Some studies of how it was that Prussia resisted the wave of European democratization in the nineteenth century point to Prussia’s unequal distribution of land ownership as the principal explanation. And political figures from areas in Prussia with high inequality in land ownership tended to be the staunchest opponents of democratic reforms. However, arguments that focus only on those figures’ conflicts with landless people ignore the fact that political figures are not only representatives of socioeconomic interests but also political actors embedded in particular contexts that shape whether they support democratic reforms. Historians must take such contexts into account if they hope to explain what transpired in Prussia during this period.

Select Passage for the statement that best describes the purpose of the passage as a whole, and select Portion in Boldface for the statement that best describes the purpose of the portion in boldface. Make only two selections, one in each column.

A. To offer an alternative to the standard explanation of a particular historical event

B. To provide evidence that economic issues were at the root of a particular historical event

C. To criticize a certain type of argument about a particular historical event

D. To criticize the motives of political figures involved in a particular historical event

E. To encourage historians not to approach a particular historical event from too narrow a perspective