This is quite difficult to answer since the puritans were persons who had very strict moral values and i can't find an answer to correspond with the definition.
Answer is this
D-the author is speculating but not proving concrete evidence
I'm not sure about the Great Britain and Us conflict but I do know that the Mexican American war was the war for the possession of Texas? That may be a contrast you may include. I hope this helps.
The answer to your question would be the following one:
Cambridge dictionary defines "prevalent" as "existing very common or happening often". As regards "widespread", it states that it means "existing or happening in many places and/or among many people".
With respect to "requisite", Cambridge dictionary states that it is an adjective which means "necessary or needed for a particular purpose". As you can see, "necessary" is part of the definition of "requisite".
Finally, "propagate" is defined as "to spread opinions, lies, or beliefs among a lot of people". As you can see, "spread" is part of the definition of "propagate".
Prevalent: Widespread
Requisite: Necessary
Propagate: Spread
