Deck 1: The Origin of the Idea of Race

Question 1

Race is based on biological distinctions.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Race is a social and historical construction with no biological basis.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The idea of race as a classification system has been around since ancient times.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

In general, racial categories in the United States have not changed across history.

Question 5

In the 1600s, people in the Americas would have distinguished themselves according to their race, including "White," "Black," or "Native American."

Question 6

Ian, who was born in the United States, identifies strongly with Irish culture because of his family history there and his interest in traditional Celtic music. For Ian, an Irish identity is best classified as an ethnicity.

Question 7

The prevalence of slavery in ancient societies, such as ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt, is proof that racism existed in antiquity.

Question 8

The status of slaves varied across societies, with some slaves being adopted into the family, allowed to marry, or even owning property.

Question 9

The only people forced into slavery in the Americas were from Africa.

Question 10

Until the eighteenth century, no society categorically denied the humanity of slaves.

Question 11

Bacon's Rebellion was a key indicator that hostility existed between White servants and Black slaves.

Question 12

Elites strategically extended more privileges to White servants as opposed to Black slaves in order to prevent the two groups from joining forces in rebellion.

Question 13

White racial superiority was the initial justification for slavery in the Americas, but later was replaced by religious justifications.

Question 14

Scientists, such as Samuel George Morton, used measures of skull size and human abilities to show that Whites were superior over other groups.

Question 15

The Emancipation Proclamation demonstrated a change in American attitudes toward White superiority, with supporters such as Abraham Lincoln calling for social and political equality between Whites and Blacks.

Question 16

The term "race" refers to:

A) a group of people who originate from the same continent and share similar religious identities
B) a group of people who have the same skin color
C) a group of people who share physical and cultural traits as well as a common
Ancestry
D) a group of people who self-identify as belonging to the same ethnic category

Question 17

Racism refers to:

A) the belief that races are populations of people whose physical differences are linked to significant cultural and social differences
B) the belief that innate hierarchical racial differences can be measured and judged
C) the practice of subordinating races believed to be inferior
D) all of the above

Question 18

The idea of race as a classificatory system:

A) is a modern invention
B) has existed since ancient times
C) stemmed from Europeans' first interactions with people in Africa, Asia, and India
D) developed in response to slaves captured after European conquests

Question 19

What distinguishes race from ethnicity?

A) Race implies a set of hierarchical distinctions based on physical and cultural differences, it is often a category imposed by others; ethnicity refers to a shared identity based on group culture and history; it is more often self-selected
B) Ethnicity implies a set of hierarchical distinctions based on physical and cultural differences, it is often a category imposed by others; race refers to a shared identity based on group culture and history; it is more often self-selected
C) Race is a census category; ethnicity is not
D) Ethnicity is a census category; race is not

Question 20

Colonialism, slavery, and genocide are all examples of:

A) Biological forces shaping race
B) Historical forces shaping race
C) Scientific racism
D) The legal codification of race

Question 21

The Spanish Inquisition helped to shape the European understanding of human difference because it:

A) set a precedent of discrimination based on ancestry
B) was the first time people were discriminated against because of their race
C) was the first time people were classified based on their religion
D) set a precedent of using other racial groups as slaves

Question 22

What percentage of the Native population was eradicated as a result of two centuries of European colonization?

A) 10%
B) 25%
C) 50%
D) 95%

Question 23

The mass murder of the ethnic Tutsi people in Rwanda by the Hutu majority government is an example of:

A) Eugenics
B) Colonialism
C) Genocide
D) Symbolic ethnicity

Question 24

The French invasion and subsequent control and occupation of the country of Algeria is an example of:

A) Eugenics
B) Colonialism
C) Genocide
D) Symbolic ethnicity

Question 25

_________ is a set of principles and ideas that benefits the dominant group.

A) Colonialism
B) Racialization
C) Ideology
D) Codification

Question 26

Which of the following statements is NOT true of slavery in ancient societies?

A) Slavery was based primarily on racial hierarchies
B) Slavery existed within racial groups
C) Conquered people were enslaved to fulfill labor demand
D) Slaves' status varied across societies

Question 27

Which of the following was true of the Americas at the time of European invasion and conquest during the 16^th century?

A) Many civilizations in the Americas were more advanced than European civilizations
B) Europeans were careful to preserve existing cities in the Americas.
C) The relationship between the Spanish and indigenous people was one of mutual respect.

Question 28

The form of slavery that developed in the North American colonies was unique in each of the following ways, EXCEPT:

A) slavery was permanent
B) slaves were not allowed to learn how to read or write
C) slaves could only marry other slaves
D) slaves had no legal rights

Question 29

The use of African slaves in the North American colonies proved more profitable than enslaving indigenous people for several reasons, including:

A) they were disinclined to intermarry with European indentured servants
B) they had immunities to Old World diseases
C) they were better adapted to the climate
D) they were viewed as racially inferior

Question 30

Passed in the 1600s, laws aimed at distinguishing the social status of European indentured servants from that of African slaves were known as the:

A) Virginia common laws
B) fugitive slave laws
C) slave codes
D) servitude acts

Question 31

How did English colonists justify forcibly taking land from indigenous people?

A) Scientific arguments
B) Religious arguments
C) Cultural arguments
D) Economic arguments

Question 32

What was the motivation for Virginia's laws that prohibited intermarriage between free Whites with Blacks or Native Americans?

A) Because of scientific racism, they believed that biracial children would be biologically inferior.
B) They were concerned that these groups would realize their shared interests and unite against their oppressors
C) They believed interracial marriage was contrary to Christian doctrine.
D) They were concerned about the spread of disease between cultures.

Question 33

Bacon's Rebellion confirmed colonists' fears that:

A) White servants and Black slaves would join forces
B) Native Americans would use colonial weapons to rebel
C) White servants would conspire with Native Americans
D) Black slaves would rebel against the slave codes

Question 34

Colonists' initial justifications for using African slaves were based on:

A) genetics
B) race
C) anthropometrics
D) religion

Question 35

Why did American slavery come to an end after the Civil War?

A) By the 1800s, slavery was no longer as profitable as it had been in the past.
B) Lincoln spread the belief in the equality of races.
C) Capitalists in the North believed slavery gave the south an unfair competitive advantage.
D) Poor Whites and enslaved Blacks formed powerful coalitions based on their shared economic interests.

Question 36

The racial taxonomies developed by François Bernier, Carolus Linnaeus, and Johann Blumenbach laid the groundwork for modern ideas of race by:

A) claiming that Whites were the only group that could experience salvation
B) proving that interracial marriage resulted in smaller brain size
C) linking skin color to intelligence
D) attributing cultural and moral qualities to each racial group

Question 37

Why were the methods used by scientists such as Samuel George Morton problematic?

A) They were biased by the expectations of the scientists.
B) The scientists did not have enough subjects to prove their theories.
C) The technology needed to properly test their theories did not yet exist.
D) The scientists were under political pressure to find certain results.

Question 38

The _____________ allowed for the forcible displacement of thousands of Native Americans.

A) Indian Act of 1876
B) Indian Removal Act of 1830
C) Indian Appropriations Act of 1851
D) Indian Land Act of 1860

Question 39

English colonists' justification for the treatment of Native Americans was distinct from justifications for African slavery in that:

A) Native Americans were seen as hindering White expansion
B) Native American rebellion was less of a threat than African slave rebellion
C) Native Americans were considered superior to Blacks
D) Native Americans were vital sources of labor

Question 40

How was wealth distributed in colonial North America?

A) Wealth was equitably distributed across races.
B) Wealth was equitably distributed among White people.
C) Wealth was concentrated in the hands of very few White families.
D) Although wealth was inequitable, people accepted economic inequality as God's will.

Question 41

Define race. Explain sociologists' argument that race is a social and historical, rather than biological, construction.

Question 42

Define racism. How is the idea of race linked to racism?

Question 43

Is it correct to assert that the prevalence of slavery in ancient society proves the existence of racism in antiquity? Why or why not?

Question 44

Why was the enslavement of Africans more profitable for English colonists than the enslavement of people indigenous to the Americas?

Question 45

Were initial justifications for enslaving Africans in English colonies racial in nature? Why or why not?

Question 46

Describe the slave codes. How were these slave codes intended to impact social relations between African and European servants and slaves?

Question 47

Describe anthropometrics. What do anthropometric studies of human difference show us about the way in which science has shaped the idea of race?

Question 48

Describe the Indian Removal Act of 1830. How did the U.S. government justify this policy?

Question 49

Does the Emancipation Proclamation reveal that Abraham Lincoln believed in the social and political equality of Blacks and Whites? Why or why not?

Question 50

Explain how both the Spanish Inquisition and England's conflict with Ireland set historical precedents for contemporary racism in North America.

Question 51

How did the unique form of slavery in North American colonies lay the foundation for a race-based social order in the English colonies of North America?

Question 52

How did Bacon's Rebellion confirm the fears of colonial plantation owners and illustrate the purpose of the slave codes enacted in the 1660s? How did the slave codes help solidify the construction of colonial America's idea of race?

Question 53

Compare and contrast the racial taxonomies developed by Francois Bernier, Carolus Linnaeus, and Johann Blumenbach. What assumptions are implicit in these scientists' classifications of human difference? How do these assumptions continue to shape the modern idea of race?

Question 54

How did scientists who used anthropometric techniques explain human difference? What problems did these scientists have with their data collection and analysis? What do these problems imply about science's role in the social and historical creation of race?

Question 55

How did the U.S. government's justification of Indian Removal differ from its justification for slavery? How does each of these justifications challenge the United States' Declaration of Independence? Given this challenge, why was slavery not abolished until 1865?