Question

feminist and suffragette amelia bloomer began publishing a newspaper, the lily, in 1849. one thing bloomer promoted in her paper was her style of dress. she liked to wear loose pants, which tapered at the ankles, under short skirts. soon, the fashion became popular with suffragettes. unfortunately, the public reacted with ridicule, so the majority of suffragettes abandoned the pants, fearing their message would be taken less seriously. bloomer, however, clung to the fashion. she continued to publish the newspaper to support womens suffrage and education, and saw the lily become a model for other suffrage publications.
what conclusion might be drawn about the validity of the other suffragettes fears?
1 their fears were unfounded because other suffrage publications promoted loose pants as well.
2 their fears were valid because the fashion soon fell out of favor with the public.
3 their fears were unfounded because her newspaper continued to be taken seriously.

Explanation:

To determine the validity of the other suffragettes' fears (that their message would be taken less seriously if they wore the pants), we analyze the text: Amelia Bloomer continued to wear the pants and publish The Lily, and it became a model for other suffrage publications. This shows her message (supporting women’s suffrage/education) was taken seriously, so the other suffragettes’ fear that wearing the pants would undermine their message was unfounded.

• Option 1 is incorrect: The text says The Lily was a model for other publications, but there’s no info that other publications promoted loose pants.
• Option 2 is incorrect: The fashion falling out of favor with the public doesn’t relate to whether the suffragettes’ message was taken seriously.
• Option 3 is correct: Bloomer’s newspaper was taken seriously (became a model) despite her wearing the pants, so the fear was unfounded.

Answer:

1. Their fears were unfounded because her newspaper continued to be taken seriously.