Final answer:
Historically, middle-class workers comprised a diverse group of professionals like doctors, lawyers, engineers, and accountants. It is an oversimplification to attribute a particular ethnicity to the entire middle class, as individuals from various ethnic backgrounds, including Jewish, German, and Italian immigrants, found themselves in different classes due to various factors like migration, economic opportunities, and discrimination.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question 'Most middle-class workers were...' does not have a straightforward answer as it lacks context regarding time and location. However, historically, middle-class workers in the United States and Europe during the industrialization period typically included professionals such as doctors, lawyers, factory managers, bank employees, salespeople, engineers, scientists, accountants, and bureaucrats. This class arose with the demand for skilled workers to build, oversee, and run new industrial and commercial operations, and included both self-made individuals and those from privileged backgrounds.
In regards to the ethnic backgrounds mentioned in the multiple-choice options, it is important to note that these demographics could be part of any class, and attributing a particular class to a single ethnicity would be overly simplistic and potentially misleading. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, demographic changes such as migration patterns resulted in a variety of ethnic backgrounds entering different socio-economic classes in Europe and America. For instance, while Jewish individuals were often successful in academia, professions, and business, Italian immigrants in America often faced intense discrimination and prejudice, leading many to undertake physical labor at lower pay. Each group, including Germans, Italians, and Jewish immigrants assimilated into their new societies in different ways and achieved varying degrees of economic success.