American Government 100 Part II
Patterson, pgs. 149-160, AG11-11
Equal Rights
True or False Questions
1. In theory, Americans are equal in their rights, but in practice, they are not equal today, nor have they ever been. True or False
2. The history of civil rights has been largely one of individual as opposed to group claims of equality. True or False
3. According to Patterson, discrimination by law against persons because of race, sex, religion, or ethnicity has been virtually eliminated. True or False
4. Equality has always been the least fully developed of America's founding concepts. True or False
5. Immediately after the Civil War, the federal courts came to the defense of former slaves in the South, assuring that their rights were protected from the white majority. True or False
6. A 1954 Gallup Poll indicated that a sizable majority of southern whites supported the Brown decision. True or False
7. As white students fled from urban schools, it became harder to achieve racial balance through busing and harder to convince taxpayers to fund these schools adequately. True or False
8. The courts have ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment's equal-protection clause requires government to treat all groups or classes of people the same way in all circumstances. True or False
9. The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) male-only admission policy was ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court arguing that it was based on tradition not discrimination (United States v Virginia). True or False
10. The Fourteenth Amendment applies only to action by government and does not prohibit discrimination by private parties. True or False
11. An owner of a small business can discriminate in hiring a worker and a church-related school can consider the religious background of a prospective teacher. True or False
12. Even today, some restaurants and hotels may provide better service to white customers, but outright refusal to serve African Americans or other minority-group members is rare. True or False
13. Historically, when a woman got married, she essentially lost her identity as an individual and could not own and dispose of property without her husband's consent. True or False
14. As a result of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, sex discrimination in the area of employment is a thing of the past. True or False
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. A study conducted by the Urban Institute examining the treatment of African Americans compared to their white counterparts found that: a) blacks experienced discrimination far greater than originally anticipated, b) blacks were treated almost the same as that of whites, c) whites experienced similar forms of discrimination as blacks, d) the level of discrimination experienced by both groups was negligible.
2. Refers to the right of every person to equal protection under the law and equal access to society's opportunities and public facilities: a) civil liberties, b) equal justice, c) civil rights, d) alienable rights.
3. For Thomas Jefferson, what did he mean by equality in the Declaration? a) no precise meaning could be determined, b) equality for all, including slaves, c) equality for both white men and women, not slaves, d) a financial equality directed by government.
4. The following clause in the Constitution is the basis for equal treatment under law: a) equal parameter clause, b) legal assurances clause, c) equal protection clause, d) privileges and immunities clause.
5. In 1896, the Supreme Court endorsed these laws, ruling that “separate” public facilities for the two races did not violate the Constitution as long as the facilities were “equal.” a) Dickerson v. Planto, b) Sturgess v. Grant, c) Monroe v. Samuels, d) Plessy v. Ferguson.
6. How did the state of Oklahoma’s law school respond to being forced to admit its first African American student, Ada Sipuel, in 1949? a) The “powers that be accepted the writing on the wall” and welcomed Ada Sipuel, b) Although the Ada experienced some minimal hostility, most of the faculty and students accepted her with open arms, c) The law school administration and faculty were hostile, the majority student body was supportive and protective, d) She was roped off from her fellow students in classes and in the cafeteria.
7. According to the Brown decision, racial segregation: a) generates a feeling of superiority among white children in the public schools, b) allows children of different racial and ethnic groups to feel a greater level of security because they are among their own kind, c) generates among black children a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community, d) has minimal and an unquantifiable effect on children of all races.
8. Southern congressmen urged their state governments to “resist forced integration by any lawful means.” a) Equality of Principle Edict, b) Southern Manifesto, c) White Protection Act, d) Declaration of White Security.
9. Why did most public officials not have to do much of anything to integrate the public schools as late as fifteen years after the Brown decision? a) black parents refused to send their children to white-dominated schools, b) white communities simply elected officials to maintain segregation, c) the state and federal governments simply ignored the original decision, d) most residential neighborhoods were racially segregated and so too were the schools.
10. The judiciary allows for inequalities among groups or classes of people because they are held to be reasonably related to a legitimate government interest: a) fairness doctrine, b) equity and justice rational, c) reasonable-basis test, d) consistency and balance act.
11. Any law that posits a racial or ethnic classification is subject to: a) legitimate governmental interest, b) reasonable-basis test, c) focused legal protection, d) strict-scrutiny test.
12. The Supreme Court's position is that race and national origin are: a) strict classifications, b) suspect classifications, c) close monitoring, d) legal constructs.
13. Laws that prohibited marrying someone of another race were made unconstitutional as a result of: a) Loving v. Virginia, b) Caulfield v. Hayes, c) Durango v. Hayes, d) Burlingame v. Cho.
14. Rostker v Goldberg (1980) upheld the policy of male-only registration for the military draft on grounds that the exclusion of women from combat duty serves: a) as clarification where women are afraid of combat, b) an important objective, c) a structural interest by limiting women, d) an institutional adjustment when deemed necessary.
15. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 entitles all persons equal access to restaurants, bars, theaters, hotels, gasoline stations, and similar establishments serving the general public, based on: a) the Constitution’s general welfare clause, b) Article VI’s supremacy clause, c) reinterpreting the “necessary and proper” clause of Article I, d) Congress’s power to regulate commerce.
16. The Supreme Court (Tinker v Colwell, 1904) ruled that a wife's adultery was: a) a violation of the husband's property rights, b) a violation of marital vows, c) immoral, but not illegal, d) a private matter that has no business in a civil case.
17. Which amendment to the Constitution gave women the right to vote? a)17th, b) 18th, c) 19th, d) 20th
18. From the Civil Rights Act of 1964, women are protected against gender discrimination in employment: a) Title VII, b) Title IX, c) Title XIII, d) Title XV
19. Leader of the farmworker’s movement of the 1960s that help bring about a union: a) Raul Castro, b) Joaquin Murietta, c) Cesar Chavez, d) Rudolfo Gonzalez.
Fill-in Questions
1. The United States carried over from English common law a political disregard for women,
a) forbidding them to _____,
b) hold ______,
c) or serve on ______.
Answers
True or False Questions
1. True
3. True
5. False
7. True
9. False
11. True
13. True
Multiple Choice Questions
1. a
3. a
5. d
7. c
9. d
11. d
13. a
15. d
17. c
19. c
Fill-in Question
1. a) vote, b) public office, c) juries
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