PrepTest 145, Section 3, Question 26
In contrast to the mainstream of U.S. historiography(459 more words not shown)
The main purpose of the(7 more words not shown)
- Aexplain why early(14 more words not shown)
- Bshow that governmental(12 more words not shown)
- Csupport the contention(14 more words not shown)
- Destablish that some(22 more words not shown)
- Eargue that the(15 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The opening says these historians needed a transnational perspective to treat aspects of African American history honestly. The second paragraph explains one reason: citizenship remained unsettled, emigration was debated, and allegiance to the United States was in question.
What we’re looking for
Those details explain why a historian could not simply assume the settled, nation-centered perspective of mainstream U.S. history. Think about the paragraph's role in that larger explanation.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
The citizenship and emigration issues explain why the historians needed the approach introduced in the opening. They were studying questions of identity and belonging that could not be confined comfortably within an unquestioned U.S. national story.
- B
The gap between an amendment and genuinely resolved citizenship is relevant. But the paragraph uses it to explain the historians' perspective, not to make a general point about government actions failing to achieve their aims.
- C
The criticism of imperialism is developed in the third paragraph. The second concerns citizenship, emigration and national allegiance, which explain the transnational perspective.
- D
Some leaders did advocate emigration, so this is a true detail. The paragraph includes that position alongside the demand for citizenship to explain the historical and identity questions the historians faced. Establishing the one position is not its whole purpose.
- E
The author does not analyze the constitutional definition or argue that its wording is too limited. Citizenship's unresolved status is used as explanatory context, not as a textual critique of the amendment.
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