The Chapter Introduction Tells the Story of Benjamin Montgomery to Make

The chapter introduction tells the story of Benjamin Montgomery to make the point that

A) former slaves who really tried could achieve a measure of prosperity in the postwar South.
B) Reconstruction clearly hinged on northern rather than southern actions after the war.
C) Reconstruction was an impossible task, for neither northerners nor southerners wanted African Americans to gain political and economic opportunity.
D) for former slaves to attain meaningful lives as free citizens, they would need economic power, which in turn required political power.