Final answer:
Nativism is best defined as hostility toward immigrants with an aim to protect domestic interests by favoring white Americans with older family histories over newer immigrants, often leading to discriminatory policies.
Step-by-step explanation:
The best definition of Nativism is hostility toward immigrants and foreigners to protect domestic interests. Nativism involves prizing White Americans with older family trees over more recent immigrants, and rejecting outside influences in favor of their own local customs.
Nativists stoked a sense of fear over the perceived foreign threat, with a particular focus on the rising numbers of immigrants from eastern and southern Europe during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These attitudes led to discriminatory policies and movements aimed at restricting immigration and preserving the Anglo-Saxon Protestant makeup of American society.