The best option from the list would be that "<span>b. The United States began to build up its military and to stockpile weapons," since this was part of the inevitable "Arms Race" that took place between the US and the USSR. </span>
The Chinese merchant class benefitted the most from the trade conducted on the silk road. The silk road trade allowed the Chinese economy to grow and also established trade relations with Europeans.
Well the first English settlement was really Roanoke, however it was not successful. The first successful one would be the new Virginia colony, later known as Jamestown;)
Economic failures and years of warfare, the Chernobyl disaster, perestroika glasnost and Mikhail Gorbachev all of these factors contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union or USSR in the year 1991. Some of these incidents had a direct impact on the breaking of USSR into several countries, while others had a direct role.
The obvious answer would be business leaders. The reason why this is true is becaus business leaders were often the ones who were touting the ideas of social darwinism and how their company is better and will stomp out the smaller one in proper sociodarwinistic fashion.
