Question

What evidence do the authors include to support the central idea that Indian workers and formerly enslaved people became rivals?

anecdotal evidence that Indian workers and formerly enslaved people were paid wages on different scales
empirical evidence that planters ignored the fact that formerly enslaved people wanted to work their own land
empirical evidence that planters tried to pit formerly enslaved people against Indian workers to the planters’ advantage
logical evidence that Indian workers and formerly enslaved people did not get along with one another because wages went down

Answer 1

empirical evidence that planters tried to pit formerly enslaved people against Indian workers to the planters’ advantage

The authors cite records and examples (wage practices, hiring policies, planter correspondence and reports) showing planters deliberately used Indian labor to undercut and divide formerly enslaved workers, creating rivalry.