Final answer:
The correct answer is option b. The nineteenth-century immigration in the U.S. was majorly from Germany, Ireland, and England, with shifts towards southern and eastern European immigrants later in the century.
Step-by-step explanation:
The vast majority of immigrants to the U.S. during the nineteenth century came from Germany, Ireland, and England. This period saw significant immigration due to people seeking better economic opportunities and fleeing political or religious persecution.
Initially, the greatest influx of immigrants were Germans and Irish in the first half of the century. However, as the century progressed, large numbers of immigrants also came from southern and eastern European countries, including Italy, Russia, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, albeit these latter groups were more significant in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
While the Irish and Germans continued to arrive, the profile of immigrants began to shift towards southern and eastern Europeans, including Italians and Jews from the Russian Empire, who were escaping poverty and persecution.
The nineteenth century ended with a more diverse array of immigrants from different parts of Europe, although the most significant sources remained the earlier mentioned countries.