Question 1

In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that

Accepted Answer

In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that the "separate but equal" doctrine was unconstitutional. This landmark case declared segregation in public schools to be a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 2

President Richard Nixon's Philadelphia Plan focused on

Accepted Answer

The Philadelphia Plan was an affirmative action program implemented by President Nixon in 1969 that aimed to increase minority hiring in federal contracts. It required federal contractors to meet hiring quotas for African Americans in the skilled trades.

Question 3

___________ discrimination is the use of race in law or government regulations to discriminate.

Accepted Answer

The term "de jure" refers to something that is established by law, so de jure discrimination refers to discrimination that is legally mandated or enforced by laws or government regulations. This is in contrast to "de facto" discrimination, which refers to discrimination that occurs in practice or as a result of social norms and attitudes, but is not necessarily legally sanctioned. Thus, option D is the best answer.

Question 4

The standard of strict scrutiny applies to

Accepted Answer

The standard of strict scrutiny applies to race. This means that any law or governmental action that discriminates based on race must be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest.

Question 5

Under what type of scrutiny does the Supreme Court examine racial discrimination?

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court applies strict scrutiny when examining racial discrimination. Strict scrutiny requires that the government must have a compelling interest in discriminating based on race and that the discriminatory means must be narrowly tailored to achieve that interest. This is a higher level of scrutiny than intermediate scrutiny, which is applied to discrimination based on gender, and ordinary scrutiny, which is applied to most other types of discrimination. Suspect scrutiny is not a commonly used term in constitutional law. Lax scrutiny is not a recognized level of scrutiny.

Question 6

Since Bakke, government and higher education racial preferences have

Accepted Answer

Since the Bakke case, government and higher education institutions have used race as a factor in their hiring or admissions decisions. However, strict quotas based solely on race have been deemed unconstitutional.

Question 7

Which of the following cases ruled that women's suffrage was not a right inherent in the Fourteenth Amendment, and encouraged women to use more direct forms of political agitation to secure the vote?

Accepted Answer

Minor v. Happersett (1874) ruled that women's suffrage was not a right inherent in the Fourteenth Amendment, and instead suggested that women should use more direct forms of political agitation to secure the right to vote.

Question 8

What is a "white primary"?

Accepted Answer

A "white primary" refers to a primary election that is open only to whites, which was a Jim Crow strategy used to prevent African Americans from participating in the political process. Therefore, the correct answer is D, which includes both options A and C.

Question 9

In which case did the Court rule that only affirmative action programs that are narrowly tailored to redress specific violations will be upheld?

Accepted Answer

In Richmond v. Croson, the Supreme Court ruled that affirmative action programs must be narrowly tailored to address specific instances of past discrimination. This decision emphasized the need for a strong evidentiary basis to justify race-based remedial measures.

Question 10

Which of the following court cases held that strict scrutiny should be applied to those instances that restricted the democratic process?

Accepted Answer

The case of U.S. v. Carolene Products (1938) held that courts should apply strict scrutiny to laws that restrict political processes such as voting rights, as they are crucial to the functioning of a democratic society. This decision established the principle that laws that restrict access to the democratic process must be narrowly tailored to meet a compelling government interest, a higher standard than the usual rational basis test.

Question 11

Which of the following is true about affirmative action programs today

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court has recognized diversity in education as a compelling interest that can justify the use of race in admissions decisions, making it a valid reason for affirmative action.

Question 12

Plessy v. Ferguson's separate but equal doctrine was reversed by

Accepted Answer

Brown v. Board of Education, in 1954, reversed the previously established "separate but equal" doctrine in Plessy v. Ferguson, ruling that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

Question 13

Which of the following eventually pushed the Court, the president, and Congress to take the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment seriously?

Accepted Answer

The civil rights movement, including organized protests and legal challenges, pressured the Court, the president, and Congress to actively enforce the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This led to landmark civil rights legislation and court decisions, including Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The other options listed (A, C, D, E) did not play a significant role in pushing for equal protection under the law.

Question 14

Which of the following cases did Brown v. Board of Education (1954) reverse?

Accepted Answer

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) reversed the decision made in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) which had established the "separate but equal" doctrine allowing racial segregation in public facilities.

Question 15

Affirmative action is

Accepted Answer

Affirmative action is a program of private and public institutions that favor minorities and women in an attempt to compensate for past discrimination. Its goal is to increase diversity and help level the playing field for historically disadvantaged groups. While it has been controversial and has faced legal challenges, it remains a tool for promoting equal opportunity and diversity in many areas of society.

Question 16

The Supreme Court, even with numerous follow-up cases, was able to accomplish little after the Brown decision until the president and Congress backed up the justices with the

Accepted Answer

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were both major pieces of legislation that gave teeth to the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision by outlawing discrimination in a variety of areas and providing federal enforcement mechanisms. Together, these laws helped push forward the Civil Rights Movement and promote greater equality in American society.

Question 17

In ________, the Court ruled that race could not be used as the basis for drawing House district lines in an effort to increase the number of racial minority members in Congress.

Accepted Answer

Miller v. Johnson was a 1995 Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that race cannot be the sole or predominant factor in drawing district lines, specifically in an effort to create majority-minority districts. This decision was a significant blow to racial gerrymandering, which is the redrawing of district lines to benefit one race over another. The other options listed in the question address different issues, such as affirmative action (Grutter v. Bollinger) and reverse discrimination (Regents v. Bakke).

Question 18

Judicial support to the gradual advance of civil rights guarantees for African Americans and other minorities was based primarily on the ________ Amendment.

Accepted Answer

The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, provided equal protection under the law to all citizens and was the basis for many landmark civil rights cases, including Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and Loving v. Virginia (1967). The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, the Fifteenth Amendment granted voting rights to African American men, and the Nineteenth Amendment granted voting rights to women. The Tenth Amendment established the principle of federalism, reserving powers to the states not delegated to the federal government. While each of these amendments has been important in the development of civil rights in the United States, the Fourteenth Amendment has been the primary basis for judicial support of civil rights for minorities.

Question 19

In 2003, the Supreme Court

Accepted Answer

In 2003, the Supreme Court upheld and allowed using race as a factor in college admissions. This was the decision in the Grutter v. Bollinger case, in which the Court concluded that the University of Michigan Law School's use of race as one factor in admissions was constitutional in pursuit of a compelling interest in a diverse student body.

Question 20

According to the results of recent polls, most Americans believe that affirmative action programs that give preferential treatment for racial minorities or women

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to the results of recent polls,...

Quiz 16: Civil Rights: the Struggle for Political Equality