Question 1

What is the term for programs of private and public institutions that favor minorities and women in an attempt to compensate for past discrimination?

Accepted Answer

Affirmative action is a set of policies or programs that are designed to increase opportunities for groups that have historically faced discrimination, such as racial or ethnic minorities and women. These programs can take a variety of forms, including quotas, outreach and recruitment programs, and preferential hiring or admissions policies. The aim of affirmative action is to ensure that these groups have equal access to educational, employment, and other opportunities, and to compensate for past discrimination against these groups.

Question 2

The success of the civil rights movement has ended racial discrimination in the United States.

Accepted Answer

While the civil rights movement played a significant role in advancing racial equality and ending certain forms of discrimination, racism and racial discrimination still exist in the United States today. The fight for civil rights and equality is ongoing.

Question 3

Which of these is legally binding in regard to gays and lesbians in all fifty states?

Accepted Answer

None of the above is protected by law throughout the entire United States.

Question 4

Title IX, which prohibits discrimination against women at federally funded institutions and is generally credited with enhancing funding for women's sports programs at colleges, is a part of which statute?

Accepted Answer

Title IX is a part of the Education Amendments of 1972, which is itself an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Question 5

Some of the restrictions states placed on abortion include all of the following EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

The question asks for the exception, which means the correct answer choice is the one that is NOT a restriction placed on abortion. All of the other answer choices (B, C, D, E) are restrictions, but limiting the amount of abortions allowed is not one of the commonly imposed restrictions.

Question 6

Advocates for rights of the disabled were worried after the Supreme Court ruled that state employees cannot sue states for damages arising from violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 because

Accepted Answer

The answer of Advocates for rights of the disabled were...

Question 7

Using the analytical framework that discusses the Supreme Court's narrowing of the scope of affirmative action programs, which of these would fall under the political linkage level?

Accepted Answer

The political linkage level of the analytical framework involves how societal attitudes, political movements, and party dynamics influence policy. All the options (A, B, C, D) describe political and societal trends that affect the scope of affirmative action, fitting the definition of the political linkage level.

Question 8

What was rendered meaningless by the Slaughterhouse Cases (1873)?

Accepted Answer

The Slaughterhouse Cases rendered the privileges and immunities clause of the Fourteenth Amendment meaningless. The Supreme Court ruled that the clause only protected a narrow set of rights, such as the right to interstate travel and the right to petition Congress, rather than broader civil rights protections. This decision limited the potential impact of the Fourteenth Amendment on the protection of civil rights.

Question 9

Which of these is NOT one of the successes of the women's movement?

Accepted Answer

The passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was not achieved by the women's movement, despite their efforts. The ERA was proposed in 1923 and was not ratified by the required number of states before the deadline in 1982.

Question 10

The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions issued by the delegates to the _______________ convention stands as one of the landmarks in women's struggle for political equality in the United States.

Accepted Answer

The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions was issued by the delegates to the Seneca Falls convention in 1848. The convention, attended by over 300 people, including famous suffragettes like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, is widely regarded as the beginning of the women's suffrage movement in the United States.

Question 11

The NAACP's (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) attorney who argued Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was

Accepted Answer

Thurgood Marshall was the NAACP's attorney who argued Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. He later became the first African American Supreme Court justice.

Question 12

Concern about civil rights protections for women and racial minorities

Accepted Answer

Civil rights protections for women and racial minorities indeed became a significant focus much later in the history of the United States, with most major advances not occurring until well into the twentieth century. The early history of the U.S. was marked by limited rights for these groups, and it took many years of struggle and activism to achieve significant legal and societal changes.

Question 13

The percentage of elective offices held by women has increased because of all of the following EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

The fact that women account for less than one-half of the population would not have influenced the increase in the percentage of elective offices held by women. The other options - increased incomes, changing social attitudes, rising education, and the impact of the women's movement - all played a role in this increase.

Question 14

Which amendment to the U.S. Constitution reversed the Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) decision?

Accepted Answer

The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, granted citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States, and prohibited states from denying individuals equal protection under the law. It effectively reversed the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, which had held that African Americans could not be citizens of the United States.

Question 15

The expansion of civil rights protections for African Americans, as well as for other racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, and for women, is one of the great achievements of American history.

Accepted Answer

The expansion of civil rights protections for African Americans and other marginalized groups is widely recognized as a significant achievement in the history of the United States. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and other legislation and court cases have helped to ensure greater equality and protection for people of color and women. However, there is still work to be done to address ongoing injustices and inequalities in American society.

Question 16

Affirmative action programs in the United States are designed to help only African Americans.

Accepted Answer

Affirmative action programs are designed to help historically underrepresented groups, which may include African Americans but also extend to other minority groups such as Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans. The programs aim to increase diversity and remedy past discrimination in areas such as employment, education, and housing.

Question 17

Intermediate scrutiny

Accepted Answer

Intermediate scrutiny requires that a law be substantially related to an important objective. It is a higher standard of review than ordinary scrutiny, but not as strict as strict scrutiny. Intermediate scrutiny is typically applied to cases involving gender or legitimacy of children, rather than race.

Question 18

The Supreme Court upheld a state's law against sodomy in Bowers v. Hardwick (1986).

Accepted Answer

In Bowers v. Hardwick, the Supreme Court upheld a Georgia law against sodomy, ruling that the Constitution did not protect the right to engage in homosexual sexual activity. It wasn't until Lawrence v. Texas (2003) that the Court overruled Bowers and struck down sodomy laws nationwide as unconstitutional.

Question 19

What are defense-of-marriage laws?

Accepted Answer

Defense-of-marriage laws refer to laws that define marriage as between a man and a woman, and thus, ban same-sex marriage. These laws are also known as DOMA laws.

Question 20

The white primary was upheld in the case of Smith v. Allwright

Accepted Answer

The white primary was actually declared unconstitutional in the case of Smith v. Allwright in 1944.

Quiz 16: Civil Rights: the Struggle for Political Equality