What a great passage!

The passage mostly revolves around Gutman's study hence the title should resemble the core of the passage.

20. According to the passage, Fogel, Engerman, Genovese, and Gutman have all done which of the following?

relevant lines in the passage

In his 1976 study of slavery in the United States, Herbert Gutman, like Fogel, Engerman, and Genovese, has rightly stressed the slaves' achievements.

In less conclusive fashion Fogel, Engerman, and Genovese had already indicated the predominance of two-parent households;


I. Discounted the influence of plantation owners on slaves' achievements.
II. Emphasized the achievements of slaves.
III. Pointed out the prevalence of the two-parent household among slaves.
IV. Showed the connection between stable monogamy and slaves' cultural heritage.

(A) I and II only. Wrong
(B) I and IV only. Wrong
(C) II and III only. Correct
(D) I, III, and IV only. Wrong
(E) II, III, and IV only. Wrong


21 . With which of the following statements regarding the resources that historians ought to use would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?

relevant lines from the passage

Gutman recreates the family and extended kinship structure mainly through ingenious use of what any historian should draw upon, quantifiable data, derived in this case mostly from plantation birth registers.

(A) Historians ought to make use of written rather than oral accounts. Wrong
(B) Historians should rely primarily on birth registers. Wrong
(C) Historians should rely exclusively on data that can be quantified. Wrong
(D) Historians ought to make use of data that can be quantified. Correct
(E) Historians ought to draw on earlier historical research but they should do so in order to refute it. Wrong


22. Which of the following statements about the formation of the Black heritage of folklore, music, and religious expression is best supported by the information presented in the passage?

relevant lines from the passage

Gutman argues convincingly that the stability of the Black family encouraged the transmission of-and so was crucial in sustaining- the Black heritage of folklore, music, and religious expression from one generation to another, a heritage that slaves were continually fashioning out of their African and American experiences.

(A) The heritage was formed primarily out of the experiences of those slaves who attempted to preserve the stability of their families. Wrong
(B) The heritage was not formed out of the experiences of those slaves who married their cousins. Wrong
(C) The heritage was formed more out of the African than out of the American experiences of slaves. Wrong
(D) The heritage was not formed out of the experiences of only a single generation of slaves. Correct
(E) The heritage was formed primarily out of slaves' experiences of interdependence on newly created plantations in the Southwest. Wrong


23. It can be inferred from the passage that, of the following, the most probable reason why a historian of slavery might be interested in studying the type of plantations mentioned is that this type would

relevant lines from the passage

Although Gutman admits that forced separation by sale was frequent, he shows that the slaves' preference, revealed most clearly on plantations where sale was infrequent, was very much for stable monogamy.

(A) give the historian access to the most complete plantation birth registers. Wrong
(B) permit the historian to observe the kinship patterns that had been most popular among West African tribes. Wrong
(C) provide the historian with evidence concerning the preference of freed slaves for stable monogamy. Wrong
(D) furnish the historian with the opportunity to discover the kind of marital commitment that slaves themselves chose to have. Correct
(E) allow the historian to examine the influence of slaves' preferences on the actions of plantation owners. Wrong


24. According to the passage, all of the following are true of the West African rules governing marriage mentioned EXCEPT:

relevant lines from the passage

Gutman's examination of other facets of kinship also produces important findings. Gutman discovers that cousins rarely married, an exogamous tendency that contrasted sharply with the endogamy practiced by the plantation owners. This preference for exogamy, Gutman suggests, may have derived from West African rules governing marriage, which, though they differed from one tribal group to another, all involved some kind of prohibition against unions with close kin.'

(A) The rules were derived from rules governing fictive kinship arrangements. Correct
(B) The rules forbade marriages between close kin. Wrong.
(C) The rules are mentioned in Herbert Gutman's study. Wrong.
(D) The rules were not uniform in all respects from one West African tribe to another. Wrong.
(E) The rules have been considered to be a possible source of slaves' marriage preferences. Wrong.


25. Which of the following statements concerning the marriage practices of plantation owners during the period of Black slavery in the United States can most logically be inferred from the information in the passage?

relevant lines from the passage

Gutman discovers that cousins rarely married, an exogamous tendency that contrasted sharply with the endogamy practiced by the plantation owners.

(A) These practices began to alter sometime around the mid-eighteenth century. Wrong.
(B) These practices varied markedly from one region of the country to another. Wrong.
(C) Plantation owners usually based their choice of marriage partners on economic considerations. Wrong.
(D) Plantation owners often married earlier than slaves. Wrong.
(E) Plantation owners often married their cousins. Correct


26. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

relevant lines from the passage

In his 1976 study of slavery in the United States, Herbert Gutman, like Fogel, Engerman, and Genovese, has rightly stressed the slaves' achievements.
.....
.....
rest of the passage
......
......
In sum, Gutman's study is significant because it offers a closely reasoned and original explanation of some of the slaves' achievements, one that correctly emphasizes the resources that slaves themselves possessed.

(A) The author compares and contrasts the work of several historians and then discusses areas for possible new research. Wrong.
(B) The author presents his thesis, draws on the work of several historians for evidence to support his thesis, and concludes by reiterating his thesis. Wrong.
(C) The author describes some features of a historical study and then uses those features to put forth his own argument. Wrong.
(D) The author summarizes a historical study, examines two main arguments from the study, and then shows how the arguments are potentially in conflict with one another.. Wrong..
(E) The author presents the general argument of a historical study, describes the study in more detail, and concludes with a brief judgment of the study's value. Correct.


27. Which of the following is the most appropriate title for the passage, based on its content?

(A) The Influence of Herbert Gutman on Historians of Slavery in the United States. Wrong.
(B) Gutman's Explanation of How Slaves Could Maintain a Cultural Heritage and Develop a Communal Consciousness. Correct
(C) Slavery in the United States: New Controversy About an Old Subject. Wrong.
(D) The Black Heritage of Folklore, Music, and Religious Expression: Its Growing Influence. Wrong.
(E) The Black Family and Extended Kinship Structure: How They Were Important for the Freed Slave. Wrong.

I still couldn't wrap my head around Q 23. Why is the answer D for Q23? Why is E incorrect?

4. It can be inferred from the passage that, of the following, the most probable reason why a historian of slavery might be interested in studying the type of plantations mentioned is that this type would

2nd Paragraph mid way: he shows that the slaves' preference, revealed most clearly on plantations where sale was infrequent, was very much for stable monogamy.

Answer option should talk about slaves preferences.

(A) give the historian access to the most complete plantation birth registers - That particular plantation was referred to know slaves preferences not for the birth register.
(B) permit the historian to observe the kinship patterns that had been most popular among West African tribes - Kinship comes in 3rd paragraph. And, we are looking for slaves preferences.
(C) provide the historian with evidence concerning the preference of freed slaves for stable monogamy - This plantation hosted people who are slaves and not freed slaves. Hence, this is wrong.
(D) furnish the historian with the opportunity to discover the kind of marital commitment that slaves themselves chose to have - This matches exactly with the lines quoted above.
(E) allow the historian to examine the influence of slaves' preferences on the actions of plantation owners - Opposite of what we are looking for. We are looking for an option where slaves preferences were independent from outside influences(plantation owners).

Thanks for the quick reply Carcass!

My prediction was the same, i.e., looking for an answer that says "historians would love to study the plantations that will tell them about the slaves' preference and its effects".

(D) states the same thing, I get how D is right

BUT (E) states "allow the historian to examine the influence of slaves' preferences on the actions of plantation owners"; This says that the historians will get to know about slaves' preferences and their effect ON PLANTATION OWNERS' ACTION;

Hence, I'm unable to eliminate (E) and I'm stuck between E and D. I know I'm wrong, but I can't figure out where I'm wrong with this thinking.

Could you please explain on how to eliminate (E)? Your comment says, "We are looking for an option where slaves preferences were independent from outside influences(plantation owners)." But IMO (E) doesn't state that outside influence affected slaves' preferences. IMO, it says slaves' preferences AFFECTED plantation owners actions.

If I may help, there is no support for Choice E in the passage. The passage, especially in the vicinity of the "plantations" mentioned, does not mention how the slave's preferences produced an effect on plantation owner's actions. The plantation records do not reveal how the preferences of the slaves affected the actions of the plantation owners. So we reject it.

(E) The Black Family and Extended Kinship Structure: How They Were Important for the Freed Slave

The simplest answer to your question is, the passage talks mostly about the achievement of the slaves in maintaining their heritage and NOT about FREED SLAVES

The role of the family and extended kinship structure in maintaining culture amongst slaves is discussed, and not the culture of the freed slaves.

Because Choice A talks about slaves who ATTEMPTED to preserve the stability of their families.

(A) The heritage was formed primarily out of the experiences of those slaves who attempted to preserve the stability of their families.

whereas the passage talks about slaves who DID preserve the stability of their families, not merely attempted to do so.

Gutman argues convincingly that the stability of the Black family encouraged the transmission of-and so was crucial in sustaining- the Black heritage of folklore, music, and religious expression from one generation to another, a heritage that slaves were continually fashioning out of their African and American experiences.