Historical analysis of 19th-century patent filings reveals that inventions related to agricultural automation spiked during periods of rapid urbanization. During these same periods, the average wages for rural farm laborers increased significantly. Furthermore, economic records from the era show that farm owners generally invested heavily in new automation technology only when the rising cost of manual labor began to threaten their overall profitability.
Based on the information provided, the following statement is most strongly supported: During periods of rapid urbanization in the 19th century, conditions existed that threatened the profitability of farms relying strictly on manual labor.
Answer: Answer
Answer
True
The stimulus establishes that agricultural automation spiked during periods of rapid urbanization. It also provides a strict conditional rule: farm owners invested heavily in automation only when manual labor costs threatened profitability. By combining these facts, we can deduce that during the periods when automation spiked (rapid urbanization), the necessary condition (threats to profitability) must have been present. Therefore, the statement is highly supported.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Synthesizing conditional logic and factual premises to derive a logically supported inference.
Estimated Time:1m 30s