Question

read the excerpt from anna howard shaw’s \the fundamental principle of a republic\ speech. answer the question that follows.

never in the history of the world did it dawn upon the human mind as it dawned upon your ancestors, what it would mean for men to be free. they got the vision of a government in which the people would be the supreme power, and so inspired by this vision men wrote such documents as were went from the massachusetts legislature, from the new york legislature and from the pennsylvania group over to the parliament of great britain, which rang with the profoundest measures of freedom and justice. they did not equivocate in a single word when they wrote the declaration of independence; no one can dream that these men had not got the sublimest ideal of democracy which had ever dawned upon the souls of men.

what is the central idea of this passage?

○ documents from massachusetts, new york, and pennsylvania are important.
○ the british parliament had a big influence on american democracy.
○ even through freedom was the goal of democracy, it is hard to define what freedom actually means.
○ the declaration of independence is an inspirational piece of writing.

Explanation:

The passage focuses on how American ancestors had a clear, profound vision of freedom and democratic self-governance, which inspired them to write bold, uncompromising documents like the Declaration of Independence. Analyzing the options:

1. The first option is a minor detail, not the central idea.
2. The second option is incorrect; the passage does not frame British Parliament as influential to American democracy.
3. The third option is irrelevant, as the passage does not discuss defining freedom.
4. The fourth option aligns with the passage's focus: the Declaration of Independence is presented as a product of a sublime, inspiring democratic ideal, written without equivocation by those driven by the vision of freedom.

Answer:

D. The Declaration of Independence is an inspirational piece of writing.