In the text, you read this about the Progressive Era:
Progressives like La Follette wanted voters to participate more directly in government. Since Andrew Jackson’s time, party leaders had picked candidates for local and state offices. Progressives called, instead, for primaries. In a primary, voters choose their party’s candidate for the general election. In 1903, Wisconsin was the first state to adopt a primary run by state government officials. By 1917, all but four states had done so.
Use the passage to answer the question.
Based on this text, which statement best summarizes the reason many Progressives supported the idea of holding primaries before general elections?
A. The primary guaranteed the best possible candidate for general elections.
B. The primary strengthened the role of voters, rather than party leaders, in elections.
C. The primary prevented party leaders from taking a role in choosing candidates.
D. The primary was conducted by the state government.
Here are all the answers that were correct for me :)
B
D
A
C
C
C
B
D
B
C
A
D
D
C
B
A
D
C
C
D
C
C
B. The primary strengthened the role of voters, rather than party leaders, in elections.
The statement that best summarizes the reason many Progressives supported the idea of holding primaries before general elections, based on the passage, is:
B. The primary strengthened the role of voters, rather than party leaders, in elections.
Based on the passage, the best statement that summarizes the reason many Progressives supported the idea of holding primaries before general elections is:
B. The primary strengthened the role of voters, rather than party leaders, in elections.
To arrive at this answer, we can analyze the passage. It states that Progressives like La Follette wanted voters to participate more directly in government. It further explains that, historically, party leaders had picked candidates for local and state offices. However, Progressives called for primaries, where voters could choose their party's candidate for the general election. This indicates that Progressives supported primaries because it allowed voters to have a greater role in selecting candidates, rather than relying on party leaders. Therefore, option B is the most accurate summary.