SAT #14 Reading (Question 40)

Question

Sumner would most likely fault the “simple question” (lines 36-37) proposed by Douglas in Passage 1 for being [...]?

Answer 1

Answer Choice D is the correct answer because the “simple question” Douglas mentions in Lines 36-37 refers to his question, “Will you allow the people to legislate for themselves upon the subject of slavery?” which Sumner would certainly find “immoral,” given what he says in Lines 72-76, “Suffice it to say that slavery is in itself an arrogant denial of human rights, and by no human reason can the power to establish such a wrong be placed among the attributes of any just sovereignty.” Answer Choice A is incorrect because Douglas doesn’t make the case of putting the interests of territories above those of established states and Sumner never acknowledges that kind of tension. Answer Choice B is incorrect because Sumner believes that territorial citizens don’t have the “freedom to legislate on local matters,” claiming that “they were despoiled of every essential privilege of sovereignty.” Answer Choice C, although it might seem plausible, is incorrect because Sumner’s point in Passage 2 is not that the Bill has other provisions beyond territorial sovereignty, but that violating human rights through the allowance of slavery is incompatible with popular sovereignty. 

How to solve this? The Question asks, “Sumner would most likely fault the “simple question” (lines 36-37) proposed by Douglas in Passage 1 for being [...]?” To solve this, we should first go back to the “simple” question mentioned in Passage 1 and then decide, based on our general understanding of Passage 2, how Sumner would be most likely to respond to it.