1 PASSAGE – LINDA KERBER 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. 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 whi ch 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) 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. 2 PASSAGE – FRAMERS OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION Because the framers of the United States Constitution (written in 1787) believed that protecting property rights relating to inventions would encourage the new nation’s economic growth, they gave Congress—the national legislature—a constitutional mandate to grant patents for inventions. The resulting patent system has served as a model for those in other nations. Recently, however, scholars have questioned whether the American system helped achieve the framers’ goals. These scholars have contended that from 1794 to roughly 1830, American inventors were unable to enforce property rights because judges were “antipatent” and routinely invalidated patents for arbitrary reasons. This argument is based partly on examination of court decisions in cases where patent holders (“patentees”) brought suit alleging infringement of their patent rights. In the 1820s, for instance, 75 percent of verdicts were decided against the patentee. The proportion of verdicts for the patentee began to increase in the 1830s, suggesting to these scholars that judicial attitudes toward patent rights began shifting then. Not all patent disputes in the early nineteenth century were litigated, however, and litigated cases were not drawn randomly from the population of disputes. Therefore the rate of verdicts in favor of patentees cannot be used by itself to gauge changes in judicial attitudes or enforceability of patent rights. If early judicial decisions were prejudiced against patentees, one might expect that subsequent courts—allegedly more supportive of patent rights—would reject the former legal precedents. But pre-1830 cases have been cited as frequently as later decisions, and they continue to be cited today, suggesting that the early decisions, many of which clearly declared that patent rights were a just recompense for inventive ingenuity, provided a lasting foundation for patent law. The proportion of judicial decisions in favor of patentees began to increase during the 1830s because of a change in the underlying population of cases brought to trial. This change was partly due to an 1836 revision to the patent system: an examination procedure, still in use today, was instituted in which each application is scrutinized for its adherence to patent law. Previously, patents were automatically granted upon payment of a $30 fee. 1)The passage implies that which of the following was a reason that the proportion of verdicts in favor of patentees began to increase in the 1830s? A. Patent applications approved after 1836 were more likely to adhere closely to patent law. B. Patent laws enacted during the 1830s better defined patent rights. C. Judges became less prejudiced against patentees during the 1830s. D. After 1836, litigated cases became less representative of the population of patent disputes. E. The proportion of patent disputes brought to trial began to increase after 1836. 2) The passage implies that the scholars mentioned in line 8 [Recently, however, scholars have questioned whether the American system helped achieve the framers’ goals.] would agree with which of the following criticisms of the American patent system before 1830? A. Its definition of property rights relating to inventions was too vague to be useful. B. Its criteria for the granting of patents were not clear. C. It made it excessively difficult for inventors to receive patents. D. It led to excessive numbers of patent-infringement suits. E. It failed to encourage national economic growth. 3) It can be inferred from the passage that the frequency with which pre-1830 cases have been cited in court decisions is an indication that A. judicial support for patent rights was strongest in the period before 1830 B. judicial support for patent rights did not increase after 1830 C. courts have returned to judicial standards that prevailed before 1830 D. verdicts favoring patentees in patent-infringement suits did not increase after 1830 E. judicial bias against patentees persisted after 1830 4)It can be inferred from the passage that the author and the scholars referred to in line 21 [The proportion of verdicts for the patentee began to increase in the 1830s, suggesting to these scholars that judicial attitudes toward patent rights began shifting then.] disagree about which of the following aspects of the patents defended in patent-infringement suits before 1830? A. Whether the B. Whether the C. Whether the D. Whether the E. Whether the patents patents patents patents patents were granted for inventions that were genuinely useful were actually relevant to the growth of the United States economy were particularly likely to be annulled by judges were routinely invalidated for reasons that were arbitrary were vindicated at a significantly lower rate than patents in later suits 5) The author of the passage cites which of the following as evidence challenging the argument referred to in lines 14–15 [invalidated patents for arbitrary reasons. This argument is based partly on examination of court]? A. The proportion of cases that were decided against patentees in the 1820s B. The total number of patent disputes that were litigated from 1794 to 1830 C. The fact that later courts drew upon the legal precedents set in pre-1830 patent cases D. The fact that the proportion of judicial decisions in favor of patentees began to increase during the 1830s E. The constitutional rationale for the 1836 revision of the patent system
