100 POINTS PLZ HELP HURRY
Wolcott was one of only three high-ranking officials of the federal government within a day's ride of Philadelphia, Attorney General Edmund Randolph and Postmaster General Timothy Pickering being the others. But these men were struggling to keep their departments functioning and had little spare time to gather information or write reports, even for the leader of the country. —The American Plague, Jim Murphy Which transition word is used in this passage? What is the purpose of this transition word?