The Letter to Theodore Roosevelt Test

Which of the following inferences is best supported by Mother Jones’s letter?

• Mother Jones did not expect to receive a response to her letter.
• Mother Jones has no specific attachments to any cause and is mostly just a concerned citizen.
• President Roosevelt’s involvement in this cause could have an impact that goes beyond this particular labor conflict.
• If the child labor movement does not receive the support of the President, the next step would be to go to the Supreme Court.

Which statement from the text most strongly supports the answer to the previous question? (Which of the following inferences is best supported by Mother Jones’s letter?)

• “Our destination is New York City, and after that Oyster Bay.”
• “Perhaps the crime of child slavery has never been forcibly brought to your notice.”
• “Being citizens of the United States of America, we, members of the textile industry, take the liberty of addressing this appeal to you.”
• “In Philadelphia alone thousands of persons will wait upon your answer, while throughout the land, wherever there is organized labor, the people will anxiously await an expression of your sentiments toward suffering childhood.”

The following passage (paragraphs 1-2) adds to the development of the letter mainly by.... As Chief Executive of the United States, you are, in a sense, our father and leader, and as such we look to you for advice and guidance. Perhaps the crime of child slavery has never been forcibly brought to your notice. Yet, as father of us all, surely the smallest detail must be of interest to you.

• suggesting the President may have fathered some of the children working in Philadelphia factories
• framing the letter like a Christian prayer
• appealing to the President’s instincts to protect Americans, especially children
• implying that Mother Jones was raised as an orphan

Mother Jones includes the following passage at the end of her letter (paragraph 10) most likely to... The reply should be addressed to “Mother” Jones’s Crusaders, en route according to the daily papers.

• offer a chance for the President to meet privately with her to discuss the issue
• inform the President that his decision to act on this issue is now on public record
• to imply that she works for the newspaper
• to state that the newspaper has sided with Mother Jones on this issue

Identify the main claim that Mother Jones makes.

• Have courage and be kind.
• The President should have met with her.
• They never should have walked all that way.
• Child workers should be attending school instead of working so they can be better citizens in the future.

What is the author's main purpose for writing this letter to the President?

• The author's purpose is to entertain readers.
• The author's purpose is to persuade the president to create laws to stop child labor.
• The author's purpose is to inform the public

Which of the following are types of author's purpose for writing?

• persuade, inform and enterain
• diction and syntax
• claim and counterclaim

Syntax is the way in which words are put together to form phrases, clauses, or sentences.

• True
• False

Diction is the author's choice of words based on the audience, context, or situation.

• False
• True

Which of the following identifies what Mother Jones is asking of the President? Check ALL that apply.

• a face-to-face meeting in New York
• laws that will transition children from working in factories to attending school
• a standard work week of under 50 hours for textile workers
• none of the above