Read the excerpt from Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington. I believe that in time, through the operation of intelligence and friendly race relations, all cheating at the ballot-box in the South will cease. It will become apparent that the white man who begins by cheating a Negro out of his ballot soon learns to cheat a white man out of his, and that the man who does this ends his career of dishonesty by the theft of property or by some equally serious crime. In my opinion, the time will come when the South will encourage all of its citizens to vote. It will see that it pays better, from every standpoint, to have healthy, vigorous life than to have that political stagnation which always results when one-half of the population has no share and no interest in the Government. What is the author’s claim?
Answer
A
People will see that someone who cheats people out of voting is a dishonest person who will “[end] his career of dishonesty by . . . serious crime.”
B
When large portions of the population cannot vote, it results in “political stagnation.”
C
The South will see that allowing everyone to vote “pays better, from every standpoint.”
D
By way of “intelligence and friendly race relations, all cheating at the ballot-box in the South will cease.”
Explanation
The author’s main claim is that the South will eventually encourage every citizen to vote because doing so benefits society. He says it will recognize that this “pays better, from every standpoint” than excluding half the population from government. The statements about cheating and political stagnation explain why broader voting is worthwhile.
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