In colonial North America, as in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe, families and businesses were often entwined symbiotically. Kin connections provided businesses with capital, credit, and contacts; family businesses, in turn, provided kin with employment, training, and opportunities for advancement.
Colonial historians disagree, however, about the extent to which kin connections were central to artisanal establishments and about the evolution of artisanal family practices in colonial North America in the eighteenth century. Some argue that craft dynasties (intergenerational family artisanal establishments) dominated certain crafts in certain areas until the early nineteenth century. Carl Bridenbaugh wrote that an intergenerational command of craft skills enabled some artisanal families in the eighteenth century "to live in near-baronial style, and to dominate, nay rule over, the social and political life" of a region for generations. W.J. Rorabaugh has argued that intergenerational craftsmanship was important in all crafts until the 1840s.
Other historians disagree. Stephanie Wolf, for example, argues that in craft businesses in eighteenth-century Germantown, Pennsylvania, there was "little tendency for traditional family patterns to develop. . . . Fathers do not appear to have trained their sons to follow in their footsteps.” Wolf attributes the lack of dynasties to the presence of a modern, commercial worldview. Indeed, even scholars who disagree with Wolf would concede that craft dynasties declined in importance under the influence of an increasingly widespread modern worldview.
It can be inferred from the passage that the scholars referred to in the highlighted text would agree with Wolf about which of the following statements pertaining to craft dynasties?
Their livelihood depended on the existence of a merchant class.
Their existence was incompatible with the presence of a modern, commercial worldview.
Their political position with respect to events in colonial North America depended on the type of craft work in which they were engaged.
They were more prevalent in other parts of colonial North America than in Pennsylvania.
They were valued by artisans primarily because of the wealth and prestige associated with them.
此讲解的内容由AI生成,还未经人工审阅,仅供参考。
正确答案是 B。由于文章中强调了Wolf的观点,她认为家族传统模式在17世纪的宾夕法尼亚Germantown附近和现代商业世界观之间没有太多联系。因此,可以推断出,文章中提及的学者也会同意Wolf关于工艺王朝和现代商业世界观不兼容的说法。