Question

read the excerpt from the dark game. on february 24, when hall sensed that the zimmermann telegram would tip the balance in favor of the u.s. joining the allied forces, the british home secretary presented the telegram to president wilson. one week later, news of the zimmermann telegram was splashed across the front page of american newspapers. on april 6, 1917, the congress of the united states declared war on germany and its allies. what statement best explains the cause and effect structure of the excerpt? as hall sensed that the telegram would increase public outrage, the americans joined the war against germany. when the british home secretary took the telegram to washington, d.c., president wilson was stunned by the message. while the americans declared war on germany, the contents of the message were published on the front pages of the newspapers. after the contents of the telegram were published on the front page of american newspapers, the us declared war on germany.

Explanation:

• The first option has a wrong cause - effect relationship. The Zimmermann telegram being presented to Wilson and then published led to the US declaring war, not Hall's sensing directly causing the US to join the war.
• The second option is just a simple event description without a proper cause - effect that matches the text's overall structure.
• The third option has the events in the wrong order. The telegram was published first, then the US declared war.
• The fourth option correctly shows that the publication of the telegram (cause) led to the US declaring war (effect), which is in line with the text's sequence of events.

Answer:

After the contents of the telegram were published on the front page of American newspapers, the US declared war on Germany.