Chapter Chronology

Quiz for Seeking the American Promise: “Seeking Refuge: Russian Jews Escape the Pogroms”

Select the best answer for each question. Click the “submit” button for each question to turn in your work.

Question

1. For what central reason did millions of Jews immigrate to the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is c. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, vast numbers of Jews were killed in pogroms—deadly riots that targeted Jews. Pogroms and other persecutions were encouraged by Christian priests, who told their parishioners that Jews killed Christian children for use in religious rituals. To escape this anti-Semitic violence, millions of Jews emigrated from Europe between 1880 and 1914, and the majority came to the United States.
Incorrect. The answer is c. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, vast numbers of Jews were killed in pogroms—deadly riots that targeted Jews. Pogroms and other persecutions were encouraged by Christian priests, who told their parishioners that Jews killed Christian children for use in religious rituals. To escape this anti-Semitic violence, millions of Jews emigrated from Europe between 1880 and 1914, and the majority came to the United States.

Question

2. Why might Jewish immigrants, like Abraham Bisno’s family, have preferred to live in a city like Chicago rather than a southern city like Atlanta at the turn of the twentieth century?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is a. Although Abraham Bisno’s family initially settled in Atlanta, his parents disliked the southern city because it lacked some of the most important resources for his family, such as kosher delis and Orthodox synagogues. They lived in Atlanta for less than a year before moving to Chicago, where there was a larger Jewish community with more of the resources the Bisnos needed to live a comfortable life in the United States.
Incorrect. The answer is a. Although Abraham Bisno’s family initially settled in Atlanta, his parents disliked the southern city because it lacked some of the most important resources for his family, such as kosher delis and Orthodox synagogues. They lived in Atlanta for less than a year before moving to Chicago, where there was a larger Jewish community with more of the resources the Bisnos needed to live a comfortable life in the United States.

Question

3. Although they came to the United States at the turn of the twentieth century expecting to find a “promised land,” most Jewish immigrants initially

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is b. Most Jewish immigrants found their first homes in the slums of the United States’ biggest cities, such as Chicago and New York. These slums were dirty, decrepit, and noisy. Many immigrants found the slums to be a far cry from the “promised land” they had envisioned the United States to be.
Incorrect. The answer is b. Most Jewish immigrants found their first homes in the slums of the United States’ biggest cities, such as Chicago and New York. These slums were dirty, decrepit, and noisy. Many immigrants found the slums to be a far cry from the “promised land” they had envisioned the United States to be.

Question

4. Despite the hardships of immigration, what benefit did the United States offer to Jewish immigrants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is a. Although most Jewish immigrants initially lived in urban slums, which belied their expectations of the United States, many Jews found themselves able to get work and prosper in the United States in a way that was extremely difficult in their home communities. Many immigrants became master craftsmen or opened their own stores. The United States offered Jews the opportunity to start over and to be successful.
Incorrect. The answer is a. Although most Jewish immigrants initially lived in urban slums, which belied their expectations of the United States, many Jews found themselves able to get work and prosper in the United States in a way that was extremely difficult in their home communities. Many immigrants became master craftsmen or opened their own stores. The United States offered Jews the opportunity to start over and to be successful.

Question

5. This essay supports which of the following historical arguments?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is d. The migration of millions of Jewish immigrants to the United States between 1880 and 1914 was spurred by the violence and persecution those immigrants faced in their home countries. This was a period of massive immigration to the United States from many different countries in Europe, and by many different groups of people, and this essay illustrates how one reason for this immigration was persecution in Europe.
Incorrect. The answer is d. The migration of millions of Jewish immigrants to the United States between 1880 and 1914 was spurred by the violence and persecution those immigrants faced in their home countries. This was a period of massive immigration to the United States from many different countries in Europe, and by many different groups of people, and this essay illustrates how one reason for this immigration was persecution in Europe.