Deck 3: The Development of Dominantminority Relations in Preindustrial America: The Origins of Slavery

Question 1

"Enslaved Africans' labor is exploited for the benefit of landowning whites." This observation would most likely be made by which social theorist?

A) Weber
B) Noel
C) Lenski
D) Blauner
E) Marx

Answer 1

E

Question 2

A key feature of ______ is a low rate of overt conflict.

A) an estate system
B) paternalism
C) a rigid competitive system
D) a fluid competitive system
E) equality

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Slavery was a caste system, or a(n) ______ stratification system.

A) open
B) closed
C) flexible
D) fluid
E) stable

Answer 3

B

Question 4

How does Noel's third variable explain why Africans were enslaved instead of other groups?

A) Africans were well-organized social units with a vast knowledge of the countryside.
B) Africans were already indentured servants and well trained.
C) Africans did not negotiate better treatment.
D) Africans had no nearby relatives, no geographical knowledge of the area, and no secure escape refuge.
E) Africans had nearby relatives and had geographical knowledge of the area.

Question 5

Which of the following statements about a caste system is true?

A) Systematic inequalities are not apparent in the caste system.
B) Slavery is not part of the caste system, or closed stratification system.
C) The caste system is an open stratification system.
D) There is mobility between social positions, and their ascribed status is not permanent.
E) There is no mobility between social positions, and their ascribed status is permanent.

Question 6

According to the text, the single most important factor in the development of dominant-minority relations is ______.

A) the size of the dominant group
B) the degree of industrialization in the larger society
C) whether the dominant group is assimilationist or pluralistic
D) the nature of the contact situation
E) the degree of mutual ethnocentrism

Question 7

According to the Noel hypothesis, what will be the result of contact between groups that features ethnocentrism, competition between groups, and a differential in power?

A) assimilation
B) some system of inequality between the groups
C) some conflict followed by cultural pluralism
D) integration without acculturation
E) warfare

Question 8

The plantation elite designed and enacted an elaborate system of laws and customs that gave masters total legal power over slaves. In these laws, slaves were defined as ______.

A) laborers
B) children
C) chattel
D) servants
E) indentured

Question 9

Robert Blauner's theory of dominant-minority relations emphasizes the importance of ______.

A) the initial contact situation
B) prejudice and racist ideology
C) minority group assimilation strategies
D) institutional racism
E) ethnocentrism

Question 10

In colonial America, Native Americans were not enslaved. According to Noel's hypothesis, this was because ______.

A) the differential in power often favored Native Americans
B) there was no competition between colonists and Native Americans
C) the colonists had more power than Native Americans
D) the colonists felt greater ethnocentrism toward Africans than Native Americans
E) the colonists preferred White indentured servants, who were more available and reliable

Question 11

Most scholars agree that anti-Black prejudice ______.

A) was an important cause of American slavery
B) was a result of American slavery
C) existed in England before the start of the slave trade
D) declined as slavery began to take shape in colonial times
E) was based on the mutual ethnocentrism between colonists and Africans

Question 12

The movement to end slavery in the United States was called ______.

A) reformism
B) Quakerism
C) humanitarianism
D) abolitionism
E) revolution

Question 13

Which of the following describes the labor performed by women during slavery?

A) Enslaved women most often worked in isolated conditions.
B) Enslaved women were primarily assigned less hours than men.
C) Enslaved women performed work similar to that of White women.
D) Enslaved women performed work aligned with expectations of femininity.
E) Enslaved women were assigned group-oriented tasks.

Question 14

During slavery, which group experienced triple jeopardy?

A) African American men
B) Native American men
C) European American women
D) African American women
E) Native American women

Question 15

The population of Native Americans in the continental United States decreased dramatically by 1890 because ______.

A) warfare and battles led to casualties
B) of interracial marriage
C) of coercive assimilation
D) Native Americans died from a variety of infectious diseases
E) Native Americans migrated westward

Question 16

Slavery developed in the United States as a response to ______.

A) prejudice from European colonists
B) the desire to remove Native Americans from their land
C) a labor supply problem
D) massive immigration of Africans to the Americas
E) economic inequality

Question 17

Much of the southwest became U.S. territory in 1848 as a result of ______.

A) the revolt of Texas against Mexico
B) the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
C) the American Civil War
D) the California Gold Rush
E) the Dawes Allotment Act

Question 18

One difference in the situations of Mexican Americans and African Americans in the 19th century was that ______.

A) Mexican Americans were much more acculturated
B) African Americans were exploited for their land, Mexican Americans for their labor
C) Mexican Americans were able to retain much more of their culture
D) Mexican Americans were exploited only for their land
E) Mexican Americans were exploited for their wealth

Question 19

The results of contact with Anglo culture for Native Americans and Mexican American women were ______.

A) variable; their status relative to men sometimes rose, although always in the context of conquest and colonization
B) negative; they lost much more power and status than the men
C) positive; they gained power and status relative to the men
D) positive only for married women; single women always lost power and status
E) negative; they were often forced to become the heads of the household and perform additional labor

Question 20

Which set of terms best characterizes the situations African Americans, Native Americans, and Mexican Americans experienced as a result of their contact with Anglo-American society?

A) colonization and paternalism
B) pluralism and separatism
C) colonization and immigration
D) secondary structural assimilation and caste system
E) integration and Anglo-conformity

Question 21

Which of the following is a difference in contact situations between Native American tribes and the Spanish versus the English?

A) The Spanish found large, well-organized social systems and therefore found it useful to adapt to Aztec practices.
B) The Spanish needed to cooperate with at least some Native American tribes to maximize the benefits of the economy they created.
C) The Spanish met with smaller, less developed tribes and had no specific reason to adapt to those social structures.
D) The English originally attempted to enslave the Native population as a solution to the labor supply problem.
E) The English were less likely to use coercive acculturation methods to "civilize" the Natives.

Question 22

The label Native American is used to refer to ______.

A) hundreds of different tribes and nations
B) the first immigrants to arrive to the continent
C) a nationality
D) a single racial group identified by distinguishable visual traits
E) a single ethnic group with common cultural traditions

Question 23

Hawaiians first came into contact with Europeans in 1788. Conquest and colonization did not follow the early contact because ______.

A) the relationship was organized around agriculture
B) the relationship was organized around trade and commerce
C) contact with the indigenous Hawaiian society brought diseases
D) the indigenous Hawaiian plantation owners began to dominate the island economy
E) Hawaiian laws banned entire groups from public institutions or practices

Question 24

______ are more the results of systems of racial and ethnic inequality than they are the causes.

A) Prejudice and racism
B) Sexism and homophobia
C) Mistrust and fear
D) Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism
E) Competition and ethnocentrism

Question 25

Competition between Whites and ______ centered on control of land.

A) Africans
B) Native Americans
C) Dutch
D) Asians
E) Spanish

Question 26

Profits in the labor-intensive plantation system could be maximized if a large, disciplined, and ______ workforce was maintained by the landowners.

A) young
B) White
C) able-bodied
D) cheap
E) well-educated

Question 27

At about the same time as the plantation system began to emerge, the supply of White indentured servants from the British Isles began to ______.

A) increase
B) decrease, then increase
C) multiply
D) remain stable
E) dwindle

Question 28

American colonists came to see ______ as the most logical, cost-effective way to solve their labor shortage.

A) imported Africans
B) Asian immigrants
C) European immigrants
D) indigenous Americans
E) indigenous Mexicans

Question 29

______ minorities often originate as immigrant groups who bring resources and therefore have more opportunities than colonized minority groups in the host society.

A) Wealthy
B) Enclave
C) Ethnic
D) Racial
E) Privileged

Question 30

Integration was significantly more possible for ______ immigrant groups than for groups formed under conquest or colonization.

A) African
B) Asian
C) European
D) Australian
E) South American

Question 31

Which theory can be used to best explain the differences between how White women and enslaved Black women experienced patriarchy?

A) Gordon's model of assimilation
B) intersectionality
C) Marxism
D) the Blauner hypothesis
E) the Noel hypothesis

Question 32

The maintenance of connections to African traditions during enslavement supports which of the following conclusions about assimilation?

A) Colonized minority groups are not interested in adapting to the dominant culture.
B) Assimilation is a linear process.
C) The primary framework of assimilation in the United States is Americanization.
D) Coercive acculturation can have lasting psychological impacts on oppressed groups.
E) Assimilation and pluralism can occur simultaneously.

Question 33

Slavery was a ______, in which the social class you are born into is permanent.

A) class system
B) caste system
C) stratification system
D) fluid competitive system
E) powerless position

Question 34

What is a significant component of slavery related to ideas about enslaved Africans' humanity?

A) The paternalist system allowed Whites to maintain an appearance of tolerance.
B) Africans were originally indentured servants.
C) Enslaved Africans were defined as chattel.
D) Enslavement prevented Africans from developing political power.
E) Enslaved Africans struggled to directly challenge the institution of slavery.

Question 35

Anti-Black racism began as part of an attempt to control the labor of Black indentured servants, became embedded in early American culture, and developed into integral parts of the socialization process for future generations. This statement supports which theoretical perspective?

A) the Noel hypothesis
B) the importance of the contact situation
C) Blauner's hypothesis
D) Myrdal's vicious cycle
E) the segmented assimilation perspective

Question 36

Blauner's hypothesis, which states that the subordination of colonized minority groups is perpetuated over time, supports which of the following conclusions about assimilation?

A) Assimilation is inevitable and possible for all groups.
B) Assimilation is a linear process that takes a long time to conclude.
C) Minority groups must undergo acculturation before structural integration.
D) Assimilation can be segmented for different groups.
E) Assimilation and pluralism can occur simultaneously.

Question 37

The form of competition between groups is often influenced by the ______ of a society.

A) social structure
B) degree of stratification
C) economic inequality
D) subsistence technology
E) affective prejudice

Question 38

What is a key difference in the contact situation between colonists and Mexican Americans versus Native Americans?

A) Colonists desired Mexicans' land and labor.
B) Native Americans had a greater ability to resist coercive acculturation.
C) Colonists desired to control Native Americans' land and labor.
D) There was a greater power differential between colonists and Mexicans than for Native Americans.
E) Mexicans are not considered to have a colonized minority status.

Question 39

"The dynamics of slavery are informed by the society's focus on agricultural production." This observation would most likely be made by which social theorist?

A) Weber
B) Lenski
C) Marx
D) Gordon
E) Hill Collins

Question 40

Native American societies were generally matriarchal and followed a strict gender-based division of labor in which most men were the subordinates.

Question 41

The first Africans to come to the British colonies were probably indentured servants rather than slaves.

Question 42

According to Robert Blauner, the way in which immigrant and colonized groups come into contact with each other has consequences that persist long after the original contact.

Question 43

Paternalism is characterized as one group having vast power and significantly greater resources, with caste-like barriers between the two groups.

Question 44

Indentured servants were members of a caste system and had no opportunities for mobility.

Question 45

Native reservations, like slave plantations, could be considered paternalistic systems with a colonized group.

Question 46

The land set aside for reservations offered conditions and qualities similar to the land the Native Americans once controlled.

Question 47

Mexican Americans kept some political power and economic clout only in New Mexico, mostly because of their relatively large size and skill in mobilizing for political activity.

Question 48

Land and labor are central concerns in an agricultural society.

Question 49

The amount of power commanded by a group is a result of three factors: size, degree of organization, and amount of resources.

Question 50

Some White Southerners opposed slavery and fought for the abolition of the "peculiar institution."

Question 51

It was unusual for women in many tribes to play key roles in religion, politics, warfare, and the economy.

Question 52

Some degree of ethnocentrism is essential to the maintenance of social solidarity.

Question 53

Obtaining slaves from Africa was the most logical, cost-effective means of resolving American colonies' labor supply problems.

Question 54

Attempts at acculturation by various Native American tribes often resulted in the increase of status and power by Native American women.

Question 55

Before the American Revolution, the English colonizers acknowledged indigenous tribes as sovereign nations.

Question 56

Power differentials between groups partly explain why domination was established in some places faster than others.

Question 57

Gender stratification played little part for enslaved Africans, as both slave men and slave women worked in the field.

Question 58

The group-oriented nature of enslaved Black women's work allowed for the creation of networks to shape forms of resistance.

Question 59

The coercive acculturation forced on Native Americans on reservations erased connections to traditional practices.

Question 60

Whites benefited from the system of slavery regardless of whether they owned slaves.

Question 61

Daily acts of noncooperation performed by enslaved Africans had little significance for challenging the institution of slavery.

Question 62

Immigrant minority groups are involuntary participants in the host society.

Question 63

The possession of true femininity and womanhood was limited to White women.

Question 64

Mexican Americans were able to maintain their cultural heritage due to close proximity to their homeland.

Question 65

The label Native American refers to a single ethnic group.

Question 66

Only the wealthy elite owned slaves.

Question 67

The combining of African traditions with aspects of Anglo culture illustrates that assimilation is a linear process.

Question 68

The persistent inequality experienced by colonized groups is evidence of segmented assimilation.

Question 69

A level of acculturation is necessary for colonized groups to survive.

Question 70

Apply Noel's hypothesis to the contact situations of African Americans, Native Americans, and Mexican Americans. Link the differences in contact situations to the systems of group relationships that developed. Explain how the differences in the contact situation led to different relationships with the dominant group for each minority group.

Question 71

Explain Blauner's distinction between colonized and immigrant minority groups. Why is the initial contact period between minority and dominant groups so crucial? Relate Blauner's two types of minority groups to Gordon's theory of assimilation. Are immigrant or colonized minority groups more likely to follow Gordon's stages of assimilation in order? Why? Are immigrant or colonized minority groups more likely to encounter high levels of prejudice, discrimination, ideological racism, and institutional discrimination? Why?

Question 72

Explain the role of individual prejudice and ideological racism in the creation of minority group status for African Americans, Native Americans, and Mexican Americans. How do the dominant group stereotypes of each of these groups relate to the original contact situations and the nature of competition between these groups?

Question 73

The experience of conquest and colonization differed for men and women. Summarize the differences in experiences as a result of gender for African Americans, Native Americans, and Mexican Americans. Why did these differences occur?

Question 74

Explain the factors that led to the development of slavery in America using the Noel and Blauner hypotheses. Why is the plantation system of production significant for understanding the dynamics of slavery?

Question 75

Explain the paradox described by the following statement: The construction of a society devoted to individual freedom and liberty in the New World "was made possible only by the revival of an institution of naked tyranny foresworn for centuries in the Old [world]" (Lacy, 1972, p. 22).

Question 76

Compare and contrast the experiences of Native Hawaiians and Native Americans. What explains these similarities and differences?

Question 77

Compare the origins of dominant and minority relations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Use Blauner and Noel's work in your analysis. In what ways do contact situations shape group relations for centuries to come?

Question 78

Explain the role of subsistence technology in how dominant-minority relations developed in the preindustrial United States.

Question 79

Blauner's hypothesis states that minority groups created by colonization will experience greater, more long-lasting disadvantages than minority groups created by immigration. Apply this framework to issues of modern-day racial inequality.