Which of the following is an example of a law passed due to the work of muckrakers? Select the best answer.
the passage of meatpacking standards due to the novel The Jungle
the passage of democratic reforms like direct primaries and recall elections
the passage of a comprehensive civil rights act to improve social justice
the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment to make the manufacture of alcohol illegal

nothing certain is known about what happened, but it seems that the country declined gradually, perhaps due to bad government, or, more likely, due to a series of bad harvests, which resulted in widespread and recurrent famine.

when world war i broke out across europe in 1914, president woodrow wilson proclaimed the united states would remain neutral, and many americans supported this policy of nonintervention. however, public opinion about neutrality started to change after the sinking of the british ocean liner lusitania by a german u-boat in 1915; almost 2,000 people perished, including 128 americans. along with news of the zimmerman telegram threatening an alliance between germany and mexico, wilson asked congress for a declaration of war against germany. the u.s. officially entered the conflict on april 6, 1917.