Read the excerpt from We Shall Not Be Moved.
Yet what they wanted was modest enough: a fifty-two-hour week with extra pay for overtime, an end to the fines and petty tyrannies, and a living wage. These were the demands that were hammered out by the shop groups behind the closed doors of the meeting halls. The officers of Local 25 sent them on to the owners — along with one more demand, recognition of the union.
Which historical detail best helps clarify a reader’s understanding of the information in the excerpt?
A. Female factory workers had to work long hours, sometimes up to eighty hours a week.
B. Many union men believed that women factory workers would never come together to strike. *********
C. Women’s clothing first began to be mass produced in the early twentieth century.
D. “Gorillas” were men who were hired to threaten and harass striking factory workers.
The historical detail that best helps clarify a reader's understanding of the information in the excerpt is option B: Many union men believed that women factory workers would never come together to strike.
This detail helps clarify that the demands mentioned in the excerpt were not only for the male factory workers but also for the female factory workers. It suggests that the demands for a fifty-two-hour week, overtime pay, and a living wage were not only being made by the male union members but also by the female factory workers. This detail highlights the unity and collective action of both male and female workers in fighting for better working conditions and fair treatment.