Concord Staked its Claim to be the Birthplace of Independence

Reading Passage Question

Concord staked its claim to be the birthplace of Independence during the celebration of "America’s jubilee" on April 19, 1825, the fiftieth anniversary of Concord Fight. Concord in 1825 was an expansive town of nineteen hundred inhabitants, thriving with crafts and trade in the village and surrounded by farms prospering on demand from rising urban centers in the long boom that accompanied the opening phase of the Industrial Revolution in the Northeast. It also occupied a prominent place on the political landscape; as a shire town, where the county courts convened, it had risen into a leading center of Middlesex County, and its politicians were major players on that stage. Economic and political ambitions, as well as pride in the past, drove the insistence that Concord was the "first site of forcible resistance to British aggression."

A decade later, by the mid-1830s, with over two thousand inhabitants, Concord was probably at its political and economic pinnacle. The central village hosted some nine stores, forty shops, four hotels and taverns, four doctors and four lawyers, a variety of county associations, a printing office and a post office. Manufacturing was humming, too, with a growing mill village in the west part of town, along the quick-running Assabet River, and rising production of carriages and chaises, boots and shoes, bricks, guns, bellows, and pencils.

But a good many people were left out of the prosperity. In what was still a farming town, 64 percent of adult males were landless, while the top tenth of taxpayers, some fifty men, controlled nearly half the wealth. Those who failed to obtain a stake in society, native and newcomer alike, quickly moved on. The ties that once joined neighbors together were fraying. On the farms, the old work customs—the huskings, roof-raisings, and apple bees—by which people cooperated to complete essential chores gave way to modern capitalist arrangements. When men needed help, they hired it, and paid the going rate, which no longer included the traditional ration of grog. With a new zeal for temperance, employers abandoned the custom of drinking with workers in what had been a ritual display of camaraderie. There was no point in pretending to common bonds.

With the loosening of familiar obligations came unprecedented opportunities for personal autonomy and voluntary choice. Massachusetts inaugurated a new era of religious pluralism in 1834, ending two centuries of mandatory support for local churches. Even in Concord, a slim majority approved the change, and as soon as it became law, townspeople deserted the two existing churches—the Unitarian flock of the Reverend Ripley and an orthodox Calvinist congregation founded in 1826—in droves. The Sabbath no longer brought all ranks and orders together in obligatory devotion to the Word of God. Instead, townspeople gathered in an expanding array of voluntary associations—libraries, lyceums, charitable and missionary groups, Masonic lodges, antislavery and temperance societies, among others—to promote diverse projects for the common good. The privileged classes, particularly the village elite, were remarkably active in these campaigns. But even as they pulled back from customary roles and withdrew into private associations, they continued to exercise public power.

“Concord staked its claim to be the birthplace of Independence”- 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 passage suggests which of the following about members of the village elite in post-1834 Concord?

1. Private associations had forced them to relinquish political power.
2. Politically, they were more in favor of religious pluralism than were non-elite citizens.
3. They ceased all Sabbath worship once religious pluralism became law in Massachusetts.
4. Many had abandoned the Unitarian and Calvinist churches in favor of non-church activities.
5. They utilized their wealth to found a growing number of diverse projects for the common good.

2. The primary purpose of this passage is to

1. argue that religious and political freedom in Concord was beneficial to the city’s economic development
2. depict the lifestyle of Concord’s elite citizens during the 19th century
3. argue that social alienation was necessary for Concord’s economic and political development in the 19th century
4. define Concord’s place in American history post- Independence
5. describe 19th century Concord’s key economic and political changes, along with their impact on societal norms

3. According to the passage, which of the following is true of 18th-century Massachusetts residents?

1. Most were landless and ultimately forced to move on.
2. They numbered over two thousand.
3. They were forced to support local churches.
4. Some celebrated “America’s Jubilee”.
5. They occupied prominent positions in Middlesex County courts.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following was true of Concord’s economy in the 1840s?

1. Manufacturing was a growing industry, overtaking farming in importance.
2. The economy likely was stagnant or in decline relative to the previous decade.
3. Land ownership among adult males was on the rise.
4. The sale and consumption of alcohol declined sharply.
5. The construction of new farmhouses and other farm buildings slowed.

5. The author mentions “modern capitalist arrangements” in the third paragraph primarily in order to

1. Illustrate one aspect of a change in the town’s social structure
2. Contrast with the old work customs used by most farmers of the time
3. Establish the earliest development of commerce in the area
4. Advocate a return to more old-fashioned customs
5. Explain the fact that less than half of adult males owned land.

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