most important influences on political attitudes within a family
C. women’s reform activities reminded men of important moral values
D. women’s demonstrations at rallies would influence men’s voting behavior
E. women’s presence at rallies would enhance the moral standing of the party

4 
 4. According to the passage, which of the following was true of Virginia Democrats in the mid-1850’s?

A. They feared that their party was losing its strong moral foundation. 
B. They believed that the Whigs’ inclusion of women in party politics had led to the Whigs’ success in many elections. 
C. They created an ideology that justified the inclusion of women in party politics. 
D. They wanted to demonstrate that they were in support of the woman’s rights movement. 
E. They imitated the Whigs’ efforts to include women in the rituals of party politics

anairamitch1804 · Accepted Answer

1)When you first read a passage, focus on the author's DICTION. 
The details are not that important. 
What matters is HOW those details are expressed. 
Paragraph 1: Since women were neither voters nor politicians, they receive little discussion. 
Implication of the portion in red: 
Political historians are WRONG. 
The role of women should receive MORE DISCUSSION. 
Paragraph 1: Women’s historians, meanwhile, have shown little interest in the subject of party politics. 
implication of the portion in red: 
Women's historians are WRONG. 
They should show MORE INTEREST in the subject of party politics. 
Paragraph 2: Most historians have underestimated the extent and significance of women’s political allegiance in the antebellum period. 
Implication of the portion in red: 
Most historians are WRONG. 
They have UNDERESTIMATED the role of women. 
In both paragraphs, the choice of language makes the author's position clear: 
Historians are WRONG not to discuss the role of women in antebellum politics. 
Only C describes the author's primary purpose: to point out a DEFICIENCY -- that historians are WRONG not to discuss the role of women in antebellum politics. 
The correct answer is C.
2)The relevant line, again: According to Whig propaganda, women who turned out at the party's rallies gathered information that enabled them to mold party-loyal families, reminded men of moral values that transcended party loyalty, and conferred moral standing on the party. 
We get a list of positive consequences of the women attending these rallies. Notice the difference in the language between E and C. 
E. women’s presence at rallies would enhance the moral standing of the party 
C. women’s reform activities reminded men of important moral values 
The sentence is about the impact of the women's presence at the rallies, not about their reform activities.
3)"By the mid-1850’s the inclusion of women in the rituals of party politics had become commonplace, and the ideology that justified such inclusion had been assimilated by the Democrats". Democrats didn't created an idelogy, instead they understood the ideology and due to this option C is wrong and E is correct.
4)The first sentence of the second paragraph: However, most historians have underestimated the extent and significance of women's political allegiance in the antebellum period. The rest of the paragraph details the important role that women played in the Whig and Democratic parties in the 1840's. This notion is captured in C.

KarishmaB · Answer

Explaining the correct answers. Let me know if some particular options trip you.

1. The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to

A. examine the tactics of antebellum political parties with regard to women

B. trace the effect of politics on the emergence of the woman’s rights movement

C. point out a deficiency in the study of a particular historical period -  Correct.  Focus on the most imp sentence. The entire passage was written to show that antebellum political history and women's history are viewed separately but the historians underestimate the significance of women's political allegiance. And then an example is given to justify the importance. Hence, this is the primary purpose of the passage.

D. discuss the ideologies of opposing antebellum political parties

E. contrast the methodologies in two differing fields of historical inquiry

2: The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements regarding most historians of the antebellum period?

A. They have failed to adequately contrast the differing roles that women played in the Democratic and Whig parties in the 1850’s.

B. They have failed to see that political propaganda advocating women’s political involvement did not reflect the reality of women’s actual roles.

C. They have incorrectly assumed that women’s party loyalty played a small role in Whig and Democratic party politics. -  Correct.  He says that historians have underestimated women's role.

D. They have misinterpreted descriptions of women’s involvement in party politics in records of female associations and women’s personal papers.

E. They have overlooked the role that women’s political activities played in the woman’s rights movement.

3: According to the second paragraph of the passage (lines 20-42), Whig propaganda included the assertion that

A. women should enjoy more political rights than they did

B. women were the most important influences on political attitudes within a family - Whig's propaganda does not say this. We know that the info they collected enabled them to mold party loyal families, but were they the most important influencers, we can't say.

C. women’s reform activities reminded men of important moral values

D. women’s demonstrations at rallies would influence men’s voting behavior

E. women’s presence at rallies would enhance the moral standing of the party -  Correct.  Notice this line: According to Whig propaganda, women who turned out at the party’s rallies ... conferred moral standing on the party.

E

4. According to the passage, which of the following was true of Virginia Democrats in the mid-1850’s?

A. They feared that their party was losing its strong moral foundation.

B. They believed that the Whigs’ inclusion of women in party politics had led to the Whigs’ success in many elections.

C. They created an ideology that justified the inclusion of women in party politics.

D. They wanted to demonstrate that they were in support of the woman’s rights movement.

E. They imitated the Whigs’ efforts to include women in the rituals of party politics -  Correct.  The second last sentence reads: Virginia Democrats, in response, began to make similar appeals ...

tarunk31 · Answer

Q3: The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements regarding most historians of the antebellum period?

Focus on these words in the pasage:

Political histori-ans, examining sources such as voting records, newspapers, and politicians’ writings, focus on the emergence in the 1840’s of a new “American political nation,” and since women were neither voters nor politicians, they receive little discussion....

Women’s historians, mean- while, have shown little interest in the subject of party politics, ...

However, most historians have underestimated the extent and signifi-cance of women’s political allegiance in the antebellum period....
 
A. They have failed to adequately contrast the differing roles that women played in the Democratic and Whig parties in the 1850’s.

Two parties were mentioned to stress the fact that women were the focus of political parties in pre-civil war period and historians failed to recognize this fact and not that they failed to adequately contrast the differing roles that women played in the Democratic and Whig parties in the 1850’s. Eliminate.

B. They have failed to see that political propaganda advocating women’s political involvement did not reflect the reality of women’s actual roles.

Similar to A. Two parties were mentioned to stress the fact that women were the focus of political parties in pre-civil war period and historians failed to recognize this fact. Eliminate.

C. They have incorrectly assumed that women’s party loyalty played a small role in Whig and Democratic party politics.

We are given that political historians did not give important to women and women historians showed little interest in the subject of party politics. Then it is also stated that most historians have underestimated the extent and signifi-cance of women’s political allegiance in the antebellum period. Then later on the passage states the role played by women in the politics of the two political parties. Combining all these facts we can infer C.

D. They have misinterpreted descriptions of women’s involvement in party politics in records of female associations and women’s personal papers.

They did not misinterpret the things they analyzed. They kind of ignored that aspect. Eliminate.

E. They have overlooked the role that women’s political activities played in the woman’s rights movement.

Woman’s rights movement was the focus of women's historians only.

arvind910619 · Answer

Q4: According to the second paragraph of the passage (lines 20-42), Whig propaganda included the assertion that

A. women should enjoy more political rights than they did

B. women were the most important influences on political attitudes within a family

C. women’s reform activities reminded men of important moral values

D. women’s demonstrations at rallies would influence men’s voting behavior

E. women’s presence at rallies would enhance the moral standing of the party
Why option B is wrong here ?

TheRzS · Answer

Hi there,

I'll give you my reasoning, please let me know if you spot gap.
Passage tells us
 According to Whig propaganda, 
women who  turned out  at the
party’s  rallies  gathered information 
that enabled them to mold party-loyal 
families, reminded men of moral values 
that transcended party loyalty, and 
 conferred moral standing on the party

The highlighted portions are almost verbatim to the wording in  E :  women’s presence at rallies would enhance the moral standing of the party

B .  women were the most important influences on political attitudes within a family 
 Most important influences ? ummm not sure about that. Tad extreme.
 important influence ? yes, sure. but  Most  is wrong.

Hope it helps. Let me know of any doubts.
RzS

Skywalker18 · Answer

According to Whig propaganda,
women who turned out at the
party’s rallies gathered information
that enabled them to mold party-loyal
families, reminded men of moral values
that transcended party loyalty, and
conferred moral standing on the party

B. -- the word MOST important makes B incorrect
E . The sentence is about the impact of the women's presence at the rallies

KarishmaB · Answer

Let's understand the passage:

The fields of antebellum (pre-Civil War) political history and women’s history use separate sources and focus on separate issues.  
Political historians, examining different sources and women receive little discussion. 
Women’s historians, meanwhile ignore party politics, and focus on different sources such as their moral reform activities, and the emergence of the woman’s rights movement.

However, most historians have underestimated the extent and significance of women’s political allegiance in the antebellum period.   - most important sentence

For example, in the presidential election campaigns of the 1840’s,  the Virginia Whig party strove to win the allegiance  of Virginia’s women by inviting them to rallies and speeches. According to Whig propaganda, women who turned out at the party’s rallies gathered information that enabled them to mold party-loyal families, reminded men of moral values that transcended party loyalty, and conferred moral standing on the party.  Virginia Democrats, in response, began to make similar appeals  to women as well. By the mid-1850’s the inclusion of women in the rituals of party politics had become commonplace and the ideology that justified such inclusion had been assimilated by the Democrats.

saury2k · Answer

In Q3, I choose C, can you please tell me the issue with C.

GMATNinja · Answer

Take another look at the exact wording of (C):
 
The problem with this answer choice is that it focuses on women's  "reform activities."  The passage does not mention women participating in reform activities (for example, campaigning for a certain change in policy). There is no evidence that Whig propaganda included any assertions that women were involved in these kinds of activities -- instead, they were merely invited to attend rallies and speeches. So, even if women "reminded men of important moral values," the Whig party never claimed that they did so through reform activities. For this reason, (C) is out.

Compare that with the evidence for (E):
 
The author states that "According to Whig propaganda, women who turned out at the party’s rallies... conferred moral standing on the party." This closely aligns with (E), which is the correct answer choice.

I hope that helps!

jawele · Answer

Hi

Many of you would agree that the elimination in Q4 comes down to two choice, apparently E being the correct one.

4. According to the passage, which of the following was true of Virginia Democrats in the mid-1850’s?
C. They created an ideology that justified the inclusion of women in party politics.
E. They imitated the Whigs’ efforts to include women in the rituals of party politics

Nevertheless, can someone please help me understand where did I falter? My reasoning was:
a) "<...>, in the presidential election campaigns of the 1840’s, <...> Virginia Democrats, in response, began to make similar appeals to women as well. By the mid-1850’s <...> and the ideology that justified such inclusion had been assimilated by the Democrats" - this portion does not directly say that the imitation took place in the in the mid-1850’s. More likely it seems that the imitation took place in the 1840’s
b) the question specifically asks for Virginia Democrats in the mid-1850’s
c) the question explicitly references to the last two sentences of the passage
d) the combination of the two seems to reasonably point to E

Thanks for your kind gesture

SajjadAhmad workout GMATNinjaTwo u1983 GMATNinja Gnpth anairamitch1804 VeritasKarishma

GMATNinja · Answer

Take another look at the exact wording of (C):
 
In the last sentence of the passage, the author states that "the ideology that justified such inclusion   had been  assimilated  by the Democrats." Assimilating (or adopting) an ideology that already exists is very different than  creating  an ideology. Because the Democrats did not create an ideology, (C) can be eliminated.

Take another look at (E):
 
Earlier in the passage, we learn that the Whig party began including women in party politics in the 1840's. At some unspecified point after this, the Virginia Democrats "began to make appeals to women as well." Then, by the mid-1850's, "the inclusion of women in the rituals of party politics had become commonplace."

So, it is possible that the Virginia Democrats  started  to include women in party politics in the 1840's, but it is clear that this inclusion extended into the mid 1850's. Regardless of the date that the Democrats started imitating the Whigs, it is still accurate to say that this imitation existed in the mid-1850's. (E) is the correct answer to question #4.

I hope that helps!

shristi20 · Answer

Why is option D wrong in Q3) acc to passage, the whig prop asserts...?

(D) Cant we say that women's participation in rallies influenced men's voting behaviors as they MOLDED party loyal families.???

GMATNinja · Answer

Take another look at the exact wording of (D):
 
"Women's  demonstrations  at rallies" would be way different than "women's  participation  in rallies."

A women's  demonstration  would be an event primarily led and/or attended by women, and would be focused on women's issues. The Whig propaganda does not mention anything like this occurring at Whig political rallies. Instead, women were merely invited to attend rallies and speeches, which in turn allowed them to mold their families, remind men of moral families, and confer moral standing on the Whig party.

(D) is incorrect because Whig propaganda does not mention any "women's demonstrations."

I hope that helps!

mSKR · Answer

2: The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements regarding most historians of the antebellum period?

GMATNinja   VeritasKarishma

Could you please clarify why option C but not B and D.

it is given: historians have underestimated women's role. 
B says: They failed to see women actual roles. sounds familiar with underestimation.
D says: misinterpreted descriptions . Misinterpreted because not considered all facts and hence underestimation. 
so i will chose B finally.
because in c: i can't find information if they incorrectly assumed any role. they just did underestimation of women's role and i want to find an option that gives me underestimation of women role. This i find in B

please suggest

KarishmaB · Answer

2: The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements regarding most historians of the antebellum period?

You are picking up suitable words but ignoring what they mean in the sentences. You need to understand what the options (B) and (D) are actually saying.

B. They have failed to see that political propaganda advocating women’s political involvement did not reflect the reality of women’s actual roles.

"They failed to see women actual roles. sounds familiar with underestimation."  - Incorrect
This option says that historians have failed to see that political propaganda (such as Whig propaganda) did not reflect women's actual roles. That is not true. We don't know whether political propaganda reflected reality or not.

D. They have misinterpreted descriptions of women’s involvement in party politics in records of female associations and women’s personal papers.

D says: misinterpreted descriptions . Misinterpreted because not considered all facts and hence underestimation.  - Incorrect
This option says that historians have misinterpreted descriptions of women's involvement in politics recorded in their personal papers. All we know is the women's historians focussed on women's personal papers etc. Did the papers describe women's involvement in politics, we don't know. Then we certainly cannot say that the historians misinterpreted these descriptions in these papers.

FlyingWhale · Answer

GMATNinja

Ninja, can you please explain why B is wrong in Q1

1. The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to

A. examine the tactics of antebellum political parties with regard to women

B. trace the effect of politics on the emergence of the woman’s rights movement

C. point out a deficiency in the study of a particular historical period

D. discuss the ideologies of opposing antebellum political parties

E. contrast the methodologies in two differing fields of historical inquiry

Will2020 · Answer

Hi GMATNinja VeritasKarishma isn't it "enhance" a too strong/ opinionated word compared to "conferred" ?! Many tks!

Will2020 · Answer

GMATNinja VeritasKarishma In (D) "women's demonstrations at rallies would influence men's voting behavior", even if the AC said "women's participation" rather than "women's demonstrations", isn't it wrong to say that they INFLUENCE men's voting behavior? There is no mention in the passage to say that women's participation on rallies INFLUENCED men's behavior, right? Tks!

KarishmaB · Answer

"confer" means to bestow, to give. 
"enhance" means increased.

Conferring moral standing to the party increases the party's moral standing.

The fields of antebellum (pre-Civil War) political history and womens

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The fields of antebellum (pre-Civil War) political history and womens

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