Question

read the excerpt from up from slavery by booker t. washington.

to those of the white race who look to the incoming of those of foreign birth and strange tongue and habits of the prosperity of the south, were i permitted i would repeat what i say to my own race: \cast down your bucket where you are.\ cast it down among the eight millions of black men whose habits you know, whose fidelity and love you have tested in days when to have proved treacherous meant the ruin of your firesides. cast down your bucket among these people who have, without strikes and labour wars, tilled your fields, cleared your forests, builded your railroads and cities, and brought forth treasures from the bowels of the earth, and helped make possible this magnificent representation of the progress of the south. casting down your bucket among my people, helping and encouraging them as you are doing on these grounds.

which statement best explains the validity of this argument?

• the argument is valid because the author provides reasoning for why black citizens are \patient, faithful, law-abiding, and unresentful.\
• the argument is valid because the author encourages his listeners to look around at the \eight millions\ of black neighbors they already have.
• the argument is valid because the author explains his appeal to \cast down your bucket where you are\ and gives evidence of what will be found.
• the argument is valid because the author explains his claim that listeners need not be afraid of \strange tongue and habits,\ as they will bring prosperity if given a chance.

Explanation:

The author's core appeal is "cast down your bucket where you are," directed at white Southerners. He supports this by providing evidence of Black citizens' proven loyalty, hard work (tilling fields, building infrastructure, avoiding labor conflicts) that already contributed to the South's progress. This validates the argument by linking the appeal to tangible, existing evidence of what can be gained by working with the Black community. The other options are incomplete: the first only cites a trait without tying to the core appeal, the second only mentions looking at neighbors without evidence, and the fourth misrepresents the argument (the author does not frame foreign-born people as the source of prosperity, but rather emphasizes Black Southerners).

Answer:

The argument is valid because the author explains his appeal to "cast down your bucket where you are" and gives evidence of what will be found.