Woodrow Wilson Won His First Office In 1910 GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Question

Woodrow Wilson won his first office in 1910 when he was elected governor of New Jersey. Two years later, he was elected president in one of the most rapid political rises in our history. For a while, Wilson had practiced law but found it both boring and unprofitable; then he became a political scientist and finally president of Princeton University. He did an outstanding job at Princeton, but when he was asked by the Democratic boss of New Jersey, Jim Smith, to run for governor, Wilson readily accepted because his position at Princeton was becoming untenable.

Until 1910, Wilson seemed to be a conservative Democrat in the Grover Cleveland tradition. He had denounced Bryan in 1896 and had voted for the National Democratic candidate who supported gold. In fact, when the Democratic machine first pushed Wilson’s nomination in 1912, the young New Jersey progressives wanted no part of him. Wilson later assured them that he would champion the progressive cause, and so they decided to work for his election. It is easy to accuse Wilson of political expediency, but it is entirely possible that by 1912 he had changed his views as had countless other Americans. While governor of New Jersey, he carried out his election pledges by enacting an impressive list of reforms.

Wilson secured the Democratic nomination on the 46th ballot. In the campaign, Wilson emerged as the middle-of-the-road candidate—between the conservative William H. Taft and the more radical Theodore Roosevelt. Wilson called his program the New Freedom, which he said was the restoration of free competition as it had existed before the growth of the trusts. In contrast, Theodore Roosevelt was advocating a New Nationalism, which seemed to call for massive federal intervention in the economic life of the nation. Wilson felt that the trusts should be destroyed, but he made a distinction between a trust and legitimately successful big business. Theodore Roosevelt, on the other hand, accepted the trusts as inevitable but said that the government should regulate them by establishing a new regulatory agency.

“Woodrow Wilson won his first office in 1910”- 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.

Solution and Explanation

1. The author’s main purpose in writing this passage is to

1. argue that Wilson is one of the great U.S. presidents.
2. survey the difference between Wilson, Taft, and Roosevelt.
3. explain Wilson’s concept of the New Freedom.
4. discuss some major events of Wilson’s career.
5. suggest reasons that Wilson’s presidency may have started World War I.

2. The author implies which of the following about the New Jersey progressives?

1. They did not support Wilson after he was governor.
2. They were not conservative Democrats.
3. They were more interested in political expediency than in political causes or reforms.
4. Along with Wilson, they were supporters of Bryan in 1896.
5. They particularly admired Wilson’s experience as president of Princeton University.

3. The passage supports which of the following conclusions about the progress of Wilson’s political career?

1. Few politicians have progressed so rapidly toward the attainment of higher office.
2. Failures late in his career caused him to be regarded as a president who regressed instead of progressed.
3. Wilson encountered little opposition once he determined to seek the presidency.
4. The League of Nations marked the end of Wilson’s reputation as a strong leader.
5. Wilson’s political allies were Bryan and Taft.

4. In the statement “Wilson readily accepted because his position at Princeton was becoming untenable” (Highlighted), the meaning of untenable is probably which of the following?

1. unlikely to last for years
2. filled with considerably less tension
3. difficult to maintain or continue
4. filled with achievement that would appeal to voters
5. something he did not have a tenacious desire to continue

5. According to the passage, which of the following was probably true about the presidential campaign of 1912?

1. Woodrow Wilson won the election by an overwhelming majority.
2. The inexperience of Theodore Roosevelt accounted for his radical position.
3. Wilson was unable to attract two thirds of the votes but won anyway.
4. There were three nominated candidates for the presidency.
5. Wilson’s New Freedom did not represent Democratic interests.

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