LSAT 110, Section 4, RC Passage 4, Rice

RC Passage 4 Explanation

This is an explanation for passage 4 of LSAT preptest 30, the December 1999 LSAT. This passage is about the role of African-Americans in introducing rice to America and why they continued to grow rice, both before and after the end of slavery.

This section has paragraph summaries and an analysis of the passage, links to the explanations for the questions are below.

Paragraph Summaries

1. Enslaved Africans did more than just labor. For example, they brought rice to America.
2. Why did Africans cultivate rice? Before slavery ended, plantation owners wanted rice.
3. After slavery ended, why did Africans Americans keep growing rice, when they preferred to eat corn?
4. It was either a political act or because they wanted to nurture the land.

Analysis

This passage is fairly straightforward. There is (potentially) surprising information about enslaved Africans: they brought rice to the Americas. Despite being enslaved, they were still able to contribute valuable things to the continent.

The rest of the passage explains why they grew rice. It’s easy to explain before slavery ended: plantation owners liked rice, and growing rice provided welcome relief from slave labor.

After slavery, Vernon ruled out either taste (they preferred corn) or finances (land owners wanted cotton, not rice). She had to focus on either a nurturing instinct for the land or political protest as reasons for continuing to grow rice.