Read the excerpt from Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington.

Question

Our greatest danger is that in the great leap from slavery to freedom we may overlook the fact that the masses of us are to live by the productions of our hands, and fail to keep in mind that we shall prosper in proportion as we learn to dignify and glorify common labour and put brains and skill into the common occupations of life; shall prosper in proportion as we learn to draw the line between the superficial and the substantial, the ornamental gewgaws of life and the useful. No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem. It is at the bottom of life we must begin, and not at the top. Nor should we permit our grievances to overshadow our opportunities.

Read the excerpt from The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois.

And Mr. Washington thus faces the triple paradox of his career:

1. He is striving nobly to make Negro artisans business men and property-owners; but it is utterly impossible, under modern competitive methods, for workingmen and property-owners to defend their rights and exist without the right of suffrage.

2. He insists on thrift and self-respect, but at the same time counsels a silent submission to civic inferiority such as is bound to sap the manhood of any race in the long run.

3. He advocates common-school and industrial training, and depreciates institutions of higher learning; but neither the Negro common-schools, nor Tuskegee itself, could remain open a day were it not for teachers trained in Negro colleges, or trained by their graduates.

Which statement best compares the claims of the two arguments?

Washington thinks that agricultural work should be championed as a way to advance, while Du Bois looks down on industrial labor.
Washington promotes manual labor as a path to success, while Du Bois argues that higher education supports other types of success.
Washington declares that most people can be successful at farming their own property, while Du Bois says that owning property is impossible.
Washington says that time spent arguing about inequalities undermines opportunities, while Du Bois advocates for civic activism.

Answer 1

The statement that best compares the claims of the two arguments is:

Washington promotes manual labor as a path to success, while Du Bois argues that higher education supports other types of success.

This statement accurately reflects the core views of both thinkers: Washington emphasizes the dignity of manual labor and self-sufficiency through vocational training, while Du Bois critiques this approach and advocates for the importance of higher education and civil rights as essential for true progress and empowerment.