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What is the main idea of this passage?
- The reasons behind choosing Tuesday in November for Election Day
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Which of the following is a supporting detail for why Tuesday was chosen as Election Day?
- Most people attended church on Sundays
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What problem did the old system of flexible election dates cause?
- Early voting results could influence later voters
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Which of the following was NOT mentioned as a factor in choosing the election date?
- The literacy rates of potential voters
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What problem did the 34-day election period cause before 1845?
- Early voting results could influence later voters
Read the passage then answer the following 5 questions.
Ever wonder why elections are held on Tuesdays? The answer lies with America’s 19th-century farmers. Americans first began the custom of weekday voting in 1845, when Congress passed a federal law designating the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November as Election Day. Before then, states were allowed to hold elections any time they pleased within a 34-day period before the first Wednesday in December, but this system had a few crucial flaws. Knowing the early voting results could affect turnout and sway opinion in states that held late elections, and those same last-minute voters could potentially decide the outcome of the entire election. Faced with these issues, Congress created the current Election Day in the hope of streamlining the voting process.
But why a Tuesday in November? The answer stems from the agrarian makeup of 19th-century America. In the 1800s, most citizens worked as farmers and lived far from their polling place. Since people often traveled at least a day to vote, lawmakers needed to allow a two-day window for Election Day. Weekends were impractical, since most people spent Sundays in church, and Wednesday was market day for farmers. With this in mind, Tuesday was selected as the first and most convenient day of the week to hold elections. Farm culture also explains why Election Day always falls in November. Spring and early summer elections were thought to interfere with the planting season, and late summer and early fall elections overlapped with the harvest. That left the late fall month of November—after the harvest was complete, but before the arrival of harsh winter weather—as the best choice.
1. What is the main idea of this passage?
(1 point)
Responses
The history of farming in 19th-century America
The history of farming in 19th-century America
The importance of voting in elections
The importance of voting in elections
The reasons behind choosing Tuesday in November for Election Day
The reasons behind choosing Tuesday in November for Election Day
The flaws in the early American voting system
The flaws in the early American voting system
Question 2
2. Which of the following is a supporting detail for why Tuesday was chosen as Election Day?(1 point)
Responses
Most people attended church on Sundays
Most people attended church on Sundays
Tuesday was the most popular day for farming
Tuesday was the most popular day for farming
Congress passed a law in 1845
Congress passed a law in 1845
Harsh winter weather typically arrived after November
Harsh winter weather typically arrived after November
Question 3
3. What problem did the old system of flexible election dates cause?(1 point)
Responses
It made it difficult for farmers to vote
It made it difficult for farmers to vote
It interfered with religious observances
It interfered with religious observances
Early voting results could influence later voters
Early voting results could influence later voters
It was too close to the harvest season
It was too close to the harvest season
Question 4
4. Which of the following was NOT mentioned as a factor in choosing the election date?(1 point)
Responses
The religious practices of 19th-century Americans
The religious practices of 19th-century Americans
The travel time required for voters to reach polling places
The travel time required for voters to reach polling places
The agricultural calendar of farming communities
The agricultural calendar of farming communities
The literacy rates of potential voters
The literacy rates of potential voters
Question 5
5. What problem did the 34-day election period cause before 1845?(1 point)
Responses
Farmers couldn't participate due to harvest schedules
Farmers couldn't participate due to harvest schedules
Early voting results could influence later voters
Early voting results could influence later voters
Winter weather made travel difficult for voters
Winter weather made travel difficult for voters
Churches opposed voting on different days
1 answer