Deck 13: The American Political and Legal System and Majority-Minority Relations

Question 1

Under which U.S.presidential administration were laws passed to protect the rights of workers to organize labor unions?

A) The Franklin D. Roosevelt administration
B) The Lyndon Johnson administration
C) The Ronald Reagan administration
D) The George H. W. Bush administration

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is true about segregation in the use of public facilities?

A) It was required by law in many parts of the South
B) It was optional in the South and most people did not follow it
C) It only was applied to public and not private facilities
D) It was more widespread in the North

Answer 2

A

Question 3

In the 2000 Presidential election,Florida and other states probably violated the Voting Rights Act by all the following EXCEPT:

A) Many Florida Blacks with no criminal records were told they could not vote because they were felons
B) Voters in predominately black precincts were turned away on the grounds that they had voted by absentee ballot when they had not
C) Two-thirds of the people on the purge lists for Miami-Dade county in Florida were black
D) White voters were much more likely to have their ballots rejected

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Minority votes make a difference in elections:

A) If there is a minority candidate
B) Only if the race is relatively close
C) If they are congregated in a geographic area
D) Especially if the candidate is a white liberal

Question 5

A major reason for the falling real wages of lower-income households is:

A) That the minimum wage law has not been adjusted to keep up with inflation
B) Fewer hours worked in the past three decades
C) Fewer workers in these homes
D) Lack of desire to work among members of these households

Question 6

Which of the following is false?

A) Government cutbacks in spending for low-income housing have had disproportionate impacts on African Americans and Latinos/as
B) The shortage of affordable housing has increased sharply over the last three decades
C) Welfare reform legislation has helped by providing housing subsides for all program participants
D) By 1995 there were more than 4.4 million fewer low-cost housing units than the number of low-income households

Question 7

Which of the following is true about drug use and arrests?

A) Whites are more likely to have used every illegal drug except heroin
B) Whites are more likely to be arrested and imprisoned for drugs at rates many times their share of the population
C) The rate of drug arrests among minorities during the 1980s remained flat, while for whites it doubled
D) Among youths, white drug arrest rates doubled while those for blacks declined

Question 8

Why are mass-transit systems important,especially for minorities?

A) Because it is cheaper to ride the bus than to pay for gas
B) Mass-transit is better for the environment
C) Many minority members do not have cars
D) Minorities are afraid to drive

Question 9

The power elite is/are:

A) A group of elected officials who make decisions about which bills to bring forth
B) The most powerful members of various groups who lobby for their issues with elected representatives
C) Professional bureaucrats in the executive branch, the military and wealthy Americans
D) The most involved and politically active of the voting public

Question 10

Zoning is used against minorities by:

A) Blocking proposed housing developments that would house minority group members
B) Preventing minorities from voting in local elections
C) Restricting the sale of homes to certain minority group members
D) Blocking access to local schools

Question 11

Which of the following is true?

A) Minority group members commit more crime of all types than whites
B) Blacks commit more white-collar crime than whites do
C) Most sources of crime information focus on "street crime" and not on white collar crime
D) The cost of "street crime" is higher than the cost of white-collar crime

Question 12

The poll tax was:

A) A tax on local government for use of polling places in private institutions
B) A tax that had to be paid to be able to vote
C) A state tax on income to pay for the costs of voting
D) A federal tax on companies that make national opinion polls using the telephone

Question 13

All of the following may cause welfare reform to fail EXCEPT

A) Finding a job in many of these inner city neighborhoods is difficult
B) Most jobs available to low-income recipients do not include health benefits
C) Childcare tends to be readily available and affordable for low income workers
D) Many people who are now on welfare may indeed not be able to work

Question 14

Which of the following is true about African American men and the Criminal Justice System?

A) African American men are less likely than whites to be incarcerated
B) An African American man in his twenties was more likely to be in jail or prison than college
C) Only about 1 out of 100 African American men is under criminal justice control
D) African American men are more likely to commit white collar crimes than "street crime"

Question 15

Prior to the Voting Rights Act of 1965,Southern states implemented policies or laws whose intent was to limit the ability of African Americans to vote.These include all of the following EXCEPT:

A) Grandfather clause
B) White primary
C) Restrictive covenant
D) Literacy test

Question 16

From a functionalist perspective,the role and functions of government and the political system includes the belief that:

A) There is a power elite of wealthy Americans who exercise real decision-making power
B) No one group can dominate the system, and many different groups can exercise veto power
C) Real decision making takes place behind the scenes by professional bureaucrats, the military and corporate leaders
D) The executive branch and a few powerful lobbyists for major companies make most of the decisions

Question 17

A provision that is attached to a deed or sales contract in which the buyer must agree not to sell or rent to a member of a specified group,such as blacks,Chicanos,or Jews,is called a:

A) Poll tax
B) Restrictive covenant
C) Literacy test
D) Restrictive deed

Question 18

The United States government imprisoned Japanese Americans during WWII.This is an example of how the U.S.government:

A) Tried to promote racial harmony
B) Played a central role in creating and maintaining racial inequality
C) Took a strong pro-immigration stance
D) Tried to facilitate assimilation of Japanese Americans into society

Question 19

In order to keep minority group members from voting,majority group members passed laws that stipulated that a person was not eligible to vote unless their grandfather had voted.What is this practice called?

A) Gerrymandering
B) Poll taxing
C) Grandfather clause
D) Literacy testing

Question 20

All the following are results of welfare reform EXCEPT:

A) Most who leave welfare do find jobs, but only about 40 percent remain on those jobs throughout the year
B) Fewer school problems among teenagers whose mothers made welfare-to-work transitions
C) Families may face reduced subsidies for child care and health care
D) A greater need for high-quality job-training programs to prepare people for employment.

Question 21

6.Most black congressional representatives are elected by predominately black constituencies.

Question 22

2.Segregation was required by law in some Southern states.

Question 23

8.The Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)record white-collar crime.

Question 24

1.The economic welfare of minorities has been influenced both directly and indirectly by government high construction policies that outwardly had nothing to do with race.

Question 25

10.Whereas 70 percent of drug users are non Hispanic whites,78 percent of the people imprisoned for drug use are African American and Hispanic.380
Essay

Question 26

9.Rarely are minority group members involved in white-collar crime.

Question 27

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Bias in conviction decisions is more likely when such decisions are made by juries rather than by judges
B) Minority group members are underrepresented on juries, in part, because of class
C) Whites are more likely to commit white-collar crime while blacks are more likely to commit street crime
D) The race of the victim, as well as the race of the offender, has had little effect on the severity of sentence

Question 28

Which of the following statements is true about the small claims court system?

A) It was established to provide legal protection for the rich
B) It was established to provide legal protection for the poor
C) They system had the effect that it was intended to have
D) The poor know how to use the small claims courts effectively

Question 29

7.In the 1990s,an African American male in his 20s is more likely to be under the criminal justice system control than in college.

Question 30

Which of the following is not true about relations between minorities and the police?

A) Police and minorities often experience a mutual self-fulfilling prophecy where each expects the worst of the other
B) Police officers have the role of being agents of control during minority protests
C) Police are less likely to be prejudiced against minorities than most other members of society
D) Police may overreact or treat people of different groups differently in situations of social unrest

Question 31

All of the following are true about the war on drugs and minorities EXCEPT:

A) The result of more punitive minimum sentencing laws has resulted in a greater number of whites imprisoned
B) Blacks are incarcerated for drug violations at a rate seventeen times that of non-Hispanic whites
C) Hispanics are incarcerated for drug violations at a rate eight times that of non-Hispanic whites
D) Although 70 percent of drug users are non Hispanic whites, 78 percent of those imprisoned for drug use are African American or Hispanic

Question 32

The monetary guarantee that an accused person who has been released from jail will show up for his or her trial is called:

A) A plea bargain
B) Bail
C) Court fees
D) A ticket

Question 33

Of the more than 4700 persons killed by police during the period from 1952 to 1969,over 2300,or 49 percent,were:

A) Non-white
B) Black
C) White
D) Indian

Question 34

Which of the following is true about the decision to arrest?

A) Police can usually tell if an illegal act has been committed so they always know when to arrest people
B) Police are more likely to find more crime among groups where they don't expect it because they like to surprise themselves
C) Police are no more likely to stop or arrest members of minority groups than members of majority groups
D) Police are more likely to stop and to arrest minority group members

Question 35

Which of the following has often been a precipitating event to a riot?

A) An incident between police and citizens
B) Hot weather
C) Unemployment
D) An incident between students and teachers

Question 36

Which of the following statements about police protection is false?

A) Police fail to adequately patrol minority neighborhoods
B) Police frequently do not respond adequately to calls for assistance from minority citizens
C) The African American community tends to have positive attitudes toward interactions with the police
D) Minority members are more likely to be victims of crimes than majority members

Question 37

The police practice of stopping or questioning people on the basis of their race is called:

A) Affirmative action
B) Restrictive covenant
C) Racial profiling
D) Blockbusting

Question 38

3.The government has always refused to enforce housing covenants.

Question 39

5.Some studies have found higher rates of school problems among teenagers whose mothers were in the welfare-to-work program.

Question 40

4.Affordable housing for low-income families is easily available in most areas of the country.

Question 41

3.What kind of racial discrimination is present among law enforcement officials in detection and the decision to arrest?

Question 42

1.Describe how the "grandfather clause," "the poll tax," the "white primary," and the literacy test were used to keep minorities from voting.

Question 43

2.Describe the impact of welfare reform legislation.What are some of the major problems in society make the success of these programs less likely?