Linda Kerber Argued in the Mid-1980’s that After the American Revolution (1775-1783) GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Questions

Linda Kerber argued in the mid-1980’s that after the American Revolution (1775-1783), an ideology of “republican motherhood” resulted in a surge of educational opportunities for women in the United States. Kerber maintained that the leaders of the new nation wanted women to be educated in order to raise politically virtuous sons. A virtuous citizenry was considered essential to the success of the country’s republican form of government; virtue was to be instilled not only by churches and schools, but by families, where the mother’s role was crucial. Thus, according to Kerber, motherhood became pivotal to the fate of the republic, providing justification for an unprecedented attention to female education.

Introduction of the republican motherhood thesis dramatically changed historiography. Prior to Kerber’s work, educational historians barely mentioned women and girls; Thomas Woody’s 1929 work is the notable exception. Examining newspaper advertisements for academies, Woody found that educational opportunities increased for both girls and boys around 1750. Pointing to “An Essay on Woman” (1753) as reflecting a shift in view, Woody also claimed that practical education for females had many advocates before the Revolution. Woody’s evidence challenges the notion that the Revolution changed attitudes regarding female education, although it may have accelerated earlier trends. Historians’ reliance on Kerber’s “republican motherhood” thesis may have obscured the presence of these trends, making it difficult to determine to what extent the Revolution really changed women’s lives.

Linda Kerber Argued in the Mid-1980’s that After the American Revolution (1775-1783) GMAT Reading Comprehension is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension. This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 5 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions

Solutions and Explanations

1.  According to the passage, within the field of educational history, Thomas Woody’s 1929 work was

(A) innovative because it relied on newspaper advertisements as evidence
(B) exceptional in that it concentrated on the period before the American Revolution
(C) unusual in that it focused on educational attitudes rather than on educational practices
(D) controversial in its claims regarding educational opportunities for boys
(E) atypical in that it examined the education of girls

2.  According to the passage, Kerber argued that political leaders thought that the form of government adopted by the United States after the American Revolution depended on which of the following for its success?

(A) Women assuming the sole responsibility for instilling political virtue in children
(B) Girls becoming the primary focus of a reformed educational system that emphasized political virtue
(C) The family serving as one of the primary means by which children were imbued with political virtue
(D) The family assuming many of the functions previously performed by schools and churches
(E) Men and women assuming equal responsibility for the management of schools, churches, and the family

3.  The passage suggests that, with regard to the history of women’s education in the United States, Kerber’s work differs from Woody’s primarily concerning which of the following?

(A) The extent to which women were interested in pursuing educational opportunities in the eighteenth century
(B) The extent of the support for educational opportunities for girls prior to the American Revolution
(C) The extent of public resistance to educational opportunities for women after the American Revolution
(D) Whether attitudes toward women’s educational opportunities changed during the eighteenth century
(E) Whether women needed to be educated in order to contribute to the success of a republican form of government

4.  According to the passage, Kerber maintained that which of the following led to an increase in educational opportunities for women in the United States after the American Revolution?

(A) An unprecedented demand by women for greater educational opportunities in the decades following the Revolution
(B) A new political ideology calling for equality of opportunity between women and men in all aspects of life
(C) A belief that the American educational system could be reformed only if women participated more fully in that system
(D) A belief that women needed to be educated if they were to contribute to the success of the nation’s new form of government
(E) A recognition that women needed to be educated if they were to take an active role in the nation’s schools and churches

5.  The passage suggests that Woody would have agreed with which of the following claims regarding “An Essay on Woman”?

(A) It expressed attitudes concerning women's education that were reflected in new educational opportunities for women after 1750.
(B) It persuaded educators to offer greater educational opportunities to women in the 1750s.
(C) It articulated ideas about women's education that would not be realized until after the American Revolution.
(D) It offered one of the most original arguments in favor of women's education in the United States in the eighteenth century.
(E) It presented views about women's education that were still controversial in Woody's own time.