One factor was the evolution of the printing press, which meant that the books were more easily available to people.
<span>Another factor was the geographical exploration which generally introduced the atmosphere of more questioning into the society</span>
A lot of trade routes went to the city-states of Genoa and Venice in Italy.
It was most likely the smoked sausage Kristoforas ate that morning.
I got my answer here:
http://lindsaysocialstudies.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/5/0/12504986/us_history_primary_source_muckraking...
You see for yourself.
