单选题
To broaden their voting appeal in the presidential
election of 1796, the Federalists selected Thomas Pinckney, a leading South
Carolinian, as running mate for the New Englander John Adams. But Pinckney's
Southern friends chose to ignore their party's intentions and regarded Pinckney
as a presidential candidate, creating a political situation that Alexander
Hamilton was determined to exploit. Hamilton had long been wary of Adams'
stubbornly independent brand of politics and preferred to see his running mate,
over whom he could exert more control, in the President's chair.
The election was held under the system originally established by the
Constitution. At that time there was but a single tally, with the candidate
receiving the largest number of electoral votes declared President and the
candidate with the second largest number declared Vice-President, Hamilton
anticipated that all the Federalists in the North would vote for Adams and
Pinckney equally in an attempt to ensure that Jefferson would not be either
first or second in the voting. Pinckney would be solidly supported in the south
while Adams, yet both Federalists would outpoll Jefferson.
Various methods were used to persuade the electors to vote as Hamilton wished.
In the press, anonymous articles were published attacking Adams for his
monarchial tendencies and Jefferson for being overly democratic, while pushing
Pinckney as the only suitable candidate. In private correspondence with state
party leaders the Hamiltonians encouraged the idea that Adams' popularity was
slipping, that he could not win the election, and that the Federalists could
defeat Jefferson only by supporting Pinckney. Had sectional
pride and loyalty not run as high in New England as in the deep south,Pinckney
might well have become Washington's successor. New Englanders, however, realized
that equal votes for Adams and Pinckney in their states would defeat Adams,
therefore, eighteen electors scratched Pinckney's name from their ballots and
deliberately threw away their second votes to men who were not even running. It
was fortunate for Adams that they did, for the electors from South Carolina
completely abandoned him, giving eight votes to Pinckney and eight to
Jefferson. In the end, Hamilton's interference in Pinckney's
candidacy lost even the Vice-Presidency of South Carolina. Without New England's
support, Pinckney received only 59 electoral votes, finishing third to Adams and
Jefferson. He might have been President in 1797,or as Vice-President a serious
contender for the Presidency in 1800; instead, stigmatized by a plot he had not
devised, he served a brief term in the United States Senate and then dropped
from sight as a national influence.
单选题
The main purpose of the passage is to______.
A.propose reforms of the procedures for election the President and
Vice-President
B.describe the political events that lead to John Adams' victory in the
1796
C.condemn Alexander Hamilton for interfering in the election of 1796
D.contrast the political philosophy of the Federalists to that of Thomas
Jefferson
单选题
The overall development of the passage can best be described as______.
A.refuting possible explanations for certain phenomena
B.documenting a thesis with specific examples
C.offering an explanation of the series of events
D.making particular proposals to solve a problem
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题的四个选项中，只有C项为正确答案。这可从文中的“It was fortunate for Adams that they did及Had sectional pride and loyalty not run as high in New England as in the deep south，Pinckney might…”和“…well have become Washington’s suceessor”推知，整篇文章实际上说了一个事件，即Pinckney大选失败的原因，其中加进了作者的许多分析和说明，阐述了作者的一些看法和观点。
单选题
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?______.
A.Thomas Pinckney had a personal dislike for Jefferson's politics.
B.Electors were likely to vote for candidates from their own geographical
region.
C.The Hamiltonians contacted key Southern leaders to persuade them to vote
for Adams.
D.The Federalists regarded themselves as more democratic than
Jefferson.