Read the passage from The American Plague.

Adding to his frustration was the fact that very few official papers had made their way to him at Mount Vernon. Washington was a stickler for orderly files that he could search at a moment's notice. This was the most important way he kept himself informed about the hundreds of things happening in the fledgling nation. Unfortunately, when the government clerks had panicked and dashed from Philadelphia, they had abandoned all papers and records in boarded-up houses. No one knew where these documents were; and no one was willing to risk his or her life wandering, through the infected city in search of them.

What conclusion does the cause-and-reflect relationship in this passage support?

A. Washington lacked the information he needed to govern effectively.

B. Washington got information in other ways so he could govern effectively.

C. Washington was so angry at the clerks that he did not govern effectively.

D. Washington was too frustrated by his missing papers to govern effectively.