RC: Philosophy & Humanities - 1 | Verbal Ability (VA) & Reading Comprehension (RC) - CAT PDF Download

Passage

Direction: The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were realists. They knew that the greatest battles would take place after the convention, once the Constitution had already been drafted and signed. The delegates had overstepped their bounds. Instead of amending the Articles of Confederation by which the American states had previously been governed, they had proposed an entirely new government. Under these circumstances, the convention was understandably reluctant to submit its work to the Congress for approval.
Instead, the delegates decided to pursue what amounted to a revolutionary course. They declared that ratification of the new Constitution by nine states would be sufficient to establish the new government. In other words, the Constitution was being submitted directly to the people. Not even the Congress, which had called the convention, would be asked to approve its work.
The leaders of the convention shrewdly wished to bypass the state legislatures, which were attached to states’ rights and which required in most cases the agreement of two houses. For speedy ratification of the Constitution, the single-chambered, specially elected state ratifying conventions offered the greatest promise of agreement.
Battle lines were quickly drawn. The Federalists, as the supporters of the Constitution were called, had one solid advantage: they came with a concrete proposal. Their opponents, the Antifederalists, came with none. Since the Antifederalists were opposing something with nothing, their objections, though sincere, were basically negative. They stood for a policy of drift while the Federalists were providing clear leadership.
Furthermore, although the Antifederalists claimed to be the democratic group, their opposition to the Constitution did not necessarily spring from a more democratic view of government. Many of the Antifederalists were as distrustful of the common people as their opponents. In New York, for example, Governor George Clinton criticized the people for their fickleness and their tendency to “vibrate from one extreme to another.” Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, who refused to sign the Constitution, asserted that “the evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy,” and John F. Mercer of Maryland professed little faith in his neighbors as voters when he said that “the people cannot know and judge the character of candidates.”
Q1: The author is primarily concerned with
(a) contrasting the opposing sides in a battle
(b) analyzing the effects of an event
(c) urging a reassessment of history
(d) criticizing the opponents of a plan
(e) describing the background of conflict

  View Answer

Q2: According to the passage, in contrast to most state legislatures, state ratifying conventions were
(a) elected
(b) unicameral
(c) characterized by strong leadership
(d) nearly unanimous in their support of the new Constitution
(e) opposed to states’ rights

  View Answer

Q3: In stating that the Antifederalists “were opposing something with nothing” , the author suggests that the Antifederalists
(a) based most of their arguments on their antidemocratic sentiments
(b) lacked leaders who were as articulate as the Federalist leaders
(c) were unable to rally significant support for their position among the populace
(d) had few reasonable arguments to put forth in support of their position
(e) offered no alternative plan of government of their own

  View Answer

Q4: The author’s quotation of John F. Mercer serves which of the following functions in the passage?
(a) It summarizes the last paragraph.
(b) It furnishes a concrete example.
(c) It articulates the main point of the passage.
(d) It clarifies the preceding quotation.
(e) It expresses a general conclusion.

  View Answer

Q5: Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the passage?
(a) Divided Leadership at the Constitutional Convention
(b) How the Constitution Became Law
(c) The U.S. Constitution: Its Strengths and Weaknesses
(d) The Battle for Ratification of the Constitution
(e) The Views of the Antifederalists on Democracy

  View Answer