Question 1

Even though the Hispanic population is fairly small,they earned their civil rights earlier and more completely than did African Americans.

Accepted Answer

This statement is false. The Hispanic population still faces many inequalities and disparities in terms of civil rights, including access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s primarily focused on African American rights, and while it did lead to positive changes for other minority groups, the struggle for civil rights and equality is ongoing for all marginalized communities.

Question 2

What rationale did the Supreme Court rely on in deciding that school segregation was permissible?

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court relied on the rationale that segregation in public facilities was not unconstitutional as long as the separate facilities were substantially equal, as outlined in the legal doctrine of "separate but equal." This was the basis for their decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws in public facilities.

Question 3

Why did Southern states enact poll taxes?

Accepted Answer

Southern states enacted poll taxes as a way to get around the Fifteenth Amendment, which prohibited denying someone the right to vote based on their race. By requiring potential voters to pay a tax in order to vote, many African Americans and poor whites were effectively disenfranchised, since they could not afford to pay the tax.

Question 4

Many states currently use the white primary as a form of affirmative action for electoral politics.

Accepted Answer

The white primary was a discriminatory practice used in the southern United States to exclude African Americans from participating in primary elections. It was outlawed by the Supreme Court in 1944 in the case of Smith v. Allwright. Affirmative action for electoral politics refers to policies or practices that seek to promote diversity or equal representation in political bodies, and may take different forms, such as quotas or recruitment efforts. However, the use of affirmative action in electoral politics is controversial and subject to legal and political debate.

Question 5

Why did Congress pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965?

Accepted Answer

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed due to continued discrimination against African Americans in the South and their lack of access to the voting process. Despite the Fifteenth Amendment granting African American men the right to vote, many Southern states had enforced discriminatory practices to prevent them from doing so, such as the use of literacy tests and poll taxes. As a result, it was necessary for Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to enforce and protect the Fifteenth Amendment rights of African Americans.

Question 6

How are the Supreme Court decisions in Korematsu v. United States (1944)and Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)similar?

Accepted Answer

Both Korematsu v. United States and Plessy v. Ferguson were Supreme Court decisions that hindered the civil rights of racial or ethnic minorities. Korematsu upheld the forced internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, while Plessy upheld the principle of "separate but equal" and allowed for racial segregation. Neither decision was a positive turning point in American jurisprudence, and while they were both important in the history of civil rights, they were not early victories.

Question 7

Based on the Supreme Court's decision in Reed v. Reed,which of the following laws would most likely be overturned?

Accepted Answer

Reed v. Reed was a landmark case that ruled against discrimination based on sex, establishing that laws cannot prefer one gender over another without a substantial justification. Option C, which sets different voting ages for men and women, directly discriminates based on sex, making it the most likely to be overturned based on the precedent set by Reed v. Reed.

Question 8

What is the status of affirmative action in college admissions after the Supreme Court decisions in the two cases involving the University of Michigan,Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)and Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)?

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court decisions in Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003 upheld that affirmative action policies in college admissions are generally permissible as long as they do not involve race-based quotas or numerical point systems. Instead, race can be one of many factors considered in a holistic review of an applicant's qualifications. However, the Court also emphasized that such policies must be narrowly tailored and regularly reviewed to ensure they meet their intended purpose of promoting diversity and avoiding discrimination.

Question 9

School busing policies were designed to overcome __________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of School busing policies were designed to overcome...

Question 10

Since the 1950s,the Supreme Court has gradually eliminated virtually all de facto segregation in the United States.

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court has made significant strides in combating segregation, but de facto segregation still exists in some areas of the country. De facto segregation refers to segregation that occurs "by fact" due to residential patterns and economic circumstances rather than by explicit laws or policies. While the Court has struck down many explicitly discriminatory laws and policies, it is much more difficult to address de facto segregation.

Question 11

Reconstruction was the era of racial healing that followed the civil rights movement.

Accepted Answer

Reconstruction was the period after the American Civil War when the United States attempted to rebuild and reconcile with former Confederate states, but it was marked by significant challenges and setbacks for African Americans in terms of securing their civil rights and political representation. The civil rights movement took place many decades later, in the mid-20th century, and was a separate movement aimed at ending legal segregation and discrimination against African Americans.

Question 12

Which of the following arguments would most likely be made by an opponent of affirmative action policies?

Accepted Answer

Opponents of affirmative action often argue that these policies discriminate against individuals based on their race. They believe that qualifications and merit should be the sole determinants in hiring and admissions decisions, and that race should not be a factor. Choices A, B, and D are arguments in favor of affirmative action or diversity in general.

Question 13

How has the Equal Rights Amendment affected women's civil rights?

Accepted Answer

The Equal Rights Amendment has not been formally adopted, so it has had little effect on women's civil rights.

Question 14

Title IX of the Education Act of 1972 has expanded educational and sports opportunities for female students.

Accepted Answer

Title IX of the Education Act of 1972 has indeed expanded educational and sports opportunities for female students. It prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program or activity that receives federal funding. This includes areas such as admissions, financial aid, athletics, and student housing. Title IX has had a significant impact on increasing the number of girls and women who participate in sports and receive educational opportunities.

Question 15

The civil rights movement used tactics such as sit-ins,marches,and civil disobedience to advance equal opportunities in the political and economic sectors.

Accepted Answer

The civil rights movement did use tactics such as sit-ins, marches, and civil disobedience to advance equal opportunities in the political and economic sectors.

Question 16

The freedom riders attempted to prevent civil rights activists from integrating the South.

Accepted Answer

The freedom riders were civil rights activists who rode buses through the South in the 1960s in order to challenge segregation policies. They were not trying to prevent integration, but rather advocating for it.

Question 17

How are the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 similar?

Accepted Answer

Both the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 aimed to secure equal civil and political rights for African Americans. While the Fourteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution in 1868, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964, after a long and challenging struggle. Both the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 were significant in advancing civil rights for African Americans in the United States.

Question 18

In Plessy v. Ferguson,the Supreme Court overturned the separate-but-equal doctrine that the Court had established in Brown v. Board of Education.

Accepted Answer

This statement is incorrect. In fact, the opposite is true. Brown v. Board of Education overturned the separate-but-equal doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson.

Question 19

How do the inherently suspect and reasonableness standards differ?

Accepted Answer

The inherently suspect standard is a higher threshold for determining whether a law is constitutional, and applies to laws that classify people based on race, religion, or national origin. The reasonableness standard, on the other hand, applies to all other laws and evaluates whether the law is rationally connected to a legitimate government goal and whether it is the least restrictive way to achieve that goal.

Question 20

What was the Supreme Court's justification in Brown v. Board of Education?

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court justified their ruling in Brown v. Board of Education on the basis of violating the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection, which prohibits states from denying any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. The court found that school segregation did not provide equal protection and was therefore unconstitutional.

Quiz 5: Civil Rights and Public Policy