Pledge of Allegiance contains the phrase "under God" and as such the obligation to participate in the Pledge clashes with the freedom of religion. Freedom of religion is written into law in the First Amendment, adopted in 1791.
The colonial response to British taxation was to BOYCOTT products or services
The main thing that businesses and industries did during this time that caused the economy to slow down was to invest carelessly in business, to the point where they became wildly overvalued--leading to an economic bubble that "burst".
I would say the answer is A.