Question 1

Author Michelle Alexander recently coined the term "the new Jim Crow" to discuss the rapid rise of mass incarceration among the black population in the United States.What might Jim Crow and mass incarceration have in common?

Accepted Answer

Both prisons and Jim Crow laws are examples of segregation. Jim Crow laws instituted a system of racial segregation and discrimination, while mass incarceration predominantly impacts black Americans and perpetuates social and economic segregation. Both have the effect of separating and isolating certain groups from mainstream society.

Question 2

From the end of the nineteenth century to the 1970s,thousands of Native Americans and African Americans,as well as people deemed mentally retarded or criminal,were sterilized against their will.This phenomenon was an example of what?

Accepted Answer

The forced sterilization of minority groups based on the idea of selective breeding to improve the genetic quality of the population is an example of eugenics. The practice was influenced by the social Darwinism movement and was widespread in the United States from the late 19th century until the mid-20th century. It was rooted in racist and ableist beliefs that certain groups were inferior and needed to be controlled or eliminated.

Question 3

For the Native Americans,the process of white colonialism brought inflictions on their bodies,their spirits,and their land.What is one example given in the textbook of how Native Americans experienced violence "on their spirits"?

Accepted Answer

Cultural reeducation efforts were aimed at destroying Native American culture and replacing it with European culture. This included forcing Native American children into boarding schools, where they were prohibited from speaking their native language and forced to adopt Christianity. This erasure of their culture and traditions can be seen as an act of violence on their spirits, as it stripped them of their identity and sense of belonging.

Question 4

Unlike serfs from European countries such as Germany,France,and England,when African slaves were emancipated they _____________.

Accepted Answer

African slaves were not given any land or property when they were emancipated. Instead, they were often denied the right to own property or vote and faced discrimination and violence in their attempts to secure their rights. Many were also forced to continue working on plantations or in other forms of labor without pay.

Question 5

From where did the term "Jim Crow" originate?

Accepted Answer

The term "Jim Crow" originated from a song called "Jump Jim Crow" written by a white man named Thomas Dartmouth Rice in the early 19th century. Rice popularized blackface minstrel shows and the character of Jim Crow, which became a racist caricature of African Americans. The term "Jim Crow" eventually came to refer to the segregation laws and practices that discriminated against African Americans in the United States.

Question 6

William Sherman's 1865 decree,which allotted forty acres of land to recently freed slaves,is commonly known as what?

Accepted Answer

William Sherman's 1865 decree, which called for the redistribution of land to recently freed slaves, came to be known as the "forty acres and a mule" promise.

Question 7

Maryland's 1904 law that required all railroad companies to provide separate train cars for black and white passengers is an example of what?

Accepted Answer

The 1904 law in Maryland that required segregation on trains is an example of Jim Crow laws, which were state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the United States.

Question 8

What gave black men-but not other nonwhites or women-the right to vote?

Accepted Answer

The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870, gave black men the right to vote. The amendment states that the right 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." However, it did not grant voting rights to other nonwhites or women.

Question 9

How did the United States acquire the land that today is New Mexico,California,Utah,Nevada,parts of Arizona,and disputed areas of Texas?

Accepted Answer

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 1848, ended the Mexican-American War and resulted in Mexico ceding a significant amount of land to the United States, including what is now New Mexico, California, Utah, Nevada, and parts of Arizona. The disputed areas of Texas were also resolved in this treaty. The Monroe Doctrine, Manifest Destiny, and the Thirteenth Amendment are not relevant to the acquisition of this territory.

Question 10

Johann Blumenbach published a typology of humanity that divided humans into five groups that correspond to different geographical areas-Caucasians,Mongolians,Ethiopians,Americans,and Malays.Why was his research fundamentally flawed?

Accepted Answer

Blumenbach's research was fundamentally flawed because he did not gather empirical data to support his classifications. His typology was based on subjective observations rather than rigorous scientific methods, leading to broad generalizations and stereotypes about different human groups.

Question 11

Which group proved most influential in solidifying racial taxonomies?

Accepted Answer

Natural historians, who were heavily influenced by European imperialism and colonialism, played a significant role in solidifying racial taxonomies through their classifications of humans based on physical differences such as skin color and facial features. This laid the foundation for the development of the field of biology and the concept of race as a biological category. Philosophers, political scribes, and solicitors may have contributed to discussions on race and racism, but their impact on the establishment of racial taxonomies was not as substantial as that of natural historians.

Question 12

What was the problem with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,which promised U.S.citizenship rights to Mexicans in ceded lands?

Accepted Answer

Despite the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo promising U.S. citizenship rights to Mexicans in ceded lands, this promise was never fully realized. The U.S. government failed to protect the rights of Mexican Americans, and many were subjected to discrimination, violence, and segregation, making it difficult for them to fully enjoy the citizenship rights promised to them.

Question 13

Boarding schools that attempted to strip Native Americans of their culture and tradition by requiring them to speak English can be considered an example of what type of infliction brought by colonialism?

Accepted Answer

Boarding schools that forced Native Americans to abandon their language and culture were an attempt to assimilate them into white American culture, resulting in a loss of their spirit and identity. This is an example of cultural trauma inflicted by colonialism rather than physical harm to their bodies, seizure of their land or imposing foreign laws.

Question 14

The H-2A guest worker program brings tens of thousands of people to the United States to work in manual labor sectors.But because these workers are bound to the companies that request them,some critics have called this practice an example of modern-day _________.

Accepted Answer

The fact that the H-2A guest workers are bound to the companies that request them can be seen as similar to indentured servitude, where individuals are bound to work for a specific employer for a certain period of time.

Question 15

How many Cherokees died along the Trail of Tears,the 1,200-mile-long forced journey from Georgia,Tennessee,North Carolina,and Alabama to Oklahoma and Arkansas?

Accepted Answer

It is estimated that approximately 4,000 Cherokee people died along the Trail of Tears due to exposure, disease, and starvation.

Question 16

Why did Harriet Jacobs,author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,say that slavery "is terrible for men;but it is far more terrible for women"?

Accepted Answer

Harriet Jacobs likely said that slavery is far more terrible for women because slave women were often the victims of sexual abuse and rape by their masters. The children born from these assaults were also considered property and increased the wealth of the master, leading to further exploitation of slave women. Male slaves, while also subjected to physical abuse and hard labor, were not typically subject to this specific form of gendered violence.

Question 17

What did Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth have in common?

Accepted Answer

Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth were both former slaves who turned into abolitionists. They were key figures in the fight against slavery and worked tirelessly to end the practice of slavery in the United States.

Question 18

Which event effectively ended the 350-year-old Indian Wars?

Accepted Answer

The Wounded Knee Massacre, which occurred on December 29, 1890, is widely considered the event that effectively ended the Indian Wars. This tragic event involved the killing of approximately 150-300 Lakota Sioux by the U.S. Army at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, marking the last major confrontation between Native Americans and U.S. forces.

Question 19

Thousands of blacks were lynched during Reconstruction and throughout the mid-twentieth century.These acts of violence can be described as ________________.

Accepted Answer

Lynchings were often preplanned events that attracted large crowds, as they were public spectacles used to enforce racial hierarchies and instill fear in black communities.

Question 20

Two methods by which white Americans attempted to solve the "Indian Problem" and acquire tribal land were:

Accepted Answer

Assimilation and removal were the two methods by which white Americans attempted to solve the "Indian Problem" and acquire tribal land. Assimilation involved forcing Native Americans to give up their traditional ways of life and adopt American culture and values. Removal involved forcibly relocating Native American tribes from their ancestral lands to make way for white settlement. These methods were often violent and resulted in the displacement and suffering of Native American communities.

Quiz 2: The Invention of Race