Question 1

In 1957,to which U.S.town did President Eisenhower deploy U.S.troops to impose martial law and enforce a federal court order to integrate Central High School?

Accepted Answer

President Eisenhower deployed U.S. troops to Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957 to enforce a federal court order to integrate Central High School.

Question 2

If a school district moved to adopt a plan where students attended the schools closest to their homes but that plan resulted in schools that were predominantly white or predominantly black,the resulting segregation would be termed __________ segregation.

Accepted Answer

De facto segregation refers to segregation that occurs by the fact that people tend to live in communities with others who are similar to them. In this case, students attending the schools closest to their homes would likely result in segregation based on the racial composition of the surrounding neighborhoods, making it de facto segregation. Legal segregation (C) refers to segregation that is enforced by law, while political (D) and partisan (E) refer to segregation that may result from political or ideological factors.

Question 3

What is the status of the Equal Rights Amendment?

Accepted Answer

The Equal Rights Amendment, which would guarantee equal rights under the law regardless of sex, previously cleared Congress in the 1970s but failed to get ratification by states by the deadline. Efforts to revive the amendment have continued in recent years, but it has not yet been ratified. Therefore, option E is the correct answer.

Question 4

Which institution of the American political system best explains the ability of southern states to resist court-ordered desegregation following Brown v.Board of Education?

Accepted Answer

Federalism, as a division of power between the federal government and state governments, allowed southern states to resist the federal court order to integrate their schools. Southern states were able to use their power to control education policies and school funding to maintain segregation, despite federal rulings.

Question 5

The Supreme Court case that prohibited school segregation aimed at Latinos was

Accepted Answer

Brown v. Board of Education prohibited school segregation based on race, not specifically for Latinos. Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools dealt with sexual harassment in schools. Missouri v. Jenkins and Milliken v. Bradley were cases about desegregation busing. Mendez v. Westminster was a landmark case that prohibited school segregation of Latino students in California, seven years before Brown v. Board of Education.

Question 6

Which of the following outlawed discrimination by all private and public employers on the basis of race,religion,and sex (for those that employ more than fifteen workers)?

Accepted Answer

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, religion, and sex for employers with more than 15 workers. The other choices refer to specific court decisions or sections of other civil rights acts that do not pertain to this specific aspect of anti-discrimination laws.

Question 7

Which of the following types of cases would be afforded the intermediate scrutiny standard?

Accepted Answer

The intermediate scrutiny standard is typically applied in cases involving gender discrimination, such as the scenario described in choice B where a woman is paid less than a man with the same experience for the same job.

Question 8

Compensatory actions to overcome the consequences of past discrimination and to encourage greater diversity are known as

Accepted Answer

Compensatory actions to overcome the consequences of past discrimination and to encourage greater diversity are known as affirmative action. It involves proactive measures to provide equal opportunities for underrepresented groups, such as minorities or women, in education or employment. These actions may include recruitment initiatives, targeted outreach programs, or preferential treatment in the selection process to achieve a more diverse and inclusive workforce or student body. These measures aim to level the playing field and reduce disparities based on past discrimination or structural barriers.

Question 9

Which two forms of sexual harassment does the Supreme Court recognize?

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court recognizes quid pro quo harassment (where job benefits are conditioned on sexual favors) and hostile environment harassment (where a work environment is made intimidating or offensive due to sexual conduct or comments). Male/female, heterosexual/homosexual, aggravated/unwelcome, and physical/conversational are not accurate distinctions of the two forms of sexual harassment recognized by the Supreme Court.

Question 10

The association responsible for developing a legal strategy designed to ensure fair access to the political system for Latinos is

Accepted Answer

MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the rights of Latinos in the United States through litigation, advocacy, and education. One of their main focuses is ensuring fair access to the political system for Latino communities. ASCAP is a music licensing organization, NAACP is focused on issues related to African Americans, SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and AIM (American Indian Movement) were both civil rights organizations that were active in the 1960s and 1970s.

Question 11

Imagine your university wished to increase racial diversity among the student body.Which of the following policies best reflects the current constitutional status of affirmative action policies according to Supreme Court rulings?

Accepted Answer

According to Supreme Court rulings, affirmative action policies are allowed as long as they do not involve quotas or automatic awarding of points based on race. Instead, race can be considered as one factor among many in a holistic review of each individual's application. Option D reflects this approach, while options A, B, and E all involve race-based preferences that would be unconstitutional. Option C would eliminate any consideration of race, which would be counterproductive for a university trying to increase diversity.

Question 12

Ten years after Brown v.Board of Education,approximately what percentage of black school-aged children attended school with white children?

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, ten years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, only about 1 percent of black school-aged children were attending school with white children. The pace of desegregation was painfully slow in many parts of the United States, despite the Supreme Court's ruling that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

Question 13

Which standard is afforded to gender discrimination cases?

Accepted Answer

Gender discrimination cases are subject to intermediate scrutiny, which means that the government must have an important reason for the discriminatory policy or practice, and that it must be substantially related to that reason. This standard is higher than rational basis but lower than strict scrutiny.

Question 14

The greatest achievement of the movement for rights of the disabled was

Accepted Answer

While all of these achievements were important in advancing rights for individuals with disabilities, the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 was a landmark achievement. The ADA provided legal protections against discrimination in employment, public accommodations, transportation, telecommunications, and government services for individuals with disabilities. It also required employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities, making it easier for individuals with disabilities to participate fully in the workforce. The ADA was a significant step towards greater inclusion and equal treatment for people with disabilities.

Question 15

Which legislation imposes sanctions on employers who hire undocumented workers?

Accepted Answer

The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 made it illegal for employers to knowingly hire undocumented workers and imposed sanctions on those who did. The law required employers to verify an employee's eligibility to work in the United States by completing and retaining Form I-9. IRCA also provided a pathway for certain undocumented immigrants to obtain legal status.

Question 16

Which legislation lifted quotas on the number of immigrants that could come from specific national origins?

Accepted Answer

The Immigration and Nationality Services Act, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, was passed in 1965 and abolished the national origins quota system that had been in place since the 1920s. This allowed for a more diverse group of immigrants to come to the United States, regardless of their country of origin.

Question 17

A chicken-processing plant could be fined for hiring a Mexican citizen who is in the United States without proper employment documentation under the terms of the

Accepted Answer

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 made it illegal for employers to knowingly hire undocumented immigrants and established penalties and fines for noncompliance. This act requires employers to verify the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States and provide the proper documentation. Therefore, if a chicken-processing plant hired a Mexican citizen without proper employment documentation, they could be fined under this act.

Question 18

A policy or program designed to redress historic injustices committed against specific groups by making special efforts to provide members of these groups with access to educational and employment opportunities is known as

Accepted Answer

The policy or program described in the question is commonly known as affirmative action. It involves taking deliberate steps to provide opportunities to individuals who have historically faced discrimination or disadvantage based on their race, gender, or other characteristics. The other options presented (reparation, reparative undertaking, quota system, and supportive redistribution) do not accurately describe this specific type of policy.

Question 19

The federal courts took the lead in combating segregation but faced a number of hurdles in implementing their decisions until Congress passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act.Which institution of the American political system best explains the difficulty the courts had in enforcing their rulings on desegregation?

Accepted Answer

The answer of The federal courts took the lead in...

Question 20

Which 1986 Supreme Court case held that the right to privacy did not protect homosexual activity?

Accepted Answer

Bowers v. Hardwick held that the right to privacy did not protect homosexual activity, specifically in the context of a Georgia law that criminalized consensual sodomy between adults. This decision was eventually overturned by Lawrence v. Texas in 2003.

Quiz 4: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights