Quiz 16: Equality and Civil Rights

Abigail Fisher brought her lawsuit against the University of Texas arguing that the inclusion of race in university admissions violates A)the freedom to assemble clause of the First Amendment. B)the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. C)the Nineteenth Amendment. D)the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment. E)the freedom to assemble clause of the First Amendment and the Nineteenth Amendment.

The Supreme Court's 2013 decision in ​Abigail Fisher's lawsuit against the University of Texas directed the trial court to determine if the University's admissions policy met "strict scrutiny" requirements,which include all of the following except that the policy must A)serve a compelling government interest. B)be approved by the state's voters. C)be narrowly tailored to meet the state interest. D)​be the least restrictive means of meeting the state's interest. E)​All of these choices are elements of strict scrutiny analysis.

Which of the following best describes the concept of civil rights? A)Rights generally accorded all citizens B)Political rights of speech and assembly C)Rights extended to citizens from legislative action D)The guarantees of life, liberty, and property granted to all citizens E)Powers and privileges guaranteed to individuals and protected against arbitrary withdrawal by the government or individuals

Discrimination against persons or groups that is harmful and is based on animus is​ __________ discrimination. A)​invidious B)​reverse C)​benign D)​civil E)​criminal

The __________ Amendment provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude…shall exist within the United States,or any place subject to their jurisdiction." A)Fourteenth B)Thirteenth C)Eleventh D)Fifteenth E)Third

The civil rights guarantee of "equal protection of the laws" is located in A)the Civil Rights Act of 1875. B)the Preamble to the Constitution. C)the Declaration of Independence. D)the Fourteenth Amendment. E)the Sixth Amendment.

The amendment permitting black American men to vote is the A)Eleventh Amendment. B)Twelfth Amendment. C)Fifteenth Amendment. D)Twenty-first Amendment. E)Twenty-third Amendment.

In the years after the Civil War,former slave states enacted ____________,attempting to restrict the freedoms of blacks.​ A)​constitutional amendments B)​civil rights legislation C)​set-asides D)​black codes E)​jurisdiction laws

In the years after the Civil War,the Supreme Court ruled that government could prohibit A)all forms of racial discrimination. B)private acts of racial discrimination. C)acts of omission by a state. D)only governmental acts that discriminated on the basis of race. E)private acts of racial discrimination and acts of omission by a state.

Which of the following tactics were used by white southerners to keep blacks from voting in the years after the Civil War? A)Poll tax B)Literacy tests C)Grandfather clause D)Intimidation and violence E)All of these choices are true.

Homer Plessy attempted to challenge Louisiana's racial segregation policies by A)refusing to move from a "whites-only" Louisiana train car. B)sitting in at a "whites-only" restaurant. C)refusing to sit at the back of a New Orleans streetcar. D)sitting on the ground floor of a public theater, instead of in the balcony. E)sending his daughter for treatment to a superior "whites-only" hospital.

Plessy v.Ferguson,which involved segregated public accommodations,is noteworthy because it A)upheld the principles of the Fourteenth Amendment. B)applied the national supremacy clause to such cases. C)endorsed the separate-but-equal doctrine. D)stated that Congress had no power to pass legislation requiring open public accommodations. E)removed the barrier that denied blacks the right to enter public accommodations.

In an early NAACP challenge to segregation,Heman Sweatt sued the state of Texas after it A)attempted to pay his tuition to another school outside of the state. B)rented a few rooms in an office building and hired two black lawyers and called this its state law school for blacks. C)required him to sit in the hallway and listen while white students attended lectures. D)called out the Texas National Guard to forcibly evict him from its law school campus. E)banned him from the University of Texas law school cafeteria and required him to use its library facilities only after hours.

In Sweatt v.Painter,the Supreme Court​  A)​specifically reaffirmed the separate-but-equal doctrine. B)​ruled that the University of Texas Law School must at a minimum hire black teachers to provide a legal education for black students. C)​decided that the University of Texas was justified in not creating a blacks-only law school. D)​determined that steps the University of Texas Law School had taken on behalf of Sweatt were satisfactory. E)​failed to revisit the Plessy-era separate-but-equal doctrine.

Which of the following statements concerning Brown v.Board of Education is not correct? A)Linda Brown's father attempted to enroll her in a white public school in Topeka, Kansas. B)A federal district court found that the local black public school was equal in quality to the white school. C)The Supreme Court intentionally delayed hearing the case until after the 1952 presidential election. D)The Supreme Court found that public school segregation violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. E)The Court decision was 8-1, with one dissenting opinion by Chief Justice Fred Vinson.

In Brown v.Board of Education II,the Supreme Court ordered that public school systems must desegregate A)"at the discretion of the local school district." B)"without further ado." C)"immediately." D)"with all deliberate speed." E)"or face closure."

In Brown v.Board of Education,the Supreme Court held that​ A)​because conditions at Linda Brown's all-black school were equal to those at the nearby white school, Brown did not have a valid claim. B)​the separate-but-equal doctrine was upheld, though for procedural reasons Brown would prevail in this case. C)​separate is inherently unequal. D)​busing to achieve racial integration was allowed. E)​Jim Crow laws did not violate the constitution.

One element of the Supreme Court ruling in Swann v.Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Schools was ______________________. A)that the states make a wide range of alternative education arrangements, including paying tuition at private schools for some students B)that segregation caused by segregated housing patterns was logistically too difficult to remedy and could continue C)that lower federal courts order the busing of children to ensure school desegregation D)that states in the North were not obligated to desegregate their schools, as schools in the South were required to do E)None of these choices is true.

Racial segregation that is not the result of government action (for example resulting from residential patterns)is called __________ segregation. A)de jure B)de facto C)uncoordinated D)res mensa E)geographic

De jure segregation is segregation that is A)regional but not national. B)local but not regional. C)pending review by an administrator. D)upheld by the courts. E)government-imposed.

The central crucible of the black civil rights movement were black A)churches. B)public school teachers. C)small business owners. D)activists who bused in from the North and West. E)college students.

In 1955,after Rosa Parks boarded a Montgomery city bus and refused to sit at the back, A)she was arrested and fined $10 for violating the city ordinance. B)she was allowed to keep her seat. C)she got in a fight with the bus driver. D)the bus driver was prosecuted for violating Parks' civil rights. E)None of these choices is true.

If a person participates in a boycott,he or she A)commits civil disobedience. B)stages rallies to protest unenforced civil rights laws. C)violates small laws that are generally not enforced so that the local police are too busy to engage in larger crime enforcement. D)urges businesses not to comply with federal safety standards. E)refuses to buy goods from a particular company.

Civil disobedience is A)the willful but nonviolent breach of "unjust" laws. B)the failure to fulfill a contractual agreement. C)engaging in actions that are unlikely to promote social change. D)violent societal protest, such as staging a riot. E)the lawful refusal to follow a court order.

Black citizens in Birmingham,Alabama achieved desegregation of the municipal transit system through​ A)​a series of sit-ins. B)​a bus boycott. C)​slashing tires of buses. D)civil disobedience.​ E)​lobbying the city council.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 provided for all of the following except A)equal access to public accommodations regardless of race, religion, or national origin. B)equal employment opportunities regardless of race. C)withholding federal grants-in-aid from state programs that discriminated on the basis of race. D)elimination of the poll tax as a requirement for voting. E)strengthened voting rights legislation.

President Lyndon Johnson considered civil rights legislation​ A)​his top priority. B)​something he must work on in remembrance of John Kennedy, who introduced civil rights legislation before being assassinated. C)​unrealistic. D)​unimportant compared to his other legislative initiatives. E)​something that the legislature should work on, and not the president.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans​  A)​only governmental acts of discrimination. B)​only discrimination by educational institutions. C)​private and governmental acts of discrimination. D)only ​discrimination against women and African Americans. E)​only private discrimination.

In a challenge to the Civil Rights Act before the Supreme Court,the Court based its decision upholding the act on which constitutional principle? A)Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce B)The Fifth Amendment's equal protection clause C)The Thirteenth Amendment's protection against slavery clause D)The federal government's duty to ensure domestic tranquility E)The Bill of Rights

In Grove City College v.Bell,the Supreme Court A)frustrated enforcement of civil right laws. B)extended its interpretation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include gender. C)extended its interpretation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include Hispanics. D)reversed its earlier ruling in Sweatt v. Painter. E)established its principle of diversity to justify affirmative action in college admissions.

A purchasing or contracting provision that reserves a certain percentage of funds for minority-owned contractors is best defined as A)a set-aside. B)a racial allocation. C)de facto segregation. D)racial gerrymandering. E)an opt-out.

Which of the following statements best described the legal status of Native Americans before they became U.S.citizens? A)They became legal residents through the Fourteenth Amendment. B)They were considered members of tribal nations whose relations with the United States were based on treaties. C)They were considered enemy combatants by the U.S. government. D)They were considered white, non-citizens, since 1776, but they have suffered de facto discrimination. E)They were illegal residents.

In 1973,armed __________ seized eleven hostages at Wounded Knee,South Dakota,and remained there for seventy-one days. A)Native Americans B)African Americans C)white supremacists D)Latinos E)army veterans

One unintended result of the immigration legislation signed by President Johnson in 1965 was "chain migration," under which​ A)​more persons than anticipated from Africa and Asia with specified technical skills or education applied to immigrate. B)​some immigrants would reapply for residence repeatedly, making it hard to send them back to their home countries when their visas expired. C)​people from certain regions of foreign countries uncovered loopholes in the law allowing many more people than expected from certain villages, for example, to immigrate. D)​people repeatedly applied for immigration from different countries until they were successful, using fraudulent documentation that the U.S. immigration system was ill-prepared to evaluate. E)​immigrants would petition for their relatives to come to the United States.

The 2010 Arizona law strictly targeting illegal immigrants included all but which of the following provisions? A)Stepped up local enforcement of federal immigration law.  B)Obligated the police to determine a person's immigration status if there is reasonable suspicion that the person is in the country illegally. C)Made it illegal to shelter, hire, or transport illegal aliens in Arizona. D)Made it a crime for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying legal documents. E)All of these choices are true.

The strike and boycott led by Cesar Chavez had the effect of A)ensuring that farm workers would include people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. B)attaining somewhat better pay, housing, and working conditions for farm workers. C)creating a very politically active Mexican community in the Southwest. D)dismantling the system of agricultural day labor. E)unemploying many Hispanics, many of whom returned to Mexico.

Which of the following provisions of the strict 2010 Arizona immigration law was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012? A)Increased local enforcement of federal immigration law.  B)Requiring police to determine a person's immigration status if reasonable suspicion exists that the person is in the country illegally. C)Making it illegal to shelter, hire, or transport illegal aliens in Arizona. D)Criminalizing being an alien in Arizona without legal documents. E)All of these choices are true.

The Americans with Disabilities Act A)currently includes a list of 158 recognized disabilities protected under law from discrimination. B)failed to create a watchdog agency to make sure the law was enforced. C)did not result in many job discrimination complaints filed afterwards. D)was revised in 2008 specifying that disabilities that could be controlled by medication were not disabilities under the meaning of the law. E)includes deliberately vague language as to what constitutes a disability.

The event that served as the catalyst for the gay liberation movement in the United States was A)the Montgomery bus boycott. B)the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade of 1984. C)the Stonewall Riots. D)the Watts Riot. E)the Gay Pride March of 1971.

Which of the following is not a recent success of the gay and lesbian rights movement in America? A)Barack Obama became the first sitting president to say he supported same-sex marriage. B)Gays and lesbians may now serve openly in the U.S. military. C)Six openly gay members serve in the U. S. House of Representatives  and one in the U. S. Senate (113th Congress). D)In 2008 California voters became the first in the nation to reject a ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage. E)In 2003 the highest court in Massachusetts ruled that same-sex couples in MA had a state constitutional right to wed.

Federal law that _____________ was struck down by the 2013 Supreme Court decision in United States v.Windsor. A)​prohibited gays and lesbians from serving in the armed forces B)​denied federal benefits to same-sex couples C)​protected gays and lesbians against employment discrimination D)​​allowed gays to take leadership roles in the Boy Scouts E)​permitted housing discrimination against gays and lesbians

Why did the women's suffrage movement aim at a constitutional amendment? A)State legislatures consistently opposed efforts to grant the right to vote to women. B)The Supreme Court ruled against efforts to apply the Fourteenth Amendment to women. C)Ordinary legislation that Congress had passed had proved ineffective. D)The experience of African Americans showed that only a constitutional amendment could quickly and effectively guarantee the right to vote. E)An amendment was perceived as the easiest path to equal rights.

Demands for women's rights were born in large part from​ A)​the abolitionist movement. B)​debates held during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. C)​the aftermath of the Civil War and the growth of freedom that ensued. D)​the largely African-American-inspired Civil Rights movement. E)​anger over defeat of the Suffragist Movement.

What women's rights activist first persuaded a U.S.California senator to introduce a constitutional amendment calling for the right of women to vote? A)Elizabeth Blackwell B)Betty Friedan C)Carrie Nation D)Susan B. Anthony E)Eleanor Roosevelt

Which amendment to the Constitution guaranteed women the right to vote? A)Fifteenth Amendment in 1870 B)Eighteenth Amendment in 1918 C)Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 D)Twenty-fourth Amendment in 1964 E)Twenty-sixth Amendment in 1971

Language protecting women from employment discrimination was added to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act A)after the intervention of President Lyndon Johnson. B)after a three-day women's March on Washington. C)after a dramatic testimony to the U.S. House by Betty Friedan. D)buried within a larger thirty-page amendment that many opponents of the measure failed to closely read. E)in an attempt to ridicule the overall law and make it unacceptable to some of the male members of the U.S. House.

A U.S.Supreme Court decision in 2007 made it more difficult to successfully sue over pay discrimination based on Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act when they held A)that plaintiffs must file a complaint within 180 days of pay setting. B)that plaintiffs must file a complaint with the EEOC within a week. C)that plaintiffs must pay all legal costs up front before filing a suit. D)that employers cannot be held responsible for discrimination on the basis of sex, as opposed to racial or ethnic identity. E)None of the above is true.

What legislation did President Obama sign after becoming president that undid the 2007 Supreme Court decision making it more difficult for plaintiffs to bring lawsuits over pay discrimination? A)The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act B)The Equal Pay Act C)The EEOC Pay Reform Act D)The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Act E)None of the above is true.

_________________ is the idea that employers should be required to pay equal wages to men and women in the same or similar jobs.​ A)​Wage equality B)​Wage recognition C)​Pay equalization D)​Women's Working Wages E)​Comparable worth

The Equal Rights Amendment was passed A)by both houses and signed into law. B)by the House but failed in the Senate. C)by both houses but fell three states short of ratification. D)and ratified but was overturned by the Supreme Court. E)by a three-fourths vote of the state legislatures.

Which of the following is not one of the reasons for failure of the Equal Rights Amendment? A)Opponents to the ERA organized state-based campaigns. B)ERA proponents exaggerated the amendment's effect. C)Opposition grew stronger from women who wanted to maintain their traditional role in society. D)ERA proponents believed they didn't need to actively campaign for such an obviously fair amendment. E)All of the above are reasons for the failure of the ERA.

Affirmative action is the A)commitment by the federal government to require state governments to eliminate all forms of discrimination within their boundaries. B)commitment first introduced in the California legislature to ensure equal employment opportunities for African Americans. C)commitment by a business, employer, school, or other public or private institution to expand opportunities for women, African and Hispanic Americans, and members of other minority groups. D)decision by a court in Hawaii to affirm the right of gays and lesbians to marry. E)specific allowance of a certain number of positions to applicants.

What is the major rationale for affirmative action? A)All hiring and promotion should result from objective tests and measures of job performance. B)To achieve racial equality, it is necessary only to remove de jure segregation. C)Racial criteria should never be used in school admission or employment decisions. D)Special consideration for racial minorities is necessary to overcome the effects of centuries of racial discrimination. E)Previous court decisions failed to specifically address minimum economic needs.

Which president justified the need for affirmative action by saying,"You do not take a person who for years has been hobbled by chains,liberate him,bring him up to the starting line of a race,and then say,'You are free to compete with all the others,' and still justly believe that you have been completely fair?" A)Richard Nixon B)John F. Kennedy C)George H.W. Bush D)Bill Clinton E)Lyndon Johnson

People who feel that they were unfairly denied their right to admission,employment,or promotion because an affirmative action program placed someone of another race or sex ahead of them claim A)restraint of trade. B)reverse discrimination. C)discrimination. D)unfair competition. E)unequal access.

Preferential policies are A)seldom explicitly legislated. B)strictly prohibited by the Constitution. C)usually the result of administrative regulations, judicial rulings, and private sector initiatives. D)supported by most Americans. E)seldom explicitly legislated and usually the result of administrative regulations, judicial rulings, and private sector initiatives.

Allan Bakke's application to the University of California Medical School at Davis was rejected at least in part because he A)was an African American. B)was white. C)was clearly not qualified based on his transcripts and test scores. D)applied to the wrong program. E)missed critical deadlines.

The U.S.Supreme Court in 2003 considered policies _________ in Michigan that were based on racial preference. A)at a law school and undergraduate school B)at a medical school C)of a professional football team D)at a private high school E)in hiring by the state legislature

Recent new justices on the Supreme Court and decisions such as Community Schools v.Seattle School District No.1 suggest A)the constitutionality of affirmative action programs remains secure. B)there is now only a 5-4 margin of support in favor of affirmative action. C)the Supreme Court has engaged in a series of increasingly complicated tests and evaluations of affirmative action programs. D)the Supreme Court continues to uphold affirmative action in the sphere of education, but to reject it elsewhere. E)the court has moved in a decidedly more conservative direction and appears willing to strike down many affirmative action programs.

In 2003,the Supreme Court revisited the use of affirmative action by the University of Michigan and ruled that A)race could not be used under any circumstances as a consideration in admitting students. B)race could not be used by any public college or university, but could be considered by private colleges and universities. C)persistent patterns of social discrimination still legitimized the use of race as a "plus factor" when deciding to admit students. D)a school's interest in diversity permitted the use of race as one factor in university admissions, as long as all applicants were judged individually on their merits. E)race could only be used as long as a fixed system was employed, such as adding a predetermined number of points to an applicant's score, a method that minimized arbitrary discretion by admissions offices.

The text suggests that in today's environment,minority identification on a law school application​ A)​will generally have no significance. B)​remains a disadvantage to the applicant. C)​can be seen as a positive benefit. D)​is probably unconstitutional. E)​will definitely result in reverse discrimination.

Discuss how the Supreme Court in the post-Civil War era undermined the significance of the Civil War amendments to the Constitution.

Identify and discuss "black codes," being sure to identify the long-term significance of the legislative response to them.​

Describe three different ways that Southern states passed laws to keep blacks from voting after passage of the Fifteenth Amendment.

Describe the reasoning behind the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v.Board of Education that the separate but equal doctrine was unconstitutional in the field of public education.

Discuss some of the nonviolent methods used during the Civil Rights Movement to achieve the goal of equality for minority citizens.​

What were the major provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

Identify the original impetus for the disabled rights movement and discuss the legislative response,including both achievements and remaining challenges.​

Outline the recent up-and-down history of the legality of gay marriage in the state of California.

What was the constitutional dispute the Supreme Court was asked to consider concerning the Virginia Military Institute (VMI)in the 1990s,and what ultimate decision did the Court reach?

Present the facts of the U.S.Supreme Court case Regents of the University of California v.Bakke,and describe the basis upon which affirmative action programs would be permissible.