Question

Read the excerpt from Chapter 2 of Wheels of Change .

Smith blamed the bicycle for the downfall of women's health, morals, and religious devotion. Her accusations brought a swift and impassioned response. The Reverend Dr. A. Stewart Walsh, a respected clergyman in New York City and a cyclist himself, wrote a letter to the editor of the Brooklyn Eagle declaring, "I have associated with thousands of riders . . . and I have not seen among them . . . anything that could begin to approach the outrageous and scandalous indecency of the resolutions of the alleged rescue league."

The underlined portion of the excerpt is best characterized as a

short-term effect of Smith’s activism to promote regulations on women riding bicycles.
short-term effect of Smith’s attempts to limit women’s use of the bicycle.
long-term effect of Smith’s advocacy for more conservative cycling clothes for women.

Answer 1

short-term effect of Smith’s attempts to limit women’s use of the bicycle.

Explanation: The clergyman’s letter is an immediate, direct rebuttal to Smith’s accusations—an example of the swift public response triggered by her effort to restrict women’s bicycling.