Question

Which sentence in the excerpt supports the claim that the American colonies could thrive independently from Britain?

I have heard it asserted by some, that as America hath flourished under her former connection with Great Britain that the same connection is necessary towards her future happiness, and will always have the same effect. Nothing can be more fallacious than this kind of argument. We may as well assert that because a child has thrived upon milk that it is never to have meat, or that the first twenty years of our lives is to become a precedent for the next twenty. But even this is

Answer 1

There are three sentences:

A. I have heard it asserted by some, that as America hath flourished under her former connection with Great Britain that the same connection is necessary towards her future happiness, and will always have the same effect.

B. Nothing can be more fallacious than this kind of argument.

C. We may as well assert that because a child has thrived upon milk that it is never to have meat, or that the first twenty years of our lives is to become a precedent for the next twenty.

Sentence A. supports the argument that the colonies CANNOT survive without Britain. Sentence B. refutes Sentence A. but does not provide a counterpoint. Sentence B. is the counterpoint, and it claims that the colonies can survive on their own. Like a child is weaned off mother's milk, the colonies can grow and survive on their own.

Answer 2

Typo, sorry! Sentence C. is the counterpoint.

Answer 3

Thanks BaconBits! :D