16Hit1600
Information and IdeasVery hardEvidence that a speech was written after a battle

Information and Ideas practice question

A historian argues that a famous speech was composed after the battle, not delivered before it as legend holds.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the claim?

  1. A. The speech quotes, word for word, a phrase from a letter that reached the general's camp three days after the battle, and the earliest copy of the speech is in the secretary's hand, dated a month later.Correct
  2. B. The general was known for his speeches.
  3. C. No soldier's diary from before the battle mentions the speech.
  4. D. The speech is longer than most battlefield addresses.

Answer: A. The speech quotes, word for word, a phrase from a letter that reached the general's camp three days after the battle, and the earliest copy of the speech is in the secretary's hand, dated a month later.

A phrase that did not yet exist, and a late copy.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. The general was known for his speeches.
Reputation does not date this speech.
C. No soldier's diary from before the battle mentions the speech.
Silence is weaker than a phrase that could not have been known.
D. The speech is longer than most battlefield addresses.
Length is suggestive at most.

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