Question 35 - Upper Level: Reading Comprehension Practice Test for the ISEE

Based on the information in the attached passage, all of the following may be true about abolitionists except ____.

An Address to the Slaves of the United States, by William Lloyd Garrison, June 2, 1843

\[\begin{array}{} {1} & \;\;\text{Take courage! Be filled with hope and comfort! Your redemption draws nigh,} \\ {2} & \;\;\text{for the Lord is mightily at work in your behalf. Is it not frequently the darkest} \\ {3} & \;\;\text{before day-break? The word has gone forth that you shall be delivered from} \\ {4} & \;\;\text{your chains, and it has not been spoken in vain.} \\ \end{array}\] \[\begin{array}{} {5} & \;\;\text{Although you have many enemies, yet you have also many friends—warm,} \\ {6} & \;\;\text{faithful, sympathizing, devoted friends—who will never abandon your} \\ {7} & \;\;\text{cause; who are pledged to do all in their power to break your chains; who are} \\ {8} & \;\;\text{laboring to effect your emancipation without delay, in a peaceable manner, without} \\ {9} & \;\;\text{the shedding of blood; who regard you as brethren and countrymen, and fear not} \\ {10} & \;\;\text{the frowns or threats of your masters. They call themselves abolitionists. They have} \\ {11} & \;\;\text{already suffered much, in various parts of the country, for rebuking those who keep} \\ {12} & \;\;\text{you in slavery—for demanding your immediate liberation—for revealing to the people} \\ {13} & \;\;\text{the horrors of your situation—for boldly opposing a corrupt public sentiment, by} \\ {14} & \;\;\text{which you are kept in the great southern prison-house of bondage. Some of} \\ {15} & \;\;\text{them have been beaten with stripes; others have been stripped, and covered} \\ {16} & \;\;\text{with tar and feathers; others have had their property taken from them, and burnt} \\ {17} & \;\;\text{in the streets; others have had large rewards offered by your masters for their} \\ {18} & \;\;\text{seizure; others have been cast into jails and penitentiaries; others have been mobbed} \\ {19} & \;\;\text{and lynched with great violence; others have lost their reputation, and been ruined} \\ {20} & \;\;\text{in their business; others have lost their lives. All these, and many other outrages} \\ {21} & \;\;\text{of an equally grievous kind, they have suffered for your sakes, and because} \\ {22} & \;\;\text{they are your friends.} \\ \end{array}\]

\(\bf{. . .}\)…..

\[\begin{array}{} {23} & \;\;\text{The weapons with which the abolitionists seek to effect your deliverance} \\ {24} & \;\;\text{are not bowie knives, pistols, swords, guns, or any other deadly implements.} \\ {25} & \;\;\text{They consist of appeals, warnings, rebukes, arguments and facts, addressed} \\ {26} & \;\;\text{to the understandings, consciences and hearts of the people. Many of your} \\ {27} & \;\;\text{friends believe that not even those who are op-pressed, whether their skins are} \\ {28} & \;\;\text{white or black, can shed the blood of their oppressors in accordance with the will} \\ {29} & \;\;\text{of God; while many others believe that it is right for the oppressed to rise and take} \\ {30} & \;\;\text{their liberty by violence, if they can secure it in no other manner; but they, in } \\ {31} & \;\;\text{common with all your friends, believe that every attempt at insurrection would be} \\ {32} & \;\;\text{attended with disaster and defeat, on your part, because you are not strong} \\ {33} & \;\;\text{enough to contend with the military power of the nation; consequently, their} \\ {34} & \;\;\text{advice to you is, to be patient, long-suffering, and sub-missive, yet awhile longer—} \\ {35} & \;\;\text{trusting that, by the blessing of the Most High on their labors, you will yet be} \\ {36} & \;\;\text{emancipated without shedding a drop of your masters’ blood, or losing a drop } \\ {37} & \;\;\text{of your own.} \\ \end{array}\] \[\begin{array}{} {38} & \;\;\text{The abolitionists of the North are the only true and unyielding friends on whom} \\ {39} & \;\;\text{you can rely. They will never deceive nor betray you. They have made your cause} \\ {40} & \;\;\text{their own, and they mean to be true to themselves and to you, whatever may} \\ {41} & \;\;\text{be the consequence. … We advise you to seize every opportunity to escape} \\ {42} & \;\;\text{from your masters, and, fixing your eyes on the North star, travel on until you reach} \\ {43} & \;\;\text{a land of liberty. You are not the property of your masters. God never made one} \\ {44} & \;\;\text{human being to be owned by another. Your right to be free, at any moment,} \\ {45} & \;\;\text{is undeniable; and it is your duty, whenever you can, peaceably to escape from} \\ {46} & \;\;\text{the plantations on which you are confined, and assert your manhood.} \\ \end{array}\]

Retrieved from: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/address-to-the-slaves-of-the-united-states/

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