Question 1

After the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, the issue for Southern states became how to deny which right to Blacks without seeming to do it on the basis of race?

Accepted Answer

The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870, granted African American men the right to vote. Southern states sought ways to circumvent this amendment to deny Blacks the right to vote without explicitly violating the amendment, leading to the implementation of measures such as literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses.

Question 2

In which case did the U.S. Supreme Court interpret literacy tests as excluding Blacks on the basis of literacy, not race, because the tests also excluded illiterate whites not covered by grandfather clauses; thus, the tests did not violate the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendments?

Accepted Answer

In Williams v. State of Mississippi (1898), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the literacy tests and poll taxes implemented by the Mississippi constitution did not violate the Fifteenth Amendment. The Court reasoned that these measures applied to all citizens and were not specifically designed to disenfranchise African Americans, despite their clear impact and intent to do so. This decision effectively allowed the continued use of literacy tests to disenfranchise Black voters, under the guise of a race-neutral application.

Question 3

Which of the following Black leaders emerged in the robust era of Jim Crowism with radically different ideas about how Blacks should respond?

Accepted Answer

Booker T. Washington advocated for African Americans to advance through education and economic self-help, while W. E. B. DuBois emphasized the need for political action and civil rights activism.

Question 4

Which early influential Black leader counseled that Blacks should aspire to higher education, not be content with manual work, and agitate for the restoration of their rights?

Accepted Answer

W.E.B. DuBois was a prominent African American leader and co-founder of the NAACP who advocated for higher education for African Americans and the restoration of their civil rights, contrasting with Booker T. Washington's approach of vocational training and accommodation to segregation.

Question 5

In the aftermath of World War I, there was a revival of the ___________, numerous white race riots, and an increase in lynching from 36 cases in 1917 to 76 in 1919.

Accepted Answer

The Ku Klux Klan experienced a significant revival in the aftermath of World War I, capitalizing on the era's racial tensions and contributing to the increase in racial violence, including lynchings and race riots during this period.

Question 6

The most significant test of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 came in which year, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was called in to investigate the lynching of Michael Donald?

Accepted Answer

The most significant test of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 came in 1981 with the investigation of the lynching of Michael Donald, marking a pivotal moment in the enforcement of civil rights laws in the United States.

Question 7

What case was the first significant post-World War II U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Black rights?

Accepted Answer

Smith v. Allwright (1944) was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that ruled it unconstitutional for the state of Texas to allow the Democratic Party to hold all-white primaries, which effectively disenfranchised Black voters. This case was significant in advancing Black rights post-World War II.

Question 8

Which court case ended racial segregation in American schools?

Accepted Answer

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, decided in 1954, was the landmark Supreme Court case that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional, effectively ending racial segregation in American schools.

Question 9

Which act gave federal officials both the power to bring desegregation suits on behalf of individuals and the power to withhold federal funds to school districts practicing racial discrimination?

Accepted Answer

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 granted federal officials the authority to file desegregation lawsuits and to withhold federal funds from school districts that discriminated based on race, thus playing a crucial role in the fight against racial segregation in schools.

Question 10

Which amendment declared the poll tax unconstitutional in 1964?

Accepted Answer

The Twenty-Fourth Amendment, ratified in 1964, declared the poll tax unconstitutional in federal elections, removing a barrier that had been used to prevent many African Americans and poor people of all races from voting.

Question 11

The cases of Smith v. Allwright and Brown v. Board of Education gave legitimacy, support, and impetus to Black protest movements and precipitated an unprecedented level of:

Accepted Answer

These cases were landmark decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court that helped dismantle systemic racial segregation, thereby encouraging activism among African Americans and their allies in the Civil Rights Movement.

Question 12

Indians were enslaved in how many of the thirteen colonies?

Accepted Answer

Indians were enslaved in all of the thirteen colonies. This practice was widespread and not limited to any specific region within the colonies.

Question 13

Which act essentially established the British government as the protector of Indian rights and the Indian tribes as its wards?

Accepted Answer

The Proclamation Act of 1763 was issued by King George III following Great Britain's acquisition of French territory in North America after the end of the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War. It forbade settlers from settling past a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains, which was intended to minimize conflicts between settlers and Native American tribes. Thus, it can be seen as an early attempt by the British government to act in a protective role over Native American rights, establishing the tribes in a way as wards of the state.

Question 14

What treaty was the first of about 350 treaties made with the Indians?

Accepted Answer

The Treaty of Fort Pitt, signed in 1778, was the first treaty between the United States and Native Americans. It was an agreement with the Lenape (Delaware) people during the American Revolutionary War, aiming for their support against the British.

Question 15

Which case was the first of the Marshall Trilogy and was a land ownership dispute between whites, although the U.S. Supreme Court used it to define the relationship of the federal government to the Indian nations?

Accepted Answer

Johnson v. McIntosh (1823) was the first case of the Marshall Trilogy, where the U.S. Supreme Court established that the principle of discovery gave European sovereigns and their successors (the United States) ultimate dominion over and title to lands within America. This case was pivotal in defining the property rights and sovereignty issues between the federal government and Native American tribes, despite being a dispute between two parties of white settlers over land ownership.

Question 16

Which 1830 act called for the removal of all Indians in the southeastern states to "Indian territory"?

Accepted Answer

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 authorized the President to negotiate with southern Native American tribes for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their ancestral homelands.

Question 17

In 1838-1839, which Native American group were marched over 1,000 miles in the dead of winter, losing 25 percent of their number to death along the way?

Accepted Answer

The Cherokee were forced to march over 1,000 miles during the winter in what is known as the Trail of Tears, resulting in the death of approximately 25 percent of their population.

Question 18

In which case did the U.S. Supreme Court rule in favor of Standing Bear on both counts, stating that "an Indian is a person within the meaning of the law of the United States"?

Accepted Answer

The case "Standing Bear v. Crook" was a landmark decision in 1879 where the U.S. District Court recognized that Native Americans are "persons" under U.S. law and have the right to habeas corpus.

Question 19

The U.S. Supreme Court endorsed the right of Congress to abrogate Indian treaties in the _____________, which upheld the federal government's right to tax Cherokee tobacco sales in violation of an 1866 treaty.

Accepted Answer

The correct case is Cherokee Tobacco, which upheld the federal government's right to tax Cherokee tobacco sales despite an 1866 treaty that suggested otherwise. This case is a significant example of the Supreme Court endorsing Congress's ability to abrogate Indian treaties.

Question 20

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was first established by which federal department in 1824?

Accepted Answer

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was first established within the War Department in 1824, reflecting the early U.S. government policy of treating Native American tribes as foreign nations.

Quiz 13: Racial Minorities and the Law