American Society in Transition

In the late nineteenth century, the "bosses" of urban political machines often--

• denied voting rights to the poor

• accepted bribed in return for favors

• wasted money on military spending

• discriminated against migrant workers

Which was a successful example of "Americanization"?

• The Dawes Act led Native Americans to sell their lands.

• The Homestead Act made federal land available to settlers.

• The children of New Immigrants learned English in public schools.

• Congress prohibited the immigration of Chinese workers.

Between 1880 and 1900, most immigrants coming to the United States settled in cities because--

• factory and workshop jobs were available there

• little available farmland remained in the Midwest

• most immigrants came from large cities in Europe

• city laws afforded special rights and protections for immigrants

In the late 1800s, why did Congress pass restrictions on immigration from China?

• to stop illegal immigration from Latin America

• to provide highly skilled workers for industry

• to limit the power of urban political machines

• to satisfy nativist prejudices in California

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, prejudice against "New Immigrants" increased because these immigrants--

• had job skills superior to those of most American workers

• formed their own labor unions in order to receive higher wages

• came from cultural background different from those of the majority of Americans

• tried to replace American democracy with other forms of government

After 1880, where did the majority of "New Immigrants" to the United State come from?

• Northern and Western Europe

• Canada and Latin America

• Southern and Eastern Europe

• China and Southeast Asia

Nativists in California in 1880s would most likely have supported the ---

• creation of settlement houses to aid new immigrants

• passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act

• continuation of the contract labor system

• assimilation of Native American Indians into mainstream culture

Today three-fourths of our people live in tenements, and the drift of the population to the cities is sending increasing multitudes to crowd them. The fifteen thousand tenant houses that were the despair of past generations have swelled into thirty-seven thousand, and more than twelve hundred thousand persons call them home. We know now that there is no way out; the 'system' that was the evil offspring of public neglect and private greed has come to stay forever in our civilization. Nothing is left but to make the best of a bad bargain...

--Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1890

What is the main idea of this passage?

• The conditions of tenement living have improved greatly.

• The number of people living in tenements is declining

• Many immigrants face crowded conditions and despair in tenement housing.

• Living in tenements has led to improved working class conditions.