Deck 6: The Struggle for Equal Rights

Question 1

Which of the following cases did NOT help to overturn the "separate but equal" doctrine?

A) Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada
B) Sweatt v. Painter
C) Korematsu v. United States
D) Dred Scott v. Sandford
E) Brown v. Board of Education

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In the first half of the twentieth century,the status of blacks was that _______.

A) they had no rights in law or practice
B) Congress tried to protect their rights, but it was blocked by the Supreme Court
C) the president tried to protect their rights, but he was blocked by Congress
D) no branch of government was willing to enforce the laws giving rights to blacks
E) the national government wanted to enforce the rights of blacks but was blocked by state governments

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Blacks were kept from exercising their rights in the South after Reconstruction by all of the following methods EXCEPT this one:

A) grandfather clauses
B) Jim Crow laws
C) poll taxes
D) literacy tests
E) civil suits

Answer 3

E

Question 4

The Supreme Court designated race a suspect class in the _______.

A) 1870s
B) 1890s
C) 1950s
D) 1980s
E) 1930s

Question 5

The decision in _______ overturned Plessy v.Ferguson.

A) Sweatt v. Painter
B) Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada
C) Korematsu v. United States
D) Brown v. Board of Education
E) Smith v. Allwright

Question 6

The significance of suspect classification is that it _______.

A) allows the government to call into question whether a group requires protection from discriminatory laws
B) is crucial in a group's struggle for civil rights
C) requires the police to read a suspect his or her rights before questioning
D) was the sole basis for the decision in Brown v. Board of Education
E) requires courts to apply a minimum rationality standard of review to laws affecting a group

Question 7

The 2008 presidential election was important because it _______.

A) demonstrated that African Americans are still not taken seriously as presidential candidates
B) split the nation along racial lines
C) demonstrated that a woman could not run for the presidency unless she stressed "women's issues"
D) demonstrated that the white power structure still controls the political parties
E) demonstrated that women and African Americans can be serious contenders for the presidency

Question 8

A suspect classification is one that _______.

A) makes a group's claims of discrimination suspect
B) treats people differently because of a classification such as race; laws that include suspect classifications are subject to strict scrutiny
C) is a classification used to place suspected racists on a watch list, and they are subsequently scrutinized
D) is a method of classifying suspects as to whether their crimes are hate crimes
E) is used for situations involving handicapped persons

Question 9

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

A) school districts had to integrate within exactly five years
B) segregated schools were inherently unequal because the very fact of segregation made blacks feel unequal
C) busing would be used as the sole method to integrate schools
D) all segregated facilities, whether they were schools or not, were unconstitutional
E) school integration was the responsibility of state governments only

Question 10

The rights given to African Americans in the Thirteenth,Fourteenth,and Fifteenth Amendments did not really help African Americans following the Civil War because _______.

A) the amendments did not apply to all the states
B) the nation was slow to ratify these amendments
C) African Americans were not allowed access to courts
D) the wording of rights in these amendments did not specifically mention African Americans
E) Congress, the president, and southern state governments made little effort to enforce them

Question 11

The civil rights movement of the 1950s-1960s was most successful in eliminating ______ but was far less successful in eliminating ______.

A) de jure discrimination; de facto discrimination
B) de facto discrimination; de jure discrimination
C) economic differences among the races; political differences among the races
D) differences in levels of educational attainment among the races; differences in levels of social attainment among the races
E) underrepresentation of African Americans among office holders; underrepresentation of African Americans in the professions

Question 12

Social and economic statistics tend to show that _______.

A) African Americans have completely overcome the effects of systematic discrimination
B) African Americans are now greatly advantaged over whites because of civil rights laws
C) African Americans have gotten no benefit from recent civil rights policies
D) inequality still pervades the American system
E) whites have benefited from recent civil rights policies more than African Americans

Question 13

______ discrimination is discrimination in fact.

A) De facto
B) De solis
C) Ad hoc
D) De jure
E) Ex post facto

Question 14

The major,nationwide impact of the Brown v.Board of Education decision was that it _______.

A) motivated African Americans to align themselves with Mexican Americans to bring about school desegregation
B) instituted busing to overcome de facto discrimination
C) caused school desegregation in the South to move ahead rapidly
D) caused many southern whites to move to the North
E) served as a catalyst for the civil rights movement

Question 15

The NAACP chose education as the issue over which to fight segregation because _______.

A) segregation was widespread only in education
B) segregated education was particularly disastrous for blacks because it limited their potential
C) the Supreme Court had already suggested segregation in education was suspect
D) it was one of several subjects they brought to the Supreme Court but the only one on which they won
E) it was suggested to them by a member of the Supreme Court

Question 16

The legal methods used to deny African Americans the right to vote,such as literacy tests and poll taxes,were overcome by _______.

A) passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Twenty-Fourth Amendment to the Constitution
B) an executive order issued by President Lyndon Johnson
C) changes in the political leadership of the southern states
D) passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution
E) Reconstruction

Question 17

The concepts of strict scrutiny and suspect classification are used by the Supreme Court to answer what question?

A) When is torture of suspected terrorists permitted?
B) When can we suspect minorities of taking advantage of civil rights laws?
C) When can the police act on their suspicions that someone is an illegal alien?
D) When can the law treat people differently?
E) When can the president act on suspicions that another country is going to attack the United States?

Question 18

Attempts by the U.S.government to ensure that blacks enjoyed equal citizenship in fact as well as in theory after the Civil War _______.

A) were generally successful with few exceptions
B) were blocked by Republicans in Congress
C) essentially ended by the time Reconstruction was completed and were not reinitiated until the civil rights era
D) were not successful until the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment
E) were not successful until the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment

Question 19

Which of the following combinations is incorrect?

A) race, suspect class
B) gender, quasisuspect class
C) age, nonsuspect class
D) sexual orientation, quasisuspect class
E) social class, nonsuspect class

Question 20

Korematsu v.United States _______.

A) held that the poll tax violated the Fourteenth Amendment
B) limited the civil rights of Japanese Americans in the interest of national security
C) granted voting rights to Japanese Americans
D) ended the doctrine of "separate but equal"
E) declared immigration restrictions on Japanese Americans to be unconstitutional

Question 21

Which of the following is an example of a procedural policy?

A) Title IX
B) Busing
C) The Civil Rights Act of 1964
D) Universal health care
E) Affirmative action

Question 22

All of the following statements concerning affirmative action are true EXCEPT this one:

A) A majority of Americans support the principles behind affirmative action.
B) It is intended to be a substantive remedy for past discrimination.
C) It has been banned in a number of states.
D) Strict scrutiny has been used to oppose affirmative action.
E) Statistics indicate that blacks are now even with whites on most economic measures.

Question 23

The first Hispanic justice of the U.S.Supreme Court _______.

A) is Alberto Gonzales
B) is Elián González
C) is Bill Richardson
D) has yet to be appointed
E) is Sonia Sotomayor

Question 24

The candidacy and election of Barack Obama had all of the following effects EXCEPT this one:

A) It clearly improved the candidacies of blacks in future elections.
B) It increased optimism among blacks about their future.
C) It led to a dramatically increased turnout among blacks in the 2008 election.
D) It led blacks to the conclusion that Obama's election had improved race relations.
E) It led to criticism of the Obama administration that seemed to have a racial tinge.

Question 25

Which of the following is not constitutional?

A) the use of affirmative action programs to hire more minorities
B) busing to bring about racial desegregation across school districts
C) economic boycotts
D) restricting the right of felons to vote
E) fulfilling quotas of minorities in school admissions

Question 26

All of the following statements concerning Hispanics are true EXCEPT this one:

A) Issues surrounding their immigration to the United States are likely to fade in the near future.
B) They are a diverse community.
C) They represent a rapidly increasing proportion of the population.
D) They face hostility because they speak a different language.
E) They face a negative political reaction to their immigration to the United States.

Question 27

The argument for affirmative action is that _______.

A) people who have been discriminated against deserve positions, even if they are not qualified
B) there is no other decisive evidence for proving that discrimination has ended
C) if businesses and universities do not use it, they will be sued
D) politicians like it
E) the public overwhelmingly supports it

Question 28

Native Americans face a particularly difficult task in winning battles in American politics for all of the following reasons EXCEPT this one:

A) They do not have the right to vote.
B) The status of tribes in the American political system is that of a unique form of federalism.
C) The states have been hostile to them.
D) The federal government has been hostile to them.
E) The courts have not been inclined to protect them.

Question 29

The U.S.government has _______.

A) consistently tried to maintain Native American culture
B) provided massive assistance to Native Americans to help them assimilate into American culture
C) maintained Native Americans on their ancestral lands as much as possible
D) deprived Native Americans of their ancestral lands, thus destroying their culture, while providing them with very little aid in order to "make them independent"
E) treated Native Americans with dignity and respect

Question 30

Segregation has been harder to overcome in the North than in the South because _______.

A) segregation in the North is de facto segregation
B) segregation in the North is de jure segregation
C) northerners opposed segregation more strenuously than southerners
D) northerners are politically more powerful than southerners
E) blacks were reluctant to challenge their northern allies in the civil rights struggle

Question 31

An effect of casino gambling on reservations mentioned in the text is that _______.

A) living conditions on reservations have gotten much worse, and criminal activity has increased
B) Native Americans have achieved new financial prosperity by parlaying their status as semisovereign nations into a foundation for economic security
C) hostility against Native Americans has increased because people oppose gambling on moral grounds
D) lawmakers have tried to legalize gambling nationally
E) Native Americans have missed the opportunity for economic success due to the development of non-Indian casinos

Question 32

The lack of immigration from Asia during much of the first half of the twentieth century can be attributed most directly to ______.

A) the fact that most Asians preferred to emigrate to European democracies because of patterns of discrimination in the United States
B) the lack of political opportunities available to Asians in the United States
C) the fact that Asians have never seen the United States as providing economic opportunities for them
D) the fact that Japanese culture is marked by a fear of learning a new language
E) legislation passed by Congress that restricted immigration from China and Japan

Question 33

The text points out how Native Americans face the dilemma that they _______.

A) want to join American culture completely, but they are blocked from doing so
B) are asked to make concessions that are incompatible with their culture, but they depend on the U.S. government to get them out of poverty
C) want to maintain their culture, but they are blocked from doing so
D) could benefit from the gambling industry, but taking advantage of the gambling industry would violate their values
E) are divided over what to do with all the wealth they are obtaining from selling mineral rights on their lands

Question 34

Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans both have ______.

A) active voting populations
B) common political values
C) population diversity
D) strong grassroots political organizations
E) strong financial resources for political activity

Question 35

The significance of the Regents of the University of California v.Bakke case is that it _______.

A) declared busing unconstitutional
B) led to the integration of schools
C) solidified the use of quotas in college admissions
D) signaled the approval of affirmative action
E) upheld segregated educational facilities

Question 36

During World War II,Japanese Americans ______.

A) were treated fairly even though Americans in Japan were the subject of persecution
B) lost their citizenship if they still had family members in Japan
C) were placed in internment camps for national security purposes
D) fled America to live in Western Europe
E) were often required to return to Japan

Question 37

Congressional policy toward Native Americans has historically varied between _______.

A) creating a national tribal council and developing local tribal councils
B) restricting Native Americans to reservations and reducing the size of reservations
C) giving them status as independent nations and lumping them with other minorities
D) assimilating Native Americans into a European-based culture and encouraging independence and self-government
E) reducing crime on the reservations and limiting educational opportunities

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT an important fact concerning Hispanic Americans?

A) They are considered to be an insignificant voting bloc in elections.
B) The Hispanic population is very diverse.
C) Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States.
D) The vast majority of Hispanics are Mexican Americans.
E) They are concentrated in various parts of the United States.

Question 39

Which of the following statements is NOT true about Hispanic Americans?

A) The majority of Hispanic Americans are Mexican.
B) Representation of Hispanic Americans in Congress is increasing.
C) Hispanic Americans are the largest minority in the United States.
D) The backlash against illegal immigration has made it more difficult for Hispanic Americans to obtain equal rights.
E) Voter registration among Hispanic Americans is declining.

Question 40

Compared to other minorities,Asian Americans ______.

A) have formed their own political parties where population size justifies it
B) have lower levels of voter turnout and registration
C) are strongly affiliated with the Republican Party
D) are considered the largest swing voting bloc
E) are strongly affiliated with the Democratic Party

Question 41

The women's movement was most successful with a strategy of ______ in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

A) changing laws state by state
B) threatening opposition politicians with electoral defeat
C) supporting strong female candidates for office
D) mass demonstrations and sit-ins
E) using the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment to argue in the courts for equal treatment

Question 42

Regarding the role of women in contemporary politics,which statement is false?

A) Female candidates spend less money than do male candidates.
B) Women are not as likely as men to want to go into politics.
C) Women are the most underrepresented group in Congress and the state legislatures.
D) Representation of women in the state legislatures is at an all-time high.
E) A majority of Americans agree that the United States is ready for a female president.

Question 43

All of the following statements concerning the status of women in early nineteenth-century America are true EXCEPT this one:

A) They could not own property.
B) They were not permitted to give up their American citizenship if they married a man who was not a citizen.
C) They could not initiate divorce proceedings.
D) They could not bring a lawsuit.
E) They could not gain custody of their children in case of divorce.

Question 44

The Supreme Court of ______ was the first in the nation to declare that marriage was a civil right and that banning same-sex marriage violated the state's equal protection and due process clauses.

A) Massachusetts
B) New York
C) New Jersey
D) Minnesota
E) Illinois

Question 45

The Americans with Disabilities Act was controversial because ______.

A) Republicans accused Democrats of making a political issue out of those with disabilities
B) many of the required changes in physical accommodations are extremely expensive to install
C) it instituted quotas for businesses regarding the hiring of those with disabilities
D) supporters of the rights of the disabled did not believe the act went far enough
E) it allowed significant prejudice against those with disabilities

Question 46

______ is a heightened standard of review to assess the constitutionality of laws that limit some freedoms.

A) Due process
B) Strict scrutiny
C) Rational basis
D) Suspect classification

Question 47

______ are citizenship rights guaranteed to the people.

A) Human rights
B) Legal rights
C) Civil rights
D) Personal rights

Question 48

In ______,the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that segregated schools were inherently unequal because the very fact of segregation made blacks feel unequal.

A) Brown v. Board of Education
B) Plessy v. Ferguson
C) Bolling v. Sharpe
D) Briggs v. Elliott

Question 49

Which of the following statements concerning age discrimination is NOT true?

A) Congress has banned most mandatory retirement policies.
B) Older Americans are more active and effective in protecting their rights than are younger Americans.
C) Americans under eighteen years of age are denied many basic rights granted to those who are older.
D) Some observers believe children need more basic rights to protect them from abusive parents.
E) The government cannot discriminate on the basis of age even if a person's age is relevant to the job in question.

Question 50

Women are ______.

A) the most underrepresented group in Congress and state legislatures
B) overrepresented in many state legislatures
C) overrepresented in the Senate but underrepresented in the House of Representatives
D) achieving a greater level of representation in Congress than are African Americans
E) overrepresented in governorships

Question 51

In 1971,the Supreme Court ruled that,by law,discrimination against aliens is ______.

A) permitted since they have no rights of citizenship
B) never permitted
C) not permitted unless the United States is involved in a war with the nation of a person's alienage
D) similar to racial and religious discrimination and requires application of the strict scrutiny test
E) permitted if Congress has a rational reason for passing such a law

Question 52

All of the following statements concerning discrimination on the basis of race or ethnic identity in the United States are true EXCEPT this one:

A) Such discrimination has taken many forms.
B) Different groups have fought against discrimination in different ways.
C) Different groups have had different degrees of success in fighting the effects of discrimination.
D) Discrimination has driven most members of all discriminated-against groups to join the Democratic Party.
E) The overall percentage of the population made up of racial and ethnic minorities is growing.

Question 53

Laws that treat men and women differently are subject to ______.

A) strict scrutiny
B) the minimum rationality test
C) the Lemon test
D) the Miller test
E) an intermediate standard of review

Question 54

Women gained the right to vote by a strategy of ______.

A) gaining the support of the president
B) winning support at the national level and then using that to win in the states
C) massive demonstrations in major cities that gained them publicity and support
D) getting sympathetic male voters to write in the names of women on their ballots; these women won a surprising number of legislative seats
E) gaining the right to vote in states where they had support and expanding their support over time

Question 55

Which of the following statements regarding public opinion on gay and lesbian rights is NOT true?

A) The public supports lifting the ban on gays in the military.
B) Young people are more supportive of gay rights than are the elderly.
C) A majority of the people supports legislation that protects gays and lesbians from housing discrimination.
D) More people oppose same-sex adoption than same-sex marriage.
E) A majority of the people supports legislation that protects gays and lesbians from job discrimination.

Question 56

The significance of ______ is that it is crucial in a group's struggle for civil rights.

A) due process
B) strict scrutiny
C) rational basis
D) suspect classification

Question 57

In Lawrence v.Texas,the Supreme Court ruled that ______.

A) fair employment policies for gays were unconstitutional
B) gay couples cannot be denied housing on the basis of sexual orientation
C) the right to same-sex marriage is protected by the U.S. Constitution
D) gay couples have the right to receive social benefits available to married heterosexual couples
E) state sodomy laws were a violation of the right to privacy

Question 58

Which of the following statements is NOT true concerning age discrimination?

A) The Supreme Court has declared age to be a suspect classification.
B) Older people are better organized to protect their rights than are younger people.
C) The most frequent act of discrimination against older people is job discrimination.
D) Younger people are denied many basic rights.
E) A law passed by Congress bans age discrimination in certain areas.

Question 59

The Lilly Ledbetter Act ______.

A) requires a woman claiming gender discrimination in the workplace to do so within the first 150 days of employment
B) requires affirmative action remedies in cases of gender discrimination in the workplace
C) is named after George W. Bush's maternal grandmother
D) was pushed through Congress by business interests to water down gender discrimination regulations
E) extended the time period available to a woman claiming gender discrimination in the workplace

Question 60

All of the following statements concerning pay and price equity are true EXCEPT this one:

A) Women earn less than men at every level of education.
B) The wage gap is growing wider.
C) Women pay more for many basic products and services than men.
D) Women earn significantly less than men for the same or similar work.
E) Pregnant women are often subject to discriminatory treatment.

Question 61

The ______ extended the time period available to a woman claiming gender discrimination in the workplace.

Question 62

De jure discrimination is discrimination in fact.

Question 63

Explain the various standards used by the courts when laws treat people differently.What are the three legal classifications,and what groups fall under each of those classifications? What standard of review does the court apply for each classification? What question does the court ask when reviewing whether a law is constitutional for each classification? Why is a group's legal classification so important?

Question 64

There are many similarities and differences between Native American,Hispanic American,and Asian American experiences.Discuss at least three similarities and three differences.Think about the following questions: What types of discrimination has each group faced? Is there any form of discrimination that applies to only one of the groups? What tactics have the groups used to fight for their civil rights?

Question 65

Rights have been denied on the basis of more than just race,ethnicity,and gender.Discuss at least three groups whose rights have been denied on other bases.What rights is each group fighting for? How successful have they been at obtaining those rights?

Question 66

______ gained the right to vote nationally by a strategy of gaining the right to vote in states where they had support and expanding their support over time.

Question 67

The civil rights movement of the 1950s-1960s was most successful in eliminating de jure discrimination but was far less successful in eliminating de facto discrimination.

Question 68

Provide three reasons why the ERA failed.

Question 69

With the end of the Civil War and the ratification of the Thirteenth,Fourteenth,and Fifteenth Amendments,it seemed like African Americans would finally obtain certain fundamental rights,such as the right to vote and equal protection under the law.What strategies did white southerners (and some northerners)use to continue to deny African Americans these rights? How were these rights ultimately achieved?

Question 70

Asian Americans and ______ both have population diversity.

Question 71

Explain the significance of Brown v.Board of Education.

Question 72

Explain the significance of the Lawrence v.Texas decision.

Question 73

Explain the problems created by the diversity of Hispanic Americans.

Question 74

______ are the most underrepresented group in Congress and state legislatures.

Question 75

Explain the difference between de jure and de facto discrimination,and give an example of each.

Question 76

Laws that treat men and women differently are subject to an intermediate standard of review.

Question 77

The lack of immigration from ______ during much of the first half of the twentieth century can be attributed most directly to quotas in place to limit immigration from certain regions.

Question 78

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was designed to reduce or eliminate racial discrimination in public accommodations.

Question 79

During World War II,______ Americans were placed in detainment camps for national security purposes.