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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What advantages did early Irish immigrants have over others?
(a) They were hard workers and used to urban life.
(b) They spoke English and many were literate.
(c) They had business acumen and education.
(d) They had skills for industrialization.

2. What were early German immigrants able to do more thoroughly than others?
(a) Govern themselves and others.
(b) Clear frontier land and make it productive.
(c) Develop social networks.
(d) Invent useful machinery.

3. In what field did the Irish immigrants to America achieve their first successes?
(a) Cuisine.
(b) The arts.
(c) Politics.
(d) Science.

4. What kind of trouble did employers invite who mixed Italian workers from different villages?
(a) Misunderstanding.
(b) Increased absenteeism.
(c) Violence.
(d) Confusion.

5. How did the system of tenant farming undermine Irish initiative?
(a) No improvements were permitted.
(b) All improvements belonged to the landowner.
(c) All improvements were heavily taxed.
(d) All improvements would be reversed.

6. How much of the arable land in Ireland was used for growing potatoes before the famine?
(a) One-fourth.
(b) One-sixth.
(c) One-half.
(d) One-tenth.

7. During the decades surrounding the beginning of the 20th century, what proportion of Eastern European Jews moved to the United States?
(a) One-fifth.
(b) One-eighth.
(c) One-tenth.
(d) One-third.

8. Which group formed the largest migration to America in the 19th century?
(a) Italians.
(b) Jews.
(c) Irish.
(d) Germans.

9. In their own land, the Irish were a _________________ people.
(a) Free.
(b) Conquered.
(c) Conquering.
(d) Independent.

10. What tools have Jews traditionally used to respond to adversity?
(a) Resourcefulness and perserverance.
(b) Force and violence.
(c) Charm and gregariousness.
(d) Hatred and intimidation.

11. Which group represents the most dramatic example of upward mobility among immigrants?
(a) The Irish.
(b) Slaves.
(c) The illiterate.
(d) The Polish.

12. How many people died of starvation or illness during the Great Famine of the 1840s in Ireland?
(a) Five hundred thousand.
(b) One million.
(c) Two hundred thousand.
(d) Five million.

13. What did German immigrants retain whether in urban or rural settings?
(a) An adventurous, traveling spirit.
(b) The German language and culture.
(c) A mistrust of the Irish.
(d) A desire to return to the homeland.

14. What distinguishes Italian emigration during the 20th century?
(a) More immigrants return to Italy than leave it.
(b) All of the emigration is to the U.S.
(c) It is the largest exodus from a single nation.
(d) It is the slowest exodus from a single nation.

15. What was the occupation of the majority of Irish immigrants in the 19th century?
(a) Manufacturing.
(b) Glass blowing.
(c) Farming.
(d) Unskilled labor.

Short Answer Questions

1. What language did German Jews speak?

2. The "penal laws" imposed by the British on the Irish were intended to keep the Irish in what situation?

3. In what area did Italian immigrants find success in California?

4. What industry did most German immigrants pursue?

5. What was the name for a middleman who bought and sold indentured servants?

(see the answer keys)

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