Which of the following statements best represents a nativist attitude toward the influx of immigrants around 1900?
Select an Answer
Slavs and Italians will be assimilated as easily into the American way of life as were earlier immigrant groups.
Ellis Island should be enlarged to accommodate the huge influx of immigrants.
Immigrants will work for low wages and break strikes, thereby hurting all American workers.
Native-born Americans should organize to help find jobs and homes for new immigrants so that they can become citizens as quickly as possible.
Political machines in the large cities should be responsible for providing immigrants with food, shelter, and jobs in return for their votes.
View Correct Answer
Nativism in the United States, consisting of anti-immigrant sentiment and fear of foreign influence, was a major presence in politics in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Thus, a nativist attitude would be one that reflects a bias against new immigrants. This points most clearly to the anti-immigrant attitude in answer choice C, which describes immigrants as a threat to American workers--an accurate description of an attitude held by many nativists around 1900.