Question

The passage is primarily concerned with: 

• A. Showing how historians who were engaged in a particular debate influenced historians engaged in another debate
• B. Explaining why two initially parallel scholarly debates diverged in the 1980s
• C. Comparing two scholarly debates and discussing their histories
• D. Contrasting the narrow focus of one scholarly debate with the somewhat broader focus of another
• E. Evaluating the relative merits of the approaches used by historians engaged in two overlapping scholarly debates
• F.
• A. Substantiate a point about the methodology that came to be prevalent among scholars engaged in the origins debate
• B. Cite a major influence on those scholars who claimed that racial prejudice preceded the institution of slavery in colonial America
• C. Show that some scholars who were engaged in the origins debate prior to the 1980s were interested in the experiences of enslaved people
• D. Identify a reason for a certain difference in the late 1970s between the origins debate and the debate over American women’s status
• K. Contrast the kind of work produced by scholars engaged in the origins debate with the kind produced by scholars engaged in the debate over American women’s status
• L.
• A. They disputed certain claims regarding the status of eighteenth-century American women relative to women in England during the same period.
• B. Their approach to the study of women’s subordination had been partly influenced by earlier studies published by some scholars engaged in the origins debate.
• C. Their work focused on the experiences of both White and African American women.
• D. Their approach resembled the approach taken in studies by Wood and by Mullin in that they were interested in the experiences of people subjected to a system of subordination.
• Q. To some extent, they concurred with Wood and with Mullin about the origins of racism in colonial America.
• R.
• A. gave more attention to the experiences of enslaved women
• B. gave less attention to the cultures of enslaved people
• C. were read by more scholars in other fields
• D. were more concerned with the institutions and ideologies that perpetuated racial prejudice in postcolonial America
• W. made direct comparisons between the subordination of White women and the subordination of African American people
• X.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Identify the purpose of the passage. 
The passage describes two debates: one about women’s status and one about the origins of racial slavery. It outlines their content, scope, differences, and evolution. 
Step 2: Evaluate options. 
- (A): Influence is not the focus. 
- (B): The debates did not diverge in the 1980s; they actually became similar. 
- (C): Correct, the passage compares and traces their histories. 
- (D): Contrast alone is not enough; the passage does more. 
- (E): No evaluation of merits, just description. 
Step 3: Conclusion. 
Hence, the answer is (C). 
 

Answer 2

Step 1: Recall the passage. 
The text says the origins debate lost urgency after the publication of Morgan’s \emph{American Slavery, American Freedom}, which was regarded as the “last word” on the subject. 
Step 2: Match options. 
- (A): Not about methodology. 
- (B): Not framed as influence on prejudice claims. 
- (C): Not about enslaved people’s experiences. 
- (D): Correct—explains why the origins debate had declined in urgency compared to the women’s debate. 
- (E): No such contrast is made here. 
Step 3: Conclusion. 
Answer is (D). 
 

Answer 3

Step 1: Recall the third paragraph. 
It says women’s historians studied institutions and ideologies but were equally concerned with women’s actual experiences. 
Step 2: Compare with Wood and Mullin. 
Wood’s and Mullin’s works focused on enslaved people’s experiences. Both approaches highlight the lived experiences of subordinated groups. 
Step 3: Analyze options. 
- (A): Not stated. 
- (B): No direct influence mentioned. 
- (C): They focused mainly on affluent White women, not both races. 
- (D): Correct, both studied lived experiences under subordination. 
- (E): Racism origins not connected here. 
Step 4: Conclusion. 
Answer is (D). 
 

Answer 4

Step 1: Recall the relevant passage portion. 
The last paragraph of the passage notes that in the 1980s, historians of race and slavery “shifted their attention to enslaved people; interest in African American culture grew, thereby bringing enslaved women more prominently into view.” 
Step 2: Compare with pre-1980s scholarship. 
Earlier works (before the 1980s) focused primarily on White architects of slavery and on White attitudes toward Africans, with limited attention to enslaved people themselves. Only exceptions, such as Wood and Mullin, highlighted enslaved men. 
Step 3: Analyze options. 
- (A): Correct—1980s scholarship brought enslaved women into focus. 
- (B): Incorrect—attention to enslaved cultures actually increased, not decreased. 
- (C): No mention of readership across fields. 
- (D): Incorrect—the passage describes ideologies of subordination for women’s historians, not specifically for slavery in postcolonial America. 
- (E): Incorrect—no such direct comparisons are described. 
Step 4: Conclusion. 
The key difference is (A): more attention to enslaved women.