Question 1

The Seneca Falls Convention focused on

Accepted Answer

The Seneca Falls Convention was a women's rights convention held in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York. It was the first of its kind in the United States and played a significant role in the early struggle for women's suffrage.

Question 2

In Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court said that states could provide separate facilities for African Americans and whites as long as

Accepted Answer

In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court established the "separate but equal" doctrine, which allowed states to provide separate facilities for African Americans and whites as long as the facilities were equal. This decision upheld racial segregation and discrimination, leading to over half a century of legal segregation and inequality in the United States.

Question 3

The ________ Amendment guaranteed the equal protection of the laws.

Accepted Answer

The Fourteenth Amendment, which was ratified in 1868, guaranteed the equal protection of the laws to all citizens. It also granted citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the United States, including former slaves.

Question 4

Outline the issues associated with and the significance of abortion rights and sexual harassment.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Outline the issues associated with and the...

Question 5

Which of the following statements best captures the nature of public education in the 1990s?

Accepted Answer

In the 1990s, despite earlier efforts to desegregate schools, there was a trend towards resegregation, leading to blacks and whites becoming less likely to attend schools together. This was due to various factors, including court decisions that rolled back desegregation efforts and demographic changes.

Question 6

Which of the following cases held that Congress could only restrict discrimination by state governments, not by private action.

Accepted Answer

The Civil Rights Cases (1883) established that the 14th Amendment only applied to state action and not to private individuals or organizations. This decision severely limited the ability of Congress to pass civil rights legislation aimed at combating discrimination by private individuals or entities.

Question 7

Civil rights refer to

Accepted Answer

Civil rights are government guarantees that ensure all citizens can participate equally in democratic processes, often focusing on eliminating discrimination and ensuring equal opportunities.

Question 8

The equal protection clause is included in the ________Amendment.

Accepted Answer

The equal protection clause is located in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. This amendment was ratified in 1868 and provides equal protection under the law to all citizens, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or religion.

Question 9

Americans in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries seemed more interested in protecting individuals against government than in guaranteeing political ________ through government.

Accepted Answer

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Americans were focused on protecting individual rights against government overreach, rather than ensuring political rights through government intervention.

Question 10

Which of the following is synonymous with a device that allowed whites who had failed the literacy test to vote anyway by extending the franchise to anyone whose ancestors had voted prior to 1867.

Accepted Answer

The grandfather clause allowed whites who had failed the literacy test to vote anyway by extending the franchise to anyone whose ancestors had voted prior to 1867. This was a way to disenfranchise African Americans who did not have the right to vote before 1867.

Question 11

The Civil War amendments to the Constitution, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments,

Accepted Answer

The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, the Fourteenth Amendment extended civil rights protection to the states, and the Fifteenth Amendment formally guaranteed the franchise for black males. These amendments did not address the concept of "separate but equal" which was later challenged in the Civil Rights Movement. The amendments also did not guarantee voting rights for all citizens over the age of 21 or declare slavery immoral (which had already been accomplished by the Emancipation Proclamation). The notion in option B that the amendments upheld slavery is incorrect. Option E is partially true in that the Fifteenth Amendment prohibited the use of race or color as a reason to deny voting rights, but it did not specifically outlaw poll taxes (this was addressed later by the Twenty-Fourth Amendment).

Question 12

Which of the following amendments to the Constitution contains the privileges and immunities clause

Accepted Answer

The privileges and immunities clause is found in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified in 1868. The clause prohibits states from discriminating against citizens of other states and guarantees citizens certain rights, such as the right to travel and the right to petition the government.

Question 13

How has the civil rights umbrella been broadened for the disabled? 
Be sure to include relevant congressional statutes and Supreme Court decisions in your answer.

Accepted Answer

The answer of How has the civil rights umbrella been...

Question 14

Which of the following constitutional amendments was NOT one of the Civil War amendments?

Accepted Answer

The Sixteenth Amendment was not one of the Civil War amendments. It was passed in 1913 and established the federal income tax. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments were all adopted during or soon after the Civil War and aimed to abolish slavery, grant citizenship to former slaves, and ensure voting rights for African-American men.

Question 15

Trace the history of affirmative action in employment. What has the Court typically upheld in its rulings? What has it typically struck down?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Trace the history of affirmative action in...

Question 16

The Bill of Rights did not guarantee political equality, and only in the twentieth century

Accepted Answer

The Bill of Rights did not guarantee political equality and it was only in the twentieth century that most minorities and women were included in constitutional protection. Amendments were added to end slavery and to grant black men the right to vote, however, these did not guarantee political equality for all.

Question 17

The Supreme Court decided, in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), that

Accepted Answer

In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of state laws that required segregation of the races in public places, as long as the facilities provided for each race were equal. This became known as the "separate but equal" doctrine. The decision essentially allowed for racial segregation and discrimination to continue in many aspects of American society for decades.

Question 18

The court case of Dred Scott v. Sanford involved

Accepted Answer

The Dred Scott v. Sanford case involved the argument that African Americans, whether enslaved or not, were not entitled to the rights and privileges of citizenship as outlined in the Constitution. The Supreme Court's decision in this case upheld the idea that African Americans had no rights that government was bound to respect, which contributed to the tensions and conflicts leading up to the Civil War.

Question 19

Place the history of the civil rights movement in the context of the debate at the Constitutional Convention. Would the framers recognize the Constitution after numerous amendments and court decisions furthered the civil rights of many? Even if it was not the intent of the framers to allow for such an expansion of rights, assess how well the Constitution has been able to adapt to change as needed.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Place the history of the civil rights...

Question 20

In Dowell v. Oklahoma City, the Supreme Court ruled that

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court in Dowell v. Oklahoma City ruled that public schools had fulfilled their obligation for equal protection of the races, allowing them to be released from court-ordered desegregation plans if they had demonstrated good faith compliance.

Quiz 16: Civil Rights: the Struggle for Political Equality