While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
The student wants to present the influence theory to an audience unfamiliar with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
Historian Bruce Johansen believes that the Great Law of Peace was very influential.
The influence theory is supported by the fact that Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson both studied the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
The influence theory holds that the principles of the Great Law of Peace, a centuries-old agreement binding six Native nations in the northeastern US, influenced the US Constitution.
Native people, including the members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, influenced the founding of the US in many different ways.
Choice C is the best answer. The sentence effectively presents the influence theory to an audience unfamiliar with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, explaining the theory’s position that the Great Law of Peace influenced the US Constitution while avoiding mention of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy itself.
Choice A is incorrect. The sentence broadly emphasizes Johansen’s ideas about the Great Law of Peace; it doesn’t identify the influence theory or effectively present it. Choice B is incorrect. The sentence emphasizes one fact that supports the influence theory; it doesn’t effectively present the theory to an audience unfamiliar with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Choice D is incorrect. The sentence makes a broad generalization about Native people’s influence on the founding of the US; it doesn’t effectively present the influence theory.