Passage
The woman—suffrage campaign was indeed as much evangelism—a kind of social gospel—as it was politics. The copious documentation left behind in the wake of the suffragist movement recounts a story of missionary zeal, untiring political tuition, and a commitment to the conception of America as an experiment in civic justice. Underpinning this ideology were strands of American exceptionalism laced with occasional self—righteousness and appeals to female moral superiority revealing suffragists as having an eclectic social philosophy oscillating between the poles of preaching women's superior virtues and proclaiming their essential humanity.
Leading suffragists exploited political rhetoric, effectively turning the great American narratives, biblical and civic, stories of new beginnings, brave struggles, repentance and renewal, to their own purposes. Southern suffragists often coupled panegyrics to woman's purity with appeals to racial and ethnic prejudices. One leader argued openly in 1903 that "enfranchisement of women would insure immediate and durable white supremacy. "
Educated adults of the day—and the suffragists were overwhelmingly drawn from the ranks of the educated—knew their Bunyan, understood that overcoming adversity was a test of character, and even believed that overcoming adversity was the way character was formed. Above all, suffragists saw in the vote a great engine for social change, a way to tap woman's greater capacity for human empathy, her status as "the mother of the race. " Women, they believed, would vote en bloc, for the good of humanity, and the world would look different forever. Some argued that if the moral power of women could be utilized through the ballot, human suffering would be alleviated; social wrongs would be righted; a new democratic age would begin.
No consensus has been reached on the dimensions of the gender gap, its importance or its potential for affecting the outcome of elections or public policy more generally. Our attention should be focused not so much on whether women will vote or govern differently from men, but rather on why suffrage is so vital to a democratic society. Suffrage is to the individual what sovereignty is to states. Civic emancipation, of which the franchise is the indispensable feature, is the only sure and certain basis for democratic political life even if it cannot accomplish every good end.
Even more moderate suffragists believed that American women who know history "will always resent the fact that American men chose to enfranchise Negroes fresh from slavery before enfranchising American wives and mothers, and allowed hordes of European immigrants totally unfamiliar with the traditions and ideals of American government to be enfranchised and thus qualified to pass upon the question of the enfranchisement of American women. " Suffragists sought to capitalize on this anti—immigrant, anti—black sentiment in order to promote their own ends—a story that has been told, and lamented, by later generations of feminists and historians.
Question for 100 RCs for Practice Questions- 87
Try yourself:In the context of the passage, political rhetoric, as it is used in the second paragraph, refers to:
Explanation
Jump back to the lines referred to in order to get a sense for what this piece of the passage says. Woman suffragists used rhetoric to advance their cause. Do a bit of paraphrasing of (B) to realize that it says the same thing.
Wrong answers:
(A): Out of Scope. There's no mention of any set of guidelines.
(C): Distortion. Though they may have turned history to their own purposes, there's no indication that they attempted to deceive or confuse the public.
(D): Out of Scope. This is simply misinterpreting the phrase, punishing those who guessed without reading in context.
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Question for 100 RCs for Practice Questions- 87
Try yourself:Based on information as presented in the passage by the author, which of the following statements is definitely NOT true?
Explanation
A scattered detail question. Eliminate answers, keeping an eye out for one that might look bad from the start. The three wrong ones can be knocked out with a good map, and (C) jumps out as not supported by the passage because the author argues in paragraph 4 that just the opposite happens. This point has come up in several questions already. When the author's opinion or the facts differ from the opinions of the passage's subjects, there are sure to be questions that test whether you've picked up on the difference.
Wrong answers:
(A): Opposite. Mentioned in paragraph 3
(B): Opposite. Mentioned in paragraph 5
(D): Opposite. Mentioned in paragraph 2
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Question for 100 RCs for Practice Questions- 87
Try yourself:The passage implies that modern-day feminists and historians would most likely feel that tactics used by suffragists were:
Explanation
Find where the passage discusses "modern-day feminists and historians, " or, if you don't remember the phrasing, where tactics are discussed. Paragraph 5 has them both. Quickly re-read the relevant text and paraphrase: The groups today are unhappy that suffragists used prejudice to advance their aims. The only answer choice that encapsulates this is (C).
Wrong answers:
(A): Opposite. They're considered invalid precisely because they hurt minority groups.
(B): Out of Scope. Since women did get the right to vote, this answer choice makes no sense.
(D): Opposite. Even if one assumes the views are considered ignorant, it's not because other groups were ignored. The suffragists took pains to pay particular (negative) attention to the victimized groups.
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Question for 100 RCs for Practice Questions- 87
Try yourself:With which of the following statements would the author most likely agree?
Explanation
Make sure that the author's main arguments are kept in mind before jumping to the answer choices. Only one of the four remotely approaches anything the author argues, and all of paragraph 4 is spent arguing it. Choice (D) is simply a summary of the paragraph.
Wrong answers:
(A): Faulty Use of Detail. Suffragist exploitation of ideals is mentioned, but the author has no negative take on it. Suffragist exploitation of prejudices is both mentioned and lamented, but this doesn't tie into the use of American ideology.
(B): Opposite. The author argues just the opposite: they were well—educated (paragraph 3), and they did see a parallel between the prejudices.
(C): Opposite. The author points out that this belief turned out not to be true after all, so they couldn't possibly have been ahead of their time in believing it (paragraph 4).
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Question for 100 RCs for Practice Questions- 87
Try yourself:If given the chance to read various opinions on the topic of the suffragist movement, the author would most likely agree with which of the following statements?
Explanation
Keep the author's main points in mind, as well as the direction the previous questions have taken. Good societies and democracies are mentioned in paragraphs 3 and 4; use them to evaluate (B). The suffragists believed that their success would ensure a better society as women voted together. This didn't happen, but it did, according to the author, advance the cause of democracy. (B) is more or less a summary of these two paragraphs.
Wrong answers:
(A): Opposite. The author suggests that woman suffragists were well—aware of the principles and effects of the techniques they used.
(C): Opposite. The author argues in paragraph 3 that suffragists predicted female voting patterns incorrectly.
(D): Opposite. The point of paragraph 4 is that democracy and society as a whole benefited from the suffragist movement.
Strategy Point: If several previous questions have focused on one particular theme, later questions may do the same. Questions will repeatedly reward you for understanding just a few basic concepts.
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