Historian Annelise Orleck points out most scholars' neglect of an important Depression-era (1929-1939) phenomenon in the United States: activism by...
GMAT Reading Comprehension : (RC) Questions
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Historian Annelise Orleck points out most scholars' neglect of an important Depression-era (1929-1939) phenomenon in the United States: activism by working-class homemakers who lobbied for food and rent price controls, staged anti-eviction demonstrations and food boycotts, and created large-scale barter networks. Orleck's research on homemakers' groups acknowledges regional differences in their political styles, but emphasizes a significant commonality: a strong labor- movement affiliation. Male unionists' wage victories during the 1910s had improved working-class families' standard of living, but spiraling inflation and the near-destruction of many unions during the 1920s sharply eroded these gains. Depression-era homemakers' militance was sparked by this steep decline in working-class families' standard of living. It was also rooted in female organizers' own union experiences. In areas where homemakers' organizations flourished, usually union strongholds, women commonly worked for wages before marriage. The wage-earning years of most leading activists in these organizations coincided with a period marked by women's labor militance: 1909 to 1920. Women's union experiences shaped their understanding of the home as enmeshed in a web of social and economic relationships that included unions, the marketplace, and the government. By organizing as consumers. Depression-era women shattered stereotypes of the passive homemaker, showed a keen understanding of their place in larger economic structures, and demonstrated that food and housing, like wages and hours, could be regulated by applying economic pressure.
Ques. 1/3
The author of the passage mentions the wage-earning years of the leading activists of homemakers' organizations in the highlighted text primarily in order to
Solution
1. Passage Analysis:
Progressive Passage Analysis
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Historian Annelise Orleck points out most scholars' neglect of an important Depression-era (1929-1939) phenomenon in the United States: activism by working-class homemakers who lobbied for food and rent price controls, staged anti-eviction demonstrations and food boycotts, and created large-scale barter networks. | What it says: A researcher named Orleck discovered that other historians have ignored something important about the Great Depression - working-class housewives were very politically active. What it does: Introduces the main topic and sets up that this is an overlooked but significant historical phenomenon Source/Type: Researcher's claim (Orleck's research findings) Connection to Previous Sentences: This is our starting point - no previous information to connect to Visualization: • Most historians: Focus on traditional Depression topics (unemployment, banks, politics) • Orleck: "Wait! You're missing working-class homemaker activism" • Specific activities: food price protests, rent control lobbying, preventing evictions, creating trading networks What We Know So Far: Homemaker activism during Depression was important but overlooked What We Don't Know Yet: Why this happened, what caused it, how it worked Reading Strategy Insight: This opening gives us our roadmap - expect the passage to explain this overlooked phenomenon |
| Orleck's research on homemakers' groups acknowledges regional differences in their political styles, but emphasizes a significant commonality: a strong labor-movement affiliation. | What it says: Orleck found that while homemaker groups operated differently in different places, they all had one key thing in common - strong connections to labor unions. What it does: Provides Orleck's main finding about what united these diverse groups Source/Type: Researcher's conclusion (Orleck's analysis) Connection to Previous Sentences: • Sentence 1 told us: Homemaker activism existed and was important • NOW Sentence 2: Explains what Orleck discovered about the nature of this activism • This builds on the first sentence by providing Orleck's key insight Visualization: • Northeast homemaker groups: Different tactics • Midwest homemaker groups: Different tactics • West Coast homemaker groups: Different tactics • BUT ALL shared: Strong labor union connections What We Know So Far: Overlooked homemaker activism was widespread and consistently connected to labor movement What We Don't Know Yet: Why this labor connection existed, what it looked like in practice Reading Strategy Insight: The author is setting up a pattern - expect the rest of the passage to explain this labor connection |
| Male unionists' wage victories during the 1910s had improved working-class families' standard of living, but spiraling inflation and the near-destruction of many unions during the 1920s sharply eroded these gains. | What it says: Men in unions won better wages in the 1910s, which helped working families live better. But in the 1920s, rising prices and weakened unions wiped out these improvements. What it does: Provides historical background to explain what created the conditions for homemaker activism Source/Type: Historical fact (economic/social context) Connection to Previous Sentences: • Sentence 2 told us: Homemaker activism had strong labor connections • NOW Sentence 3: Explains the historical background that created this connection • This builds on the labor connection by showing why it would be important to working families Visualization: • 1910s: Union wages up → Family living standards up • 1920s: Prices up + Union power down → Family living standards down • Late 1920s/1930s: Working families worse off than before 1910s gains What We Know So Far: Working families experienced economic progress then decline, creating conditions for activism What We Don't Know Yet: How this connects specifically to homemaker activism Reading Strategy Insight: This is setup information - the author is building the economic context to explain the activism |
| Depression-era homemakers' militance was sparked by this steep decline in working-class families' standard of living. | What it says: The economic decline described in the previous sentence is what caused homemakers to become militant activists. What it does: Makes a direct causal connection between the historical context and the homemaker activism Source/Type: Author's/Orleck's analytical conclusion Connection to Previous Sentences: • Sentence 1 told us: Homemaker activism happened • Sentence 3 told us: Economic decline happened • NOW Sentence 4: Directly connects them - decline CAUSED activism • This is NOT new complexity! The author is simply connecting the dots between information already given Visualization: • Working family in 1925: Struggling financially after losing 1910s gains • Working family in 1930: Even worse off due to Depression • Homemaker response: "I need to take action to protect my family" Reading Strategy Insight: Feel relieved here - this sentence clarifies the relationship between ideas we already learned about |
| It was also rooted in female organizers' own union experiences. | What it says: The homemaker activism also came from the fact that the women leaders had personal experience working in unions themselves. What it does: Adds a second cause for the activism and begins to explain the labor connection mentioned earlier Source/Type: Author's/Orleck's analytical conclusion Connection to Previous Sentences: • Sentence 2 told us: Homemaker groups had labor movement connections • Sentence 4 told us: Economic decline sparked the militance • NOW Sentence 5: Adds that personal union experience ALSO sparked militance • This builds on both the labor connection AND the causation explanation Visualization: • Homemaker activist: "I'm fighting for my family's living standards + I know how to organize from my union days" • Two roots of activism: Economic desperation + Organizing experience Reading Strategy Insight: This sentence reinforces and expands the causation pattern - still explaining WHY activism happened |
| In areas where homemakers' organizations flourished, usually union strongholds, women commonly worked for wages before marriage. | What it says: The places where homemaker activism was strongest were areas with strong unions, and in these places, women typically had jobs before getting married. What it does: Provides supporting evidence for the personal union experience claim Source/Type: Factual observation from research Connection to Previous Sentences: • Sentence 5 told us: Female organizers had union experiences • NOW Sentence 6: Shows where and when this happened • This provides concrete evidence for the abstract claim in sentence 5 Visualization: • Strong union areas (like Detroit, Pittsburgh): Many homemaker organizations • Weak union areas (like rural South): Few homemaker organizations • Pattern: Women in union areas → worked before marriage → knew union organizing Reading Strategy Insight: This is evidence, not new theory - the author is proving the point from sentence 5 |
| The wage-earning years of most leading activists in these organizations coincided with a period marked by women's labor militance: 1909 to 1920. | What it says: Most of the women who became homemaker activist leaders had worked during 1909-1920, which was a time when women workers were particularly militant and active in unions. What it does: Provides specific timing and further evidence for why these women had strong union organizing skills Source/Type: Historical fact with specific dates Connection to Previous Sentences: • Sentence 6 told us: Women in union areas worked before marriage • NOW Sentence 7: Tells us exactly WHEN they worked and what that period was like • This adds crucial timing detail that strengthens the union experience argument Visualization: • 1909-1920: Peak period of women's labor militance • Future homemaker activists: Working and learning organizing skills during this peak period • 1930s: These same women, now homemakers, apply their 1910s militance skills Reading Strategy Insight: Still providing evidence for the same point - these women were well-trained activists |
| Women's union experiences shaped their understanding of the home as enmeshed in a web of social and economic relationships that included unions, the marketplace, and the government. | What it says: Because these women had worked in unions, they understood that their homes and family life were connected to larger systems like unions, markets, and politics - not separate from them. What it does: Explains how union experience changed these women's perspective on their role as homemakers Source/Type: Author's/Orleck's analytical interpretation Connection to Previous Sentences: • Sentences 5-7 told us: Women had union experience during militant period • NOW Sentence 8: Explains what this experience taught them • This moves from WHAT happened (union experience) to WHY it mattered (changed their worldview) Visualization: • Traditional homemaker view: "My home is separate from economics and politics" • Union-experienced homemaker view: "My home is affected by wages, prices, government policies - I should act on all these" Reading Strategy Insight: This explains the significance of all the evidence we just learned - union experience gave them a broader perspective |
| By organizing as consumers, Depression-era women shattered stereotypes of the passive homemaker, showed a keen understanding of their place in larger economic structures, and demonstrated that food and housing, like wages and hours, could be regulated by applying economic pressure. | What it says: When these women organized around consumer issues (food, rent), they proved they weren't passive, showed they understood economics, and demonstrated that consumer pressure could work just like union pressure on wages. What it does: Concludes by explaining the significance and impact of the homemaker activism Source/Type: Author's/Orleck's analytical conclusion Connection to Previous Sentences: • Sentence 1 told us: What homemaker activism looked like (food boycotts, rent control) • Sentence 8 told us: These women understood homes as connected to larger systems • NOW Sentence 9: Shows how their activism proved this understanding and challenged stereotypes • This brings us full circle - back to the activism from sentence 1, but now we understand its deeper significance Visualization: • Old stereotype: Passive homemaker accepts whatever prices stores charge • New reality: Active homemaker organizes boycotts to force price changes • Same tactics: Union vs. employer / Consumer group vs. marketplace What We Know Now: Complete picture of overlooked homemaker activism, its causes, and its significance Reading Strategy Insight: This is the payoff - we now fully understand why this "overlooked phenomenon" was actually important and impressive |
2. Passage Summary:
Author's Purpose:
To explain an overlooked but important form of activism during the Great Depression and show why it happened and what it accomplished.
Summary of Passage Structure:
The author builds their explanation by connecting historical context to activist outcomes:
- First, the author introduces us to historian Orleck's discovery that working-class homemakers were very politically active during the Depression, even though other historians have ignored this.
- Next, the author explains that these homemaker groups all shared one key thing - strong connections to labor unions.
- Then, the author shows us why this activism happened by explaining the economic background: union victories in the 1910s helped working families, but inflation and weakened unions in the 1920s made things worse, which motivated homemakers to take action.
- Finally, the author demonstrates that these women were effective activists because they had learned organizing skills from their own work experience in unions during a time when women workers were especially militant, and this experience taught them to see their homes as connected to larger economic and political systems.
Main Point:
Depression-era homemaker activism was significant because these women used their past union organizing experience to effectively challenge economic problems affecting their families, proving that consumer pressure could work just like union pressure and breaking stereotypes about passive homemakers.
Question Analysis:
This question asks us to identify the author\'s primary purpose for mentioning when the leading activists of homemakers\' organizations earned wages. We need to understand how this specific detail about timing functions within the overall argument structure.
Connecting to Our Passage Analysis:
From our passage analysis, we can see that the author builds a causal explanation for homemaker activism through several key steps:
- Homemaker activism happened and had strong labor connections (sentences 1-2)
- Economic decline created motivation for activism (sentences 3-4)
- Personal union experience also motivated activism (sentence 5)
- Evidence shows these women worked in union strongholds before marriage (sentence 6)
- Specific timing: their wage-earning years coincided with 1909-1920, a period of women\'s labor militance (sentence 7)
- This experience shaped their worldview about home economics (sentence 8)
The highlighted text about wage-earning years appears in sentence 7, which provides \"specific timing and further evidence for why these women had strong union organizing skills\" according to our analysis.
Prethinking:
Looking at the passage structure, sentence 5 makes an assertion that \"Depression-era homemakers\' militance was also rooted in female organizers\' own union experiences.\" Sentences 6 and 7 then provide supporting evidence for this assertion. Sentence 7 specifically shows that these women worked during the peak period of women\'s labor militance (1909-1920), which would explain why their union experiences were so formative. The author mentions this timing to support the claim that union experience was a source of their later activism.
Answer Choices Explained
A
help account for the number of women who were union members between 1909 and 1920
Why It's Wrong:
- The passage doesn't aim to account for union membership numbers between 1909-1920
- The mention of wage-earning years focuses on the activists who later became homemaker organizers, not general union membership statistics
- This would be demographic information rather than causal explanation
Common Student Mistakes:
- Does the passage seem focused on providing historical statistics about union membership?
→ No, the passage analyzes causes of activism, not membership data - Is the author trying to explain how many women joined unions during this period?
→ No, the author is explaining why certain women became effective activists later
B
identify a possible reason for changes in working-class families' standard of living during the 1910s
Why It's Wrong:
- The passage already identified the reason for changes in standard of living in sentence 3: "Male unionists' wage victories during the 1910s had improved working-class families' standard of living"
- The wage-earning years detail comes after this explanation, not as part of identifying causes of living standard changes
- The timing detail is about women's individual work experience, not broad economic changes affecting families
Common Student Mistakes:
- Does sentence 7 appear before the explanation of living standard changes?
→ No, it comes after the author already explained economic changes in the 1910s - Is the author still trying to explain what caused economic improvements in the 1910s?
→ No, by sentence 7 the author has moved on to explaining activist experience and training
C
distinguish certain tactics used by homemakers' organizations from those used by union members
Why It's Wrong:
- The passage actually shows similarities between homemaker and union tactics, not differences
- Sentence 9 explicitly states that "food and housing, like wages and hours, could be regulated by applying economic pressure"
- The wage-earning years detail supports tactical similarity, not distinction
Common Student Mistakes:
- Does the passage emphasize differences between homemaker and union organizing methods?
→ No, it emphasizes how homemakers applied union-style pressure tactics to consumer issues - Is the author trying to show that homemakers developed completely new approaches?
→ No, the author shows how they adapted proven union organizing methods to new contexts
D
show how women began to exercise their power as consumers during a particular period
Why It's Wrong:
- The passage shows women exercising consumer power during the Depression (1930s), not during their wage-earning years (1909-1920)
- During 1909-1920, these women were workers and union members, not yet organizing as consumers
- The timing detail explains their preparation period, not when they exercised consumer power
Common Student Mistakes:
- Did women exercise consumer power during 1909-1920 or during the Depression?
→ During the Depression - the 1909-1920 period was when they learned organizing skills as workers - Is the author describing when consumer activism happened or when activists were trained?
→ When activists were trained - their consumer activism came later during the Depression
E
help support an assertion about a source of homemakers' militance
Why It's Right:
- Sentence 5 makes the assertion: "It [homemakers' militance] was also rooted in female organizers' own union experiences"
- Sentence 7 provides supporting evidence by showing these women worked during peak women's labor militance (1909-1920)
- This timing detail demonstrates why their union experiences were so formative and militant
Key Evidence: "It was also rooted in female organizers' own union experiences" (sentence 5) followed by "The wage-earning years of most leading activists in these organizations coincided with a period marked by women's labor militance: 1909 to 1920" (sentence 7)
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