Deck 10: White Ethnic Americans

Question 1

Most white ethnics:

A)are at the top echelons of the corporate world.
B)have had a slow entrance into the top echelons of economic power.
C)have moved quickly into the top echelons of economic power.
D)are members of low-income and blue-collar working classes.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

What notorious legal case most reflects the anti-Italian and anti-immigrant sentiment of its time?

A)The Dred Scott decision
B)Plessy v.Ferguson
C)The trial of Sacco and Vanzetti
D)The Gangster Chronicles

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Victor, an Italian immigrant, arrived in the United States in 1913.His choice of where to settle was most likely based on his:

A)identification with the province or village from which he came.
B)identification with his new country.
C)identification with the Italian nation as a whole.
D)social class within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Socioeconomically, which group has "made it" to the largest degree in the United States?

A)Latinos
B)African Americans
C)Italian Americans
D)Native Americans

Question 5

Most of the children of Italian immigrants:

A)experienced downward social mobility.
B)became upper class professionals.
C)remained in working-class jobs.
D)considered themselves sojourners.

Question 6

Sally, a young Irish woman, came to the United States in 1870.Her occupation in the U.S.was most likely a:

A)domestic servant
B)textile laborer
C)garment worker
D)school teacher

Question 7

The Scotch-Irish were not considered part of the prototypical Irish ethnic group because they:

A)were Protestant.
B)arrived in small numbers.
C)were part of the second wave of Irish immigration.
D)remained in a low socioeconomic class.

Question 8

Italian Americans have ______________ the dominant cultural ways of the United States.

A)modifed
B)established
C)rejected
D)adopted

Question 9

The position of Italian Americans today in the American class system is:

A)below the national average.
B)far above the national average.
C)at or above the average for Euro-American ethnic groups.
D)below the average for Euro-American ethnic groups.

Question 10

The Atlantic journey of the Irish was similar to the passage of African slaves because:

A)many Irish were forced to migrate.
B)most Irish were chained in ships to the U.S.
C)many Irish perished on board ships.
D)most mid-19th century Irish were forced into unpaid labor.

Question 11

Sally, a young Irish woman, came to the United States in 1870.The most likely reason for her immigration was to:

A)have a better chance of finding a husband.
B)have more religious freedom.
C)have more reproductive freedom.
D)accompany her husband.

Question 12

White ethnic groups are distinguished from the dominant Anglo core group primarily in terms of their:

A)religious beliefs.
B)physical characteristics.
C)ability to assimilate.
D)linguistic history.

Question 13

Between 1880 and 1910, most Italians migrating to the United States came from __________ Italy.

A)southern
B)western
C)northern
D)eastern

Question 14

The most enduring negative stereotype that Italian Americans have had to deal with is one of:

A)working class culture.
B)organized crime.
C)lack of moral values.
D)pervasive drug use.

Question 15

Before 1880, the destination of most Italian immigrants was:

A)Canada.
B)the United States.
C)Argentina and Brazil.
D)England and France.

Question 16

In the U.S.today, almost _____________ million people claim full or partial Italian ancestry.

A)9
B)18
C)47
D)83

Question 17

Gans argues that the Italian culture in the U.S.will ______________ over generations.

A)diminish
B)reestablish itself
C)disappear entirely
D)remain strong

Question 18

Overall, the socioeconomic differences between various Euro-American groups are:

A)growing.
B)stable.
C)shrinking.
D)unclear.

Question 19

Many Irish immigrants found themselves unprepared for life in a(n) ____________ society.

A)rural
B)agricultural
C)capitalist
D)industrialized

Question 20

Which statement best describes the current population patterns of Italian Americans?

A)They have become a suburbanized ethnic group.
B)They are one of the smallest white ethnic groups.
C)They continue to reside most heavily in the Northeast.
D)They continue to dominate professional fields.

Question 21

Which perspective proposes that a movement towards more complete assimilation proceeds irreversibly with each successive generation?

A)Straight-line theory
B)Symbolic ethnicity theory
C)Ethnic options hypothesis
D)Unhyphenated white thesis

Question 22

Perhaps the most telling evidence of the cultural assimilation of white ethnic groups in American society is:

A)changing one's beliefs about divorce.
B)moving away from the family occupation.
C)losing knowledge of one's mother tongue.
D)rejecting traditional family rituals.

Question 23

In his notion of "symbolic ethnicity," Herbert J.Gans sees ethnicity among Euro-Americans:

A)reemerging in forms that are much like those of an earlier period.
B)serving as the chief regulator of upward mobility.
C)playing a more important role in mating choices.
D)becoming more of a voluntary expression of individual identity.

Question 24

The tendency for people to make choices about their ethnic identity demonstrates that ethnicity is:

A)fixed.
B)fluid.
C)biological.
D)insignificant.

Question 25

The election of President John F.Kennedy:

A)helped Catholics enter the national political scene because of his belief in the absolute separation of church and state.
B)helped Catholics enter the national political scene because of his political power and wide margin of defeat.
C)hindered the participation of Catholics in the national political scene because of his subsequent assassination.
D)hindered the participation of Catholics in the national political scene because of his progressive policies.

Question 26

Irish Americans achieved remarkable success early on in:

A)urban politics.
B)corporate power.
C)Protestant leadership.
D)educational attainment.

Question 27

Carl, a white American, is doing a school presentation for his history class after which he is asked to share his own ethnic heritage.He is stumped.He has heard offhand that he has ancestors from Germany and Ireland, and that he might even have a little Native American blood, but has never seen proof of such.Lieberson and Waters (1988) would call Carl a(n):

A)homogenous white.
B)unhyphenated white.
C)undifferentiated white.
D)pluralistic white.

Question 28

With respect to ethnic identity, which group has the most room to choose and maneuver?

A)African Americans
B)Asian Americans
C)Latinos
D)Italian Americans

Question 29

Mary Waters' concepts of "ethnic options" refers to the:

A)various ways in which ethnic groups are classified in a multiethnic society.
B)hierarchical arrangement of racial and ethnic groups in American society.
C)power of the dominant group in classifying new immigrant groups.
D)tendency for individuals to make choices about their ethnic identity.

Question 30

Corruption among Irish American politicians was largely due to:

A)the lack of a welfare state.
B)a history of religious dominance.
C)the poverty of the Irish masses.
D)competition from African Americans.

Question 31

Most Irish Catholics immigrated to the United States in the mid-1900s to:

A)secure employment.
B)avoid famine.
C)attend university.
D)escape religious persecution.

Question 32

The image of Irish as brutish and savage:

A)began in England and was carried over to America.
B)developed in rural areas in the U.S.
C)developed in urban areas in the U.S.
D)was largely eliminated in the U.S.

Question 33

What percentage of Italian Americans are marrying outside their ethnic group?

A)25 percent
B)50 percent
C)75 percent
D)95 percent

Question 34

Third and fourth generation American whites:

A)tend to follow common American cultural patterns.
B)retain the language of their country of origin.
C)start rebelling against their ethnic heritage.
D)maintain their Euro-heritage with daily rituals.

Question 35

According to Mary Waters, ethnicity is becoming:

A)a basis for discrimination.
B)indistinguishable from race.
C)a matter of personal preference.
D)a key factor in shaping social mobility.