Read the passage from the website: www. growingnation. org President Thomas Jefferson believed that for Americans to be virtuous and free, they needed to farm land. He wanted to expand westward to create more farmland. Jefferson also wanted to obtain the Port of New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi River so farmers could easily transport their goods. He facilitated the purchase of New Orleans and the rest of the French territory from France in 1803 for $15 million. This new land was called the Louisiana Territory and stretched partway across the continent. It was the first step in expanding the United States. The purchase of the Louisiana Territory led to a pattern of westward expansion through payment, negotiations, and conflict. Read the passage from the website: www. expandingcountries. edu/unitedstates/louisianapurchase The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States and vastly increased its resources and riches. The roles of the president and the Constitution were also defined, as it was determined that the president could purchase the land without consulting Congress. Despite the advantages of expanding westward, one prominent disadvantage was the growing tension between slave states and free states regarding whether new states would permit slavery. The opportunity to grow a nation would endanger its very survival during the Civil War. According to the information in both texts, how did the Louisiana purchase benefit the United States? (2 points) By securing the Mississippi River and the Port of New Orleans to open the door to westward expansion By strengthening the nation's ally, France By making President Jefferson happy that the United States had more farm land By showing the growing tension between slave and free states over whether new states would permit slavery

Read the excerpt from the war of the worlds, in which the crowd begins to disperse just before the first martian exits the cylinder.when i returned to the common the sun was setting. scattered groups were hurrying from the direction of woking, and one or two persons were returning. the crowd about the pit had increased, and stood out black against the lemon yellow of the sky—a couple of hundred people, perhaps. there were raised voices, and some sort of struggle appeared to be going on about the pit. strange imaginings passed through my mind. as i drew nearer i heard stent's voice: "keep back! keep back! "a boy came running towards me."it's a-movin'," he said to me as he passed; 'a-screwin' and a-screwin' out. i don't like it. i'm a-goin' 'ome, i am."what options accurately depict the impact of the boy's words on pacing within the excerpt? (select all that apply.)the war of the worldsthe setting is in england, so the boy's words provide the reader with the dialect of the area. even though that slows down the plot, the boy's words contain important information.the plot's forward movement is slow at the beginning of the excerpt because there is little action. the boy's words increase the tension and counteract that lag.the narrator is not close enough to see clearly into the pit, so the boy's words provide the narrator with the information he needs, which moves the plot forward.the boy's words serve to speed up the pacing of the plot because, as he is talking to the narrator, he is running past him to get away.the narrator is not close enough to see clearly into the pit, so the boy's words provide the narrator with the information he needs, which moves the plot forward.wrong? the boy's words serve to speed up the pacing of the plot because, as he is talking to the narrator, he is running past him to get away.