Question

questions 21 through 24 refer to the following.
antebellum planters... were very interested in the control of black movement. they were
also keen to master their slaves senses of pleasure seeking to contain african
american even further than laws, curfews, bells, horns, and patrols already did, some
planters used plantation parties as a paternalist mechanism of social control. plantation
parties, which carefully doled out joy on saturday nights and holidays, were intended to
seem benevolent and to inspire respect, gratitude, deference, and importantly, obedience...
the most important component of paternalistic plantation parties was the legitimating
presence of the master
yet again and again, slaves sought out illicit, secular gatherings of their own creation.
they disregarded curfews and pass laws to escape to secret parties where... pleasures
such as drinking, eating, dancing, and dressing up were the main amusements...
in the context of enslavement, such exhilarating pleasure... must be understood as
important and meaningful enjoyment, as personal expression, and as oppositional.
stephanie m. h. camp, historian, closer to freedom enslaved women and everyday
resistance in the plantation south, 2004
22 mark for review
which of the following could best be used as evidence to support the argument in the
third paragraph of the excerpt that enslaved people engaged in oppositional activities?
a slaveholders allowed some enslaved african americans to
work unsupervised.
b enslaved african americans routinely caused tools to break or
worked more slowly as means of resistance.
c abolitionists criticized slaveholders for separating enslaved
children from their parents.
d enslaved african americans assigned to plantation homes had
easier working conditions than those who worked in the fields.

Explanation:

The text discusses enslaved people's activities. The key is to find an option that shows oppositional behavior. Option A (work unsupervised) doesn't imply opposition. Option C (abolitionists' criticism) is external. Option D (working conditions comparison) is not about opposition. Option B (working slowly as resistance) directly shows oppositional activity as it's a form of resistance against the system.

Answer:

B. Enslaved African Americans routinely caused tools to break or worked more slowly as means of resistance.