Chapter 19 Quiz: Immigrant Appalachia — The Diversity of the Coalfields
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following best describes the ethnic composition of the Appalachian coalfields in the early twentieth century?
a) Almost entirely native-born white Appalachians of Scotch-Irish descent b) A diverse mix of native-born whites, African Americans, and immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe c) Predominantly African American, with small numbers of European immigrants d) Equally divided between English, German, and Irish immigrants
2. The primary reason coal companies recruited diverse workforces was:
a) A commitment to racial and ethnic equality b) Federal requirements to hire immigrant workers c) To fill an enormous labor demand and to prevent worker organizing by creating language and cultural barriers d) A shortage of coal that required workers from multiple countries
3. The "padrone system" refers to:
a) A method of underground mining developed in Italy b) A labor brokerage system in which an intermediary arranged employment for immigrants, often taking a cut of their wages c) The system of company-owned housing in coal camps d) An Italian mutual aid organization
4. By 1910, approximately what percentage of the mining workforce in the southern West Virginia coalfields was African American?
a) 5 percent b) 10 percent c) 25 percent d) 50 percent
5. The UMWA's policy of organizing across racial lines was motivated by:
a) Only moral conviction — the belief that racial equality was right b) Only practical necessity — the need to prevent companies from using Black strikebreakers c) Both moral conviction and practical necessity d) Federal law requiring integrated unions
6. Richard L. Davis was significant because he:
a) Was the first president of the UMWA b) Was a Black miner and union organizer who argued passionately for interracial solidarity in the coalfields c) Was the largest coal operator in West Virginia d) Was the labor agent who recruited the most Italian immigrants
7. The Immigration Act of 1924 affected the coalfields by:
a) Increasing the flow of immigrants to the region b) Having no measurable impact on coalfield demographics c) Effectively cutting off the pipeline of new Southern and Eastern European immigrants, accelerating assimilation d) Requiring coal companies to hire only American-born workers
8. "Campanilismo" refers to:
a) A type of Italian mining technique b) A mutual aid society for Hungarian immigrants c) Loyalty to one's home village, symbolized by the village church bell d) The policy of segregating workers by ethnicity in coal camps
9. Which institution was most central to the social and cultural life of immigrant communities in the coalfields?
a) The company store b) The mine superintendent's office c) The church (Catholic, Reformed, or other denomination associated with the ethnic group) d) The public library
10. The process by which Italian, Hungarian, and Polish immigrants were gradually absorbed into the "white" racial category is called:
a) Assimilation b) Racial reclassification c) Immigration restriction d) Campanilismo
Short Answer
11. Explain why the coal companies' use of ethnic diversity as a union-prevention strategy is described in the chapter as a "bitter irony." What is ironic about this situation?
12. Describe at least three institutions that Black miners built in the coalfields. What functions did these institutions serve beyond their stated purpose?
13. How did the piece-rate system of coal mining create a rough economic equality between Black and white miners? What were the limits of this equality?
14. The chapter argues that the myth of homogeneous white Appalachia "serves a function." What function does it serve, according to the chapter? Whose interests does the myth protect?
Essay
15. The chapter describes a tension between the genuine solidarity achieved by the UMWA's interracial organizing and the persistent racial segregation that characterized coalfield life above ground. Write a well-organized essay (500-750 words) that:
- Describes the nature and extent of interracial solidarity in the coalfield unions
- Identifies the limits of that solidarity
- Analyzes why solidarity was possible in some domains (the union, the mine) but not others (housing, schools, social life)
- Evaluates what the coalfield experience teaches us about the possibilities and limits of cross-racial solidarity in American history
16. Choose one of the immigrant groups discussed in this chapter (Italian, Hungarian, Polish, or Greek) and write a brief essay (400-600 words) tracing their experience from recruitment to assimilation. Address the following: Why were they recruited? What did they find when they arrived? What institutions did they build? How did the Immigration Act of 1924 and the decline of the coal economy affect their communities? What traces of their presence remain in the coalfields today?
Map Exercise
17. On a blank map of the central Appalachian coalfield region (West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia), mark the following:
a) McDowell County, West Virginia — and label it with the approximate percentage of its population that was African American in 1910 b) Lynch, Kentucky — and note its significance as a model company town with over thirty nationalities c) The Pocahontas coalfield region — and identify at least two immigrant groups that settled there d) Draw arrows indicating the two major migration flows into the coalfields: one from Southern and Eastern Europe (via Eastern Seaboard ports) and one from the Deep South