Question

As ever, sugar work was brutally hard. The workers woke early, and for the first few months they were “seasoned”—learning the numbing work of hoeing or weeding or loading the barges with cut cane. After they were broken in, they might take on other tasks or, if they were lucky, get a place at the factory. The Indians’ contracts called for seven hours’ work for about twenty-four cents a day. During the first few months, though, eight cents a week was deducted for food rations. And no matter what the words said on a piece of paper, sugar workers did not work just seven hours. More often than not, they labored as long as there was light, in the broiling heat. And though they might not be shackled or whipped like slaves, their lives were completely controlled by the terrifying overseers.

–Sugar Changed the World,
Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos

Which quotation from the excerpt uses empirical evidence to support the central idea that the Indians’ working conditions were merciless?

“If they were lucky, [they might] get a place at the factory.”
"As ever, sugar work was brutally hard."
“Their lives were completely controlled by the terrifying overseers.”
"The Indians’ contracts called for seven hours’ work for about twenty-four cents a day."

Answer 1

"The Indians’ contracts called for seven hours’ work for about twenty-four cents a day."

This is empirical because it gives specific, factual details (hours and pay) that demonstrate the harshness of their conditions.