Question 1

The Thirteenth Amendment ___ .

Accepted Answer

The Thirteenth Amendment, passed in 1865, effectively outlawed slavery in the United States. It states, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

Question 2

The Fourteenth Amendment ___ .

Accepted Answer

The Fourteenth Amendment defined former slaves as citizens by granting citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States."

Question 3

The Fifteenth Amendment ___ .

Accepted Answer

The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870, declared that black men have the right to vote, stating that the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

Question 4

After the Civil War amendments were ratified, the Supreme Court quickly interpreted them in the __________possible terms.

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court initially interpreted the Civil War amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments) in the narrowest possible terms, limiting their impact on civil rights and racial equality.

Question 5

The decision in the Civil Rights Cases (1883) held that ___ .

Accepted Answer

The Civil Rights Cases (1883) decision held that the 14th Amendment only prohibited racial discrimination by state governments, not by private individuals or organizations.

Question 6

Which one of the following cases did not deal with desegregation?

Accepted Answer

Bradwell v. Illinois was a case dealing with gender discrimination, specifically whether or not a woman had the right to practice law. The court ruled against Bradwell, stating that the state had the power to deny a woman admission to the bar. The other three cases (Brown v. Board of Education, Sweatt v. Painter, and McLaurin v. Oklahoma) all dealt with desegregation and equal access to education.

Question 7

The first major piece of civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act of 1957, was passed under the __________administration.

Accepted Answer

The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on September 9, 1957.

Question 8

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed under the __________administration.

Accepted Answer

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964, making it his administration that passed the act. While President Kennedy was a strong advocate for civil rights and introduced the bill to Congress, he was assassinated before it could be passed.

Question 9

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ___ .

Accepted Answer

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination by employers or labor unions in businesses with one hundred or more employees, prohibited segregation or denial of service in any public accommodations, and permitted the U.S. attorney general to represent citizens attempting to desegregate facilities including public schools.

Question 10

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 provided federal __________to school districts with large numbers of low-income students, provided that they were operating on a nondiscriminatory basis.

Accepted Answer

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 provided federal education funds to school districts with large numbers of low-income students, provided that they were operating on a nondiscriminatory basis.

Question 11

The impact of the federal government's efforts to end segregation increased the percentage of black school children attending school with whites in the South from ___ .

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is D) 1.2 percent in 1964 to 91.3 percent in 1972. This period marks the years following the Civil Rights Movement and the enforcement of federal laws and court rulings like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which aimed to desegregate schools in the United States.

Question 12

Which of these practices did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibit?

Accepted Answer

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited all of the above practices, including literacy tests, poll taxes, and white primaries, which were commonly used to disenfranchise African American voters.

Question 13

As a result of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, __________new black voters were registered to vote by 1970.

Accepted Answer

According to historical records, as a result of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 10 million new black voters were registered to vote by 1970.

Question 14

Affirmative action policies are designed to make up for the effects of past discrimination by giving preferences today to specified __________groups.

Accepted Answer

Affirmative action policies are designed to address past discrimination against certain racial, ethnic, and/or sexual minority groups by giving them preferences in education, employment, or government contracts.

Question 15

The Supreme Court decision in the case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke dealt with the issue of ___ .

Accepted Answer

The case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke dealt with the issue of reverse discrimination. The Supreme Court ruled that the use of racial quotas in college admissions violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, but affirmative action programs that took race into account as one factor among many in the admissions process were permitted. Allan Bakke, a white applicant, had argued that he was discriminated against in the admission process to UC Davis Medical School because of his race, as the school reserved 16 spots out of the 100 available for minority candidates.

Question 16

In the case of Ricci v. DeStefano (2009), the Supreme Court decided that __________in hiring or promotion.

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court decided that race can be a factor in the decision, but it cannot be the sole or driving factor. This means that employers cannot use race as the only deciding factor in hiring or promotion, but they can consider race as part of a holistic evaluation process. This decision was made in the specific context of an employer's attempt to avoid disparate impact claims by discarding the results of a promotion exam that had a disparate impact on minority candidates, but it has broader implications for affirmative action policies and diversity initiatives in the workplace.

Question 17

In Grutter v. Bollinger, the Supreme Court allowed affirmative action, college admission programs ___ .

Accepted Answer

In Grutter v. Bollinger, the Supreme Court allowed affirmative action college admission programs to take race into account, but only as one factor among many. The Court held that diversity was a compelling state interest that could justify using race as a factor in admissions decisions, but only if it was considered alongside other factors such as academic achievement, extracurricular activities, and personal background. Therefore, option B is the correct answer.

Question 18

Black Lives Matter, another social movement, demanded ___ .

Accepted Answer

Black Lives Matter demanded radical change well beyond affirmative action, specifically in the areas of policing and criminal justice, economic inequality, and systemic racism. The movement aims to dismantle structural and institutional racism rather than simply seeking compliance with existing policies like affirmative action.

Question 19

The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 brought together advocates for ___ .

Accepted Answer

The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 was a crucial gathering of advocates for women's rights in the United States, calling for women's suffrage, greater educational and employment opportunities, and an end to legal discrimination against women. The convention produced the Declaration of Sentiments, a groundbreaking document that declared "all men and women are created equal."

Question 20

The "Declaration of Sentiments" was written in the name of equality for American ___ .

Accepted Answer

The "Declaration of Sentiments" was written in 1848 at the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, calling for women's suffrage and other forms of equality. While issues of equality for colonists and blacks were certainly important in American history, this specific document focused on the rights of women.

Quiz 4: Civil Rights: Where Liberty and Equality Collide