This excerpt is from a speech made by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913 in support of tariff reform.

We long ago passed beyond the modest notion of “protecting” the industries of the country and moved boldly forward to the idea that they were entitled to the direct patronage of the Government. For a long time . . . we have sought in our tariff schedules to give each group of manufacturers or producers what they themselves thought that they needed in order to maintain a practically exclusive market as against the rest of the world. Consciously or unconsciously, we have built up a set of privileges and exemptions from competition behind which it was easy by any, even the crudest, forms of combination to organize monopoly. . . . Only new principles of action will save us from a final hard crystallization of monopoly and a complete loss of the influences that quicken enterprise and keep independent energy alive.

Based on the excerpt from President Wilson’s speech, how did the historical circumstances shape the president’s point of view?


A.The danger of an international conflict made him wary of expanding international trade.

A.

The danger of an international conflict made him wary of expanding international trade.


B.The growth of tensions with organized labor unions made him cautious about regulating the economy.

B.

The growth of tensions with organized labor unions made him cautious about regulating the economy.


C.The formation of corrupt industrial trusts made him recognize the need for increased economic competition.

C.

The formation of corrupt industrial trusts made him recognize the need for increased economic competition.


D.The threat of an economic recession made him realize that manufacturers needed a larger market for goods.

D.

The threat of an economic recession made him realize that manufacturers needed a larger market for goods.