Logical Reasoning

PT159 · S3 · Q5 Researcher: Some scholars maintain that the first government

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Researcher: Some scholars maintain that the first government other than China to issue any form of paper currency was the Massachusetts colony in 1690.

Conclusion

The scholars who say Massachusetts (1690) was the first non-Chinese government to issue paper currency are wrong.

Evidence

In 1685, New France assigned official value to playing cards and issued them as pay to soldiers, convertible to coin later. So New France did this five years before Massachusetts.

Evaluate

The scholars' claim is specifically about paper currency. To refute them, the New France case must qualify as paper currency. Playing cards function as currency in the stimulus (assigned value, used to pay soldiers, convertible to coin), but for the conclusion to follow, the playing cards have to also be made of paper. Without that, the New France case might not be a "paper currency" example, and the scholars' claim could survive.

Goal

Find the assumption that makes the New France playing cards qualify as paper currency — i.e., that the cards were made of paper.

The researcher's conclusion is properly drawn if which one of the following is assumed?

Correct
The playing cards in use
Why this is right
This is the bridge from "playing cards" to "paper currency." The researcher needs the New France case to qualify as paper currency in order to undercut the scholars' specific claim. If the playing cards in late-1600s Quebec were made of paper, then assigning them official value and issuing them as pay constitutes issuing paper currency. With this assumption, the conclusion goes through: New France issued paper currency in 1685, before Massachusetts in 1690, so the scholars are wrong.
Skill tested: Sufficient Assumption · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.
85% picked this
The Chinese government did not
Out of Scope
The scholars' claim is about the first government other than China to issue paper currency. Whether China issued paper currency in the 1600s is irrelevant to whether New France or Massachusetts came first among non-Chinese governments. The argument doesn't need this assumption.
2% picked this
Playing cards were not available
Out of Scope
Whether playing cards were available in Massachusetts before 1690 is irrelevant. The argument doesn't need to claim anything about Massachusetts's pre-1690 currency situation. It only needs the New France case to count as paper currency. Massachusetts's playing-card history is beside the point.
3% picked this
The Massachusetts colony's issue of
Out of Scope
Massachusetts's reason for issuing paper currency (whether or not a coin shortage prompted it) doesn't affect whether New France issued paper currency earlier. The argument doesn't need to draw any contrast based on motives.
2% picked this
Every government that issued paper
Out of Scope
Whether other 1600s governments left records about their currency is irrelevant. The argument is between two specific cases (New France 1685 and Massachusetts 1690). Universal record-keeping isn't needed; we just need the New France case to count.
8% picked this

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