Question

during the united states’s second war with great britain, before the british set fire to public buildings in washington, d.c., the president’s wife saved a significant portrait of the nation’s first president, george washington. adapted from letter from dolley madison, first lady of the united states, to her sister august 23, 1814 my husband left me yesterday morning to join general winder. he inquired anxiously whether i had courage or firmness to remain in the president’s house until his return on the morrow, or succeeding day, and on my assurance that i had no fear but for him, and the success of our army, he left, beseeching me to take care of myself, and of the cabinet papers, public and private. i have since received two dispatches from him, written with a pencil. the last is alarming, because he desires i should be ready at a moment’s warning to enter my carriage and leave the city, because the enemy seemed strong than had at first been reported, and it might happen that they would reach the city with the intention of destroying it. i am accordingly ready as i have pressed as many cabinet papers into trunks as to fill one carriage; our private property must be sacrificed, as it is impossible to procure wagons for its transportation. three o’clock. will you believe it, my sister? we have had a battle, or skirmish, near bladensburg, and here i am still, within sound of the cannon! mr. madison comes not. two messengers, covered with dust, come to bid me fly, but here i mean to wait for him. at this late hour a wagon has been procured, and i have had it filled with the most valuable portable articles belonging to the house. whether it will reach its destination or fall into the hands of british soldiers, events must determine. our kind friend, mr. carroll, has come to hasten my departure and is in a very bad humor with me, because i insist on waiting until the large picture of general washington is secured, and it requires to be unscrewed from the wall. this process was found too tedious for these perilous moments. i have ordered the frame to be broken, and the canvas taken out. it is done! the precious portrait has been placed in the hands of two gentlemen of new york for safekeeping. and now, i must leave this house. which statement best explains why the first two lines of the passage are important details in the sequence of events? a. they clarify that mrs. madison’s husband had left to consult with officers and expects to return to his wife within a day b. they convey the concern that mrs. madison’s husband had for her as well as for significant national documents c. they reveal that mrs. madison felt uncertain about staying by herself and making important decisions on her own d. they establish mrs. madison’s sense of urgency to write to her sister before she had to leave the safety of her home

Explanation:

The first two lines provide context about the time (US second war with GB, British setting fire to public buildings) and introduce Dolley Madison saving Washington's portrait. Option B: The lines show her husband's departure (to join General Winder) and her handling of important documents (Cabinet papers, public/private), conveying concern for herself and national docs. Option A: No info on husband's return time. Option C: She shows resolve (not uncertainty) in saving items. Option D: Urgency is about enemy approaching, not writing to sister first. So B is correct.

Answer:

B. They convey the concern that Mrs. Madison had for herself as well as for significant national documents.