Choose the Appropriate Letter to Identify the Main Idea Implied

question 6

Multiple Choice

Choose the appropriate letter to identify the main idea implied by the paragraph. In the 1804 duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, historians have generally sided with Hamilton and painted Burr as the villain.They have, for example, taken Hamilton's word for it that he felt "no ill-will" toward Burr.They have also taken on faith claims that Hamilton never intended to fire his gun.Yet all accounts of the years-long political feud show that Hamilton insulted Burr both personally and politically.The former is what's important because nineteenth-century duels were not supposed to be fought for political reasons; they were supposedto be a last resort response to personal rather than professional insults.It's important to note, too, that right before the duel began, Hamilton asked for a brief delay.When the delay was granted, Hamilton pulled out his glasses and squinted into the sun's glare, lifted his pistol, and took aim at a distant target.This is hardly the behavior of a man intent on holding his fire.When the signal was given, two shots rang out, and Burr, despite newspaper accounts to the contrary, seemed deeply disturbed that his bullet had found its mark.As he was being led away by his companions, Burr tried to turn back, saying "I must go and speak to him," but his companions hurried him along.Although this does not seem the behavior of a man delighted by his enemy's death, this is still the portrait conveyed by newspaper accounts at the time.It is also the portrait that has passed into history.
(Source of information: Joseph Ellis, Founding Brothers.New York: Alfred A.Knopf, 2001, pp.22-28.)
Implied Main Idea

• A) Although historians have portrayed Aaron Burr as the guilty party in his duel with Alexander Hamilton, it is Hamilton who was really the villain of the affair.
• B) Drawing on newspaper accounts of the time, historians are likely to be led astray because newspapers, then and now, are more interested in profits than in accuracy.
• C) Although historians have generally suggested that Aaron Burr played the villain's role in his duel with Alexander Hamilton, the facts do not seem to support this interpretation of the event.

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Definitions:

Perpetual Scholarship

A scholarship fund that provides financial aid indefinitely, usually through an endowment that generates interest used to fund the scholarship.

Compounded Monthly

This refers to the calculation and addition of interest to the principal sum of a loan or deposit on a monthly basis.

Equal Monthly Payments

Fixed payments made every month, as in a loan or mortgage, ensuring that the loan is paid off over a specified period.

Compounded Monthly

A method where interest earnings are calculated and added to the principal amount each month, allowing the interest to then earn interest in subsequent months.