practice questions Flashcards
Which of the following individuals would have been most likely to have been among the immigrants that came to the United States in the late 19th century?
A. A wealthy Jewish businessman who lived in Warsaw
B. A single 30-year-old man who believed in communism as his political ideology
C. A family led by a 31-year-old man who had lived in a shtetl
D.An elderly woman whose healthcare needs were not adequately provided for by the Eastern European
healthcare system
C. A family led by a 31-year-old man who had lived in a shtetl
Eastern European Jews turned to all of the following political ideas in large numbers with the exception of…
A. Capitalism
B. Socialism
C. Zionism
D. Yiddishism (the preservation of Yiddish culture)
A. Capitalism
Boarders in tenement apartments became very common for which of the following reasons?
A.The immigrants needed the extra income from the boarders’ rent to make ends meet.
B. The immigrants enjoyed living with other immigrants to share their cultural experiences.
C.Religious custom dictated that extended families live together.
D. There was a shortage of housing in New York that required people to have many people live in each apartment.
A.The immigrants needed the extra income from the boarders’ rent to make ends meet.
The failure of the Jewish banks in the 1910s was primarily caused by which of the following factors?
A. Government regulation
B. Competition from banks run by non-Jews
C. Rumors that the banks run sound, causing the customers to try to withdraw their money too quickly
D. Lawsuits brought by Jewish depositors who found that they were unable to access their deposits when they so requested
C. Rumors that the banks run sound, causing the customers to try to withdraw their money too quickly
Jews living in an eastern European shtetl were typically…
A. More affluent than those Jews who lived in the European cities.
B. Likely to speak Hebrew as their main language
C. Preoccupied with earning a living, and therefore unable to worry as much about culture
D. All of the above
C. Preoccupied with earning a living, and therefore unable to worry as much about culture
Which of the following Jewish newspapers had the greatest impact on Jewish communities in New York in the first half of the 20th century? A. The Daily Jewish Forward B. The Yidisher Amerikaner C. The Yiddishe Velt D. The Day
A. The Daily Jewish Forward
The “price” of Jewish immigration to the United States can best be described as…
A. Increased danger of violent anti-Semitism
B. The losing of traditional Jewish culture
C. The losing of religious freedom that have been enjoyed in Eastern Europe
D. The losing of government assistance of the poor people that was more prevalent in Eastern Europe
B. The losing of traditional Jewish culture
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the largest number of working-class Jews who wanted to escape the drudgery of working in the factories turned to which of the following professions? A. Bankers B. Peddlers C. Doctors D. Lawyers
B. Peddlers
Which of the following Jewish politicians went on to become the first person elected to Congress from the Socialist party? A. Morris Hillquit B. Meyer London C. Belle Moskowitz D. Robert Moses
B. Meyer London
Becoming a Rabbi or a Cantor was considered an enviable position in the early part of the 1900s because…
A. Rabbis and cantors were paid relatively good salaries
B. The people who were vying for these positions often did not have skills in other professional areas.
C. The alternative to working in these capacities was often menial and difficult tasks.
D. All of the above are true.
D. All of the above are true.
Which of the following is the key reason that early Yiddish literature had to be imported from Europe rather than being produced in the United States?
A. There were an insufficient number of Jews to produce literature in the 1880s and 1890s in the United States.
B. Many of the Eastern European immigrant Jews tried to adapt to American culture and therefore did not go back and produce Yiddish language literature.
C. Jews left in Eastern Europe were more affluent and therefore had more time on their hands to produce literature.
D. Eastern European Jewish immigrants generally did not speak or write and Yiddish.
B. Many of the Eastern European immigrant Jews tried to adapt to American culture and therefore did not go back and produce Yiddish language literature.
A Jewish immigrant in 1895 who had young children would be most likely to want those
children to become which of the following types of workers when they grew up?
A. Doctor
B. Comedian
C. Sweatshop worker
D. Any of the above would’ve been fine as long as they were making a living honestly
A. Doctor
Which of the following is true of anti-Semitism in the United States?
A. It has been essentially nonexistent since the Jewish immigration in the late 1800s
B. It has been as pervasive a problem as it has been Europe since the Jewish immigration of the late 1800s
C. It has been a uniquely white phenomenon
D. It has been, by and large, more of a disguised or social form of anti-Semitism than the traditional European form.
D. It has been, by and large, more of a disguised or social form of anti-Semitism than the traditional European form.
Which of the following most correctly describes life among Jewish immigrants in the wake of their emigration from Europe?
A. They were highly aristocratic society
B. They were highly religious society, maintaining their traditions from Europe
C. They were a family-based society, with a premium placed on taking care of one’s family
D. All of the above are true
C. They were a family-based society, with a premium placed on taking care of one’s family
If a Jewish immigrant in 1906 were referred to as a “greenhorn,” that probably meant that the Jewish immigrant was... A. Rich B. very successful in business C. starting his own new business D. not acclimated to American culture
D. not acclimated to American culture
