"I was made over. The past was a dim, far-off country which I had left forever. America was beginning, with my new English name. I was born, I have lived, and I have been made over. I am the spirit of the future. I make my bow as a daughter of the Mayflower as proudly as that lady whose family came over in the original boat." — Mary Antin, The Promised Land, 1912
Antin's memoir best supports which thesis about early-20th-century immigration?
- A
Settlement houses opposed naturalization
- B
All Russian Jewish immigrants rejected American customs
- Ccheck_circle
Some immigrants embraced an aspirational assimilationist identity
- D
The federal government enforced uniform Americanization
Explanation
Antin's voice illustrates the celebratory assimilationist narrative; her experience differed from many immigrants who maintained distinct ethnic enclaves.