The Following Questions Are Based on the Excerpt Below

question 39

Multiple Choice

The following questions are based on the excerpt below.
"There is I think great danger that [the new United States government] will be [a failure] unless the tottering system shall be supported by arms...
What is the cause of this commotion [in Western Massachusetts]? [The farmers] just complained of commutation,of the weight of the public taxes,of the insupportable debt of the union,of the scarcity of money,and of the cruelty of suffering the private creditors to call for their just dues....The proportion of debtors run high in this State.Too many of them are against the government.The men of property,and the holders of the public securities are generally abettors of our present constitution."
Benjamin Lincoln,letter to George Washington,1786
-The conflict described in the passage most nearly reflects similar debates during

• A) the Civil War, over the powers of the national government.
• B) the Gilded Age, over the state of the nation's currency policies.
• C) the Great Depression, over the nature of federal work relief programs.
• D) the 1950s, over the rise of consumerism.

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Definitions:

Planter Class

Refers to the social class of wealthy farmers or landowners who owned plantations and often slaves.

Gradual Emancipation

A process of legislative decisions that aimed to end slavery slowly by setting future dates for the liberation of enslaved peoples or by stipulating conditions under which emancipation could be achieved.

Public Education Systems

Structured educational systems funded and administered by the government, providing free education to students.

Justify Slavery

The process or arguments made to rationalize or defend the practice of slavery, often on economic, moral, or legal grounds.