Chapter 5: The Struggle for Civil Rights
What Students Should Learn from This Chapter
 Explore the seven steps to winning civil rights in the United States
 Review the African American experience that set the pattern for civil rights
 Assess women’s quest for economic and political rights
 Examine the political experience of Hispanics and Asians and Native Americans
 Consider the rights of other groups, including disabled people, same-sex partners, and
transgender individuals
Outline (2C)
I. Struggle for Civil Rights
a. Civil Rights: freedom to participate in the full life of the community
i. Vote
ii. Use public facilities
iii. Exercise equal economic opportunity
b. Discrimination occurs when people denied rights and opportunities
c. Once citizens win rights, public attention shifts to protecting them
d. Battle to win civil rights is most powerful story in American history
e. History can be viewed two ways
i. Steady march toward a deeper and richer equality
ii. Sometimes rights expand, sometimes they contract
II. Winning Rights: The Political Process
a. Seven Steps to Political Equality
i. Group defines itself
ii. Group challenges society
iii. Stories change
iv. Federalism comes into play
v. Executive branch often breaks the ice
vi. Congress legislates a blockbuster
vii. It all ends up in court
b. How the Courts Review Cases
i. Judicial framework important
ii. Three categories for determining whether acts violate “equal protection of the
laws” guaranteed by Fourteenth Amendment
1. Suspect Categories
a. Strict scrutiny
i. Strike down any law that singles our race, ethnicity or
religion
ii. Compelling government interest
2. Quasi-Suspect Categories
a. Special category for gender cases
b. Rest on important state purpose
3. Nonsuspect Categories
a. Rational connection between legislation and legitimate
government purpose
b. Weakest test
III. Race and Civil Rights: Revolt Against Slavery
a. African Americans developed the tactics that other groups would use in their own battles
for civil rights
b. Opened the door to civil rights across society
c. The Clash over Slavery
i. Slaves permitted churches
ii. Dream of freedom became a kind of religious faith
iii. Three forces precipitates national crisis over slavery
1. Moral crusade for abolition
2. Economic interests
3. Political calculations
iv. Abolition
1. Nineteenth century movement demanding an immediate and
unconditional end to slavery
2. Abolitionists diverse for the time
v. Economics
1. Every new settlement: slave or free?
2. Slavery opposed for moral and economic reasons
vi. Politics
1. Political balance between slave states and free states in Congress
2. Slaves gave southerners an additional thirty-six seats in the House of
Representatives
3. Missouri Compromise 1820 drew a line through the Louisiana Territory
a. North of line free, except Missouri
b. South of line slavery
4. Compromise of 1850
a. Decision of free or slave turned over to residents of new
territories
d. Dred Scott v. Sandford
i. 1857 Supreme Court decision
ii. Slave, Dred Scott, sued for freedom
iii. Supreme Court ruled not free because territories nor federal government had
power to limit slavery or give black man rights
iv. Missouri Compromise unconstitutional
v. Popular sovereignty unconstitutional
vi. No territory could restrict slavery or elevate blacks to citizenship
e. The Second American Founding: A New Birth of Freedom?
i. Gettysburg address announced “a new birth of freedom”
ii. “government of the people, by the people, for the people” rewrote the idea of
freedom
iii. Innovation institutionalized in four documents
1. Emancipation Proclamation
a. Freed the slaves in areas rebelling
b. No power to enforce his decree
2. Civil War Amendments
a. Full legal force to Lincoln’s new birth of freedom
b. Thirteenth Amendment: abolished slavery
c. Fourteenth Amendment: anyone born in the United States a U.S.
citizen
i. No state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty or
property without due process of law” or equal protection
of the law
ii. Applied Bill of Rights to the states
iii. Equal protection of the law: requires equal treatment for
all citizens
d. Fifteenth Amendment: guarantees voting rights
f.
Freedom Fails
i. Era began with soaring hopes and ended bitterly
ii. Black families reunited, formed communities, organized churches, voted,
demanded respect
iii. Black codes passed
1. Tied blacks to land
2. Restricted movement
3. Stripped of rights
4. Backed up by Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
iv. Reconstruction
1. Failed effort, pursued by Northerners and Southerners, to rebuild the
South and establish racial equality after the Civil War
2. Rebuild South over sense of racial justice
3. Organized Freedmen’s Bureau to assist former slaves
4. Civil Rights Act of 1866 guaranteed African Americans same property
rights as white Americans
5. Civil Rights Act of 1875 limited private racial discrimination
6. Dreams of racial equality slipped away
a. North withdrew army from the South
b. Congress repealed laws that implemented Civil War
amendments, no national mechanism left to enforce
7. Civil Rights Cases of 1883 Supreme Court struck down the Civil rights
Act of 1875
8. State governments gutted Fifteenth Amendment 1890s
a. Grandfather clause: if grandfather had not voted could not vote
b. Poll taxes
c. Literacy tests: requirement that voters be literate
9. Jim Crow
a. System of racial segregation in the U.S. South 1890-1965,
violently enforced
10. Supreme Court ruled in 1896 nothing inherently discriminatory in
separate but equal facilities (Plessy v. Ferguson)
11. Segregation held in place by brutality of lynching
IV. The Fight for Racial Equality
a. Great Migration: vast movement of African Americans from rural South to the urban
North between 1910 and 1960s
b. Two Kinds of Discrimination
i. De jure: involves laws that explicitly deny civil rights
ii. De facto: more subtle forms of discrimination that exist without a legal basis
c. The Modern Civil Rights Campaign Begins
i. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP formed
1909)
ii. President Roosevelt created Fair Employment Practices Committee 1941
iii. President Truman desegregated the armed forces 1948
d. The Courts
i. NAACP went to court and chipped away at Jim Crow laws
ii. President Roosevelt appointed a court sympathetic to civil rights
iii. Supreme Court struck down all-white Democratic primary 1944
iv. Brown v. Board of Education 1954 ruled that segregated schools violated equal
protection clause
1. Nothing changed
2. Court did not impose timetable or implementation plan
3. National officials did not support
4. States opposed
e. The Civil Rights Movement
i. Ordinary American people rose up and defeated segregation
ii. Movement began in Montgomery, Alabama 1955
iii. Court opened legal door, Protestors protested, Change Won
iv. Freedom Riders 1961: black and white activists who rode buses together to
protest segregation on interstate bus lines
v. Kennedy administration submitted strong civil rights legislation to Congress
f. Congress and the Civil Rights Act
i. Congress blocked civil rights legislation
ii. March on Washington 1963 marked high point of peaceful protest movement
iii. Civil Rights Act of 1964
1. Forbade state and local governments from denying access to public
facilities on the basis of race, color, or national origin
2. Employers could not discriminate
3. Private business could not discriminate
4. Led to rapid integration of southern schools
iv. Voting Rights Act 1965
1. Protected voting rights
2. Secured Fifteenth Amendment
V. The Post Civil Rights Era
a. Affirmative Action in the Workplace
i. Affirmative Action: direct, positive steps to increase the representation of groups
that have faced discrimination in the past
ii. Disproportionate impact: effects some policies have in creating discrimination
even if discrimination is not consciously intended
1. Developed by Supreme Court 1971
2. Companies could not hire or promote employees in a way that created
“built-in headwinds”
iii. Affirmative action raises difficult issues
1. Equality of opportunity is goal
2. Equality of outcome is product
b. Affirmative Action in Education
i. School busing: an effort to integrate public schools by mixing students from
different neighborhoods
ii. Achieve racial integration
iii. Declined 1980s
VI. Women’s Rights
a. Suffrage
i. Intertwined with the fight for racial equality
ii. Women in abolition movement grew frustrated by their own barriers
iii. Seneca Falls Convention 1848: first convention dedicated to women’s rights
iv. Women’s Christian Temperance Union 1870s
1. Attacked alcohol
2. Championed voluntary motherhood
3. Suffrage for women
b.
c.
d.
VII.
a.
b.
c.
4. Decent wages
v. Nineteenth Amendment gave women the vote 1920
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
i. Designed to bar racial discrimination
ii. “sex” added to bill as a joke
iii. Opened the door to gender change
iv. Officials ignored gender provision
v. National Organization for Women (NOW) began demonstrations, rallies,
lobbying and litigation
vi. Congress passed Federal Education Amendments 1972: required equal athletic
opportunities for men and women
Equal Rights Amendment
i. Introduced in Congress every year between 1924 and 1972
ii. Three states short of ratification when reframed: women want to be a wife,
mother and homemaker
iii. Stopped ERA
The Courts
i. Women targeted the courts
ii. Challenged discriminatory state laws, case by case
iii. Gender was a non-suspect category: upheld as long as it had some rational
connection to legitimate state purpose
iv. Court lifted gender into category of heightened scrutiny 1976
v. Recent court decisions have made it more difficult to sue for discrimination
Hispanics
Largest minority group
Challenging Discrimination
i. League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) 1929
1. Fought segregation through lawsuits
2. Latino school segregation struck down 1947
ii. Turned to activism 1960s
1. Fight more aggressively against discrimination
2. Challenged immigration policies
3. Chicanismo: defiant movement expressing pride in Latino origins and
culture in the face of discrimination
4. United Farm Workers organized migrant workers, another symbol of
Latino mobilization
The Politics of Immigration
i. Hispanic politics wrapped up with immigration
ii. Ancient Fears
1. Immigrants trigger fears that are repeated for every new group
2. President Trump has made limits on immigration one of his signature
issues
iii. Three Categories of Immigrants
1. Born in United States or have become American citizens
2. Resident Aliens
3. Not legally authorized to be residents
iv. Undocumented individuals
1. People not legally authorized to be in the United States
2. Debate especially intense
3. Racial profiling: law enforcement practice of singling out people on the
basis of physical features such as race or ethnicity
d. Language Controversy: Speak English!
e. Political Mobilization
VIII.
Asian Americans
a. Third largest minority in the United States
b. Do not share a common language
c. Do not share a common historical experience
d. Highest education level
e. Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 barred Chinese immigrants
f. California Alien Land Law of 1913 forbade Asian immigrants from owning land
g. After Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 1941 Japanese Americans placed in internment
camps
h. Schools segregated
i. “Model Minority”
IX. Native Americans
a. The Lost Way of Life
i. Dark side of American expansion was “Indian removal”
ii. Settlers moved west Indian tribes forced from homelands
iii. Indians not passive, at time forced white settlers to retreat
iv. Federal government forced most Native American populations into reservations
v. Tribes were pushed to adapt European lifestyles
vi. Dawes Act of 1887
1. Divided lands into individual parcels
2. Destroyed traditional ownership customs and encourage farming
3. Boarding schools for children
b. Indians and the Federal Government
i. Supreme Court ruled 1831 Indian tribes were “domestic dependent nations”
1. Separate people
2. Without the rights of an independent nation
3. Not considered citizens, not protected by the Constitution
4. Indian Citizenship Act 1924, Indians citizens with rights
5. Reservations subject to federal but not state governments
6. Bureau of Indian Affairs responsible for Native American issues
c. Social Problems and Politics
i. Poverty rates almost double the national rates
ii. Life on reservation difficult
iii. Two Camps
1. Ethnic minority: argues Indians should engage American democracy and
mobilize for rights and equality
2. Tribal movement: withdraw from American politics and society,
revitalize Native American culture and traditions
iv. Civil rights protest of 1960s included Native American activists
X. Groups Without Special Protection
a. People with Disabilities
i. Before 1970 people with disabilities lived outside mainstream society
ii. Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act: no handicapped person denied access
to any program
iii. Section 504 gave activists a political focus
iv. Government action provided new legal rights; the group then organized and
demanded further change
v. Went from requesting welfare benefits to demanding civil rights
vi. Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 forbade companies form discriminating
against handicapped people, make reasonable accommodations
b. Sexual Orientation and gender identity
i. Movement for same-sex rights began with a riot 1969 when police raided a gay
bar
ii. Moment LGBT community affirmed its identity
iii. American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental
disorders 1973
iv. Early 1980s AIDS pushed gay groups into local politics
v. Supreme Court enshrined same sex marriage as a national civil right 2015
vi. LGBTQ individuals still face formidable barriers to full civil rights
XI. The Fight for Civil Rights Goes On
a. Voting Rights Today
i. 22 states debated bills to make voting more difficult 2018
ii. Supreme Court made restricting the vote easier 2013
1. Stuck down the central requirement in the Voting Rights Act of 1965
2. States no longer required to clear voting rights changes with the federal
Justice Department
b. Economic and Social Rights Today
i. Health: life expectancy getting closer
ii. Income: Black poverty rate remained roughly three times white poverty rate
iii. Incarceration: African American men are seven times as likely to be in jail as
whites
1. New Jim Crow: idea that mass incarceration of African Americans has
effects comparable to legal segregation
Suggested Lecture Topics and Class Activities
1) Discuss the two kinds of discrimination: (1) de jure discrimination and (2) de facto
discrimination.
2) Discuss the various factors that led people in America to protest against injustices toward African
Americans during the civil rights movement.
3) Discuss what led the gay community to take a more active part in local politics.
4) Discuss the 1993 “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
5) Analyze why, when Asian Americans are the third-largest minority group in the United States,
their representation in politics consists of only thirteen Asian Americans in Congress (by 2010).
6) Discuss what contributes to Asian Americans having the highest education level and the highest
median personal income among American population groups.
7) Discuss the ambiguous legal status of Native Americans: out of a total population of two million,
about one million live on tribal reservations, which are independent jurisdictions not subject to
state governments.
8) Analyze why we have seen a strong backlash against affirmative action for African Americans,
Latinos, and women, while in contrast there has been very little against disabled people.
9) Discuss the central controversy today about same-sex marriage.
10) Put students into groups. Have them discuss the pros and cons of affirmative action.
11) Put students into groups. Have them discuss the pan-Latino movement and analyze the positive
and negative effects of this cause.
Discussion Questions
1) Does de facto discrimination still exist today—and, if so, how much?
2) America has made astonishing progress since the days of the civil rights movement; however,
major inequalities remain. What are some of these inequalities?
3) Discuss how Hispanic people come from many different places, each with its own interests and
concerns. For example, Cuban Americans are not as concerned with immigration issues as
Mexican Americans.
4) Analyze why, unlike Latinos or African Americans, Asian Americans do not form a majority in
any electoral districts except Hawaii—although some districts in California may soon come close.
5) Discuss the policy of “Indian removal.”
6) Discuss the social problems of American Indians. Indian poverty rates are approximately three
times as high as the national rates and stand at 32.2 percent—well above any other American
group. Analyze what the US government can do to relieve this dilemma.
Video Resources
USA.gov Channel https://www.youtube.com/usagov1
Icount https://icount.com/
PBS Frontline http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/view/
Freedom Rider http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/freedomriders/watch
Stonewall Uprising http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/stonewall/
We Shall Remain http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/
A Class Apart http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/class/
Website Resources
Movement Bibliography: Online Books, Audio, Films & Videos Photos and Images
http://www.crmvet.org/biblio-e.htm
Voices of Civil Rights http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civilrights/
Civil Rights Digital Library http://crdl.usg.edu/?Welcome
The Founder’s Constitution http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/
Political Resources Online http://politicalresources.com/
Online Library of Liberty http://oll.libertyfund.org/
Test Questions
Multiple-Choice Questions (3A)
Question type: factual
Page number: 159
1) With what act were Chinese immigrants deemed ineligible for citizenship?
a. Civil Rights Act
*b. Chinese Exclusion Act
c. California Alien Land Law
d. they were never deemed ineligible
Question type: factual
Page number:
2) When did Congress outlaw sex discrimination in the Civil Rights Act?
*a. 1964
b. 1966
c. 1965
d. 1968
Question type: factual
Page number:
3) Which minority group was forbidden from becoming American citizens?
a. blacks
b. women
*c. Chinese
d. all of the above
Question type: applied
Page number:
4) How many African Americans served in the Senate during the entire twentieth century?
a. eight
b. ten
c. two
*d. three
Question type: applied
Page number:
5) Asians have won full rights, but which minority group has not?
a. Puerto Ricans
*b. Native Americans
c. blacks
d. women
Question type: applied
Page number:
6) African Americans are almost ___ times as likely to be poor as the rest of the population. They have a
life expectancy ___ years shorter than whites.
a. five . . . three
b. ten . . . five
*c. three . . . nine
d. ten . . . two
Question type: factual
Page number:
7) What was the number of black mayors in 1965?
*a. 0
b. 5
c. 10
d. 12
Question type: factual
Page number:
8) What is the poverty rate of white Americans today?
a. 5.5
*b. 8.8
c. 10
d. 12.6
Question type: factual
Page number:
9) What is the poverty rate of Hispanic Americans today?
a. 15
b. 17.5
*c. 19.4
d. 33
Question type: factual
Page number:
10) What is the poverty rate of black Americans today?
*a. 22
b. 10.5
c. 17
d. 12.7
Question type: factual
Page number:
11) What is the poverty rate of Native Americans today?
a. 10
b. 25
c. 15
*d. 28.3
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
12) What is the number of women elected to full Senate terms between 1920 and 1970?
*a. 3
b. 5
c. 7
d. 12
Question type: factual
Page number:
13) What is the number of women serving in the Senate today?
a. 33
b. 50
*c. 21
d. 10
Question type: factual
Page number:
14) What year did the Supreme Court strike down laws forbidding marriage between blacks and whites?
a. 1905
*b. 1968
c. 1868
d. 1999
Question type: factual
Page number:
15) What are rules issued by the president that have the force of law but do not require congressional
approval?
a. presidential orders
*b. executive orders
c. White House decrees
d. none of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
16) Which president desegregated the army in 1948?
a. Wilson
b. Roosevelt
c. Ford
*d. Truman
Question type: factual
Page number:
17) In 2012, Barack Obama gave undocumented individuals protection, these individuals were known as
*a. dreamers
b. field workers
c. college students
d. free workers
Question type: factual
Page number:
18) Few groups in American history have suffered worse treatment than African Americans. Which of the
following horrific actions did they experience?
a. Men and women chained in the holds of slave ships.
b. Raped at will.
c. Murdered for challenging their oppression.
*d. all of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
19) What was the Missouri Compromise of 1820?
a. Slavery was abolished in the Louisiana Territory.
*b. A line was drawn through the Louisiana Territory: territories north of the line except Missouri would
be free; everything south of the line would be open to slavery.
c. Slavery would be allowed only in some states in the South.
d. none of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
20) What was the Compromise of 1850?
*a. Permitted territories to vote on whether they would be slave or free.
b. Local governments would decide whether they would be slave or free.
c. Slavery was allowed only in the western states.
d. all of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
21) Which 1857 Supreme Court case ruled that the federal government did not have the power to give a
black man rights?
a. Brown v. Board of Education
*b. Dred Scott v. Sandford
c. Roe v. Wade
d. none of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
22) Which war in American history caused more Americans to lose their lives than in all the other
American wars put together?
a. World War I
*b. Civil War
c. Korean War
d. Vietnam War
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
23) The Fifteenth Amendment excluded which group?
*a. women
b. blacks
c. Chinese
d. none of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
24) Southern state and local governments reacted to slaves’ freedom by passing
a. anti-sovereignty codes.
b. nonwhites codes.
c. black regulations.
*d. black codes.
Question type: factual
Page number:
25) For a time, Congress supported the former slaves. In an effort known as ___, it tried to rebuild the
South around a vision of racial justice.
a. the Fourteenth Amendment
*b. Reconstruction
c. the Civil Rights Act
d. none of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
26) The Civil Rights Act of 1866 guaranteed African Americans which of the same rights as white
Americans?
*a. property rights
b. right to participate in politics
c. limited private racial discrimination in hotels, restaurants, and theaters
d. all of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
27) ___ were allegedly a requirement that voters were literate. In reality, they were a way to restrict black
suffrage.
*a. Literacy tests
b. Intelligence tests
c. Black voters’ tests
d. none of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
28) In the Civil Rights Cases of 1883, the Supreme Court struck down the Civil Rights Act of 1875,
ruling that Congress did not have the authority to stop private discrimination. In what year did Congress
finally find a way around this barrier?
a. 1901
b. 2011
*c. 1964
d. 1887
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
29) The white majority built a system of segregation known as ___.
a. Ku Klux Klan
b. James Crow
*c. Jim Crow
d. none of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
30) In what year did the Supreme Court rule, in Plessy v. Ferguson, that there was nothing inherently
discriminatory in separating the races?
a. 1843
b. 1851
*c. 1896
d. 1954
Question type: factual
Page number:
31) The percentage of southern students in integrated schools eight years after Brown v. Board of
Education was
a. 74
b. 6
*c. 1
d. none
Question type: factual
Page number:
32) What was the plot of the 1915 movie Birth of a Nation?
a. Social equality for all in America.
*b. Lust-filled black men
c. The framers of the Constitution.
d. The Puritans’ quest for religious freedom.
Question type: factual
Page number:
33) Beginning in the 1920s, many African Americans left southern agriculture and moved to more
lucrative factory jobs in the northern cities—a journey known as the
a. Northern Migration.
b. Extradition.
*c. Great Migration.
d. Great Movement.
Question type: factual
Page number:
34) In 1909, black leaders formed the NAACP. What does this abbreviation stand for?
a. National Association for the Advancement of Celebrated People
b. National Association for the Advancement of Christian Patrons
*c. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
d. National Association for the Advancement of Christian People
Question type: factual
Page number:
35) In 1961, activists came up with a new tactic. Groups of young people rented Greyhound buses as ___
to protest segregated interstate bus lines and terminals.
a. Desegregation Riders
*b. Freedom Riders
c. Freedom for Blacks
d. freedom activists
Question type: factual
Page numbers:
36) Which of the following activists was instrumental in the success of the civil rights movement?
a. Martin L. King
b. Rosa Parks
c. A. Philip Randolph
*d. all of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
37) Martin L. King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in ___ in Washington, DC.
*a. 1963
b. 1968
c. 1995
d. 1866
Question type: factual
Page number:
38) The Civil Rights Act was passed in what year?
a. 1991
b. 1962
*c. 1964
d. 1865
Question type: factual
Page number:
39) Congress passed the Voting Rights Act in what year?
*a. 1965
b. 1992
c. 1967
d. 1866
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
40) What is the American ideal often expressed as equality of opportunity?
a. Give every individual a fair chance at achieving success with the aid of government assistance.
b. Give every individual a fair chance at achieving success if they can access seed money from parents.
*c. Give every individual a fair chance at achieving success if they are talented and hardworking.
d. all of the above
Question type: factual
Page numbers:
41) When did the new approach of affirmative action emerge in America?
a. 1850s and 1860s
*b. 1960s and 1970s
c. 1970s and 1980s
d. 1980s and 1990s
Question type: conceptual
Page number: 180
42) Which of the following could a woman do in the early nineteenth century?
a. vote
b. serve on a jury
c, enter into a contract
*d. none of the above
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
43) When was the first convention for woman suffrage, held at Seneca Falls, that grew directly from the
abolition movement?
*a. 1848
b. 1891
c. 1898
d. 1937
Question type: factual
Page number:
44) By 1916, an effective political campaign had won full suffrage in fifteen states and partial suffrage in
twenty-three others. Women voted in every state of the West and Midwest except
a. Utah.
b. Wyoming.
c. Idaho.
*d. New Mexico.
Question type: factual
Page number:
45) President Woodrow Wilson put aside his condescension and supported women’s suffrage as a
*a. ”wartime measure.”
b. ”morally right thing to do.”
c. “form of appeasement.”
d. all of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
46) After the 1970 election how many women were in the House of Representatives?
a. 36
b. 23
*c. 11
d. 4
Question type: factual
Page number:
47) Hispanics make up what percentage of the American population?
a. 10.3
*b. 17.3
c. 27.5
d. 45.9
Question type: factual
Page number:
48) Latinos took many of the tactics of the black civil rights movement and adapted them to their own
needs. They organized which of the following organizations in 1929?
a. League of United Hispanic American Citizens
*b. League of United Latin American Citizens
c. United Latin American League
d. Hispanic League of Freedom
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
49) Immigrants often trigger the same fears. Which of the following corresponds to those fears?
a. They will undermine American values and culture.
b. They will remain loyal to their own languages and their home countries.
c. They will take away jobs.
*d. all of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
50) Which of the following groups has the highest education level and the highest median personal
income among American population groups?
a. European Americans
b. African Americans
*c. Asian Americans
d. Hispanics
Question type: factual
Page number:
51) The common language of Asian immigrants is
a. Japanese
b. Chinese
c. Vietnamese
*d. none
Question type: factual
Page number:
52) The third largest minority in the United States is
a. Blacks
*b. Asians
c. Hispanics
d. Native Americans
Question type: factual
Page number:
53) Congress passed the ____ in 1882 barring ____ immigrants and declaring them ineligible for
citizenship.
a. Japanese Exclusion Act . . . Japanese
*b. Chinese Exclusion Act . . . Chinese
c. Vietnamese Exclusion Act . . . Vietnamese
d. Korean Exclusion Act . . . Korean
Question type: factual
Page numbers:
54) After the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, President Roosevelt ordered the army to round up Japanese
Americans and place them in internment camps. What did they lose as a result of this act of injustice?
a. their liberty
b. their jobs
c. their property and their bank accounts
*d. all of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
55) San Francisco established separate schools for who?
a. Hispanics
*b. Chinese
c. Irish
d. Miners
Question type: factual
Page number:
56) By the time the United States stretched from coast to coast, only about ___ million of the ten million
Native Americans remained.
*a. one
b. three
c. five
d. seven
Question type: factual
Page number:
57) In 1831, the Supreme Court ruled that Indian tribes were ___.
a. domestic indigenous tribes
*b. domestic dependent nations
c. independent countries
d. none of the above
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
58) The civil rights protests inspired some Native Americans, just as they did so many other groups, to
organize a political movement. Which is one such movement?
a. American Indian Sovereignty
b. American Indian United
*c. American Indian Movement
d. American Indian Justice
Question type: factual
Page number:
59) Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act benefited the disabled. Which piece of legislation did this
bill borrow from?
*a. the Civil Rights Act of 1964
b. the Constitution
c. the Bill of Rights
d. Civil Rights Act of 1866
Question type: factual
Page number:
60) The movement for same-sex rights began with a riot. In 1969, police raided a ___ gay bar named the
Stonewall Inn.
a. San Francisco
*b. New York City
c. Los Angeles
d. Salt Lake City
Question type: factual
Page number:
61) When did the American Psychiatric Association remove homosexuality from its list of mental
disorders?
a. 1949
b. 1961
*c. 1973
d. 1999
Question type: factual
Page numbers:
62) In the early 1980s, AIDS plagued the gay community. This deadly disease pushed them into local
politics. Which political action did they take?
a. They established links to the medical community.
b. They established connections with local governments.
c. They prodded politicians and drug companies into action.
*d. all of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
63) Which president promised to open the military to gay men and women?
a. Ronald Reagan
b. Jimmy Carter
c. Gerald Ford
*d. Bill Clinton
Question type: factual
Page number:
64) Which president ended the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy?
a. Ronald Reagan
b. George W. Bush
*c. Barack Obama
d. Richard Nixon
Question type: factual
Page number:
65) Which state became the first state to permit gay marriage?
a. California
b. New York
c. Vermont
*d. Massachusetts
Question type: factual
Page number:
66) Which state was the first to recognize civil unions between same sex partners?
*a. Vermont
b. Massachusetts
c. New York
d. California
Question type: factual
Page number:
67) The plague upon the gay community of the early 1980s was
*a. AIDS
b. marriage laws
c. military rules
d. Illegal drug use
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
68) How many LGBTQ Americans report serious employment discrimination?
*a. one in four
b. one in six
c. one in twelve
d. one in 32
Question type: factual
Page number: 198
69) In ___ the courts ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to marry violated equal protection, and
in ___ the state legislature approved same-sex marriage. In both states, the public promptly voted to reject
the practice.
a. Texas . . . Utah
b. Florida . . . Alabama
*c. California . . . Maine
d. none of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
70) The freedom to participate in the full life of the community is also known as
a. civil liberties
b. legal rights
c. executive mandates
*d. civil rights
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
71) Once civil rights are won what is the next job of the public?
*a. protecting them
b. codifying them
c. ignoring them
d. there is no next step
Question type: factual
Page number:
72) The most powerful story in American history is
a. political parties
*b. battle to win civil rights
c. interest groups
d. power of the presidency
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
73) One way to view the history of civil rights is as a(n)
a. easy path
b. slow march
*c. steady march
d. fast run
Question type: applied
Page number:
74) Which of the following is a civil right?
a. voting
b. using public facilities
c. equal economic opportunity
*d. all of the above
Question type: factual
Page number:
75) One way to view the history of civil rights is as
*a. expanding and contracting
b. moving forward rapidly
c. moving forward slowly
d. moving backward slowly
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
76) The first step to political equality is
a. challenging society
*b. defining the group
c. changing the story
d. bring Federalism into play
Question type: factual
Page number:
77) Challenging society involves entering the
a. economic arena
b. international arena
*c. political arena
d. public space
Question type: applied
Page number:
78) Changing the view of immigrants from job taker to job creators is an example of
a. challenging society
b. employing Federalism
c. group definition
*d. changing the stories
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
79) Civil rights involve what area of government?
*a. local, state and federal
b. federal only
c. state only
d. civil rights does not involve government
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
80) The branch of government that normally makes the great changes regarding Civil Rights is
a. executive
*b. legislative
c. judicial
d. bureaucracy
Question type: factual
Page number:
81) The ultimate arbiters of civil rights are the
a. bureaucrats
b. executives who make changes
*c. courts
d. states
Question type: factual
Page number:
82) “Equal protection of the laws” is guaranteed by the
a. Bill of Rights
b. Twelfth Amendment
c. Thirteenth Amendment
*d. Fourteenth Amendment
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
83) When the court asks if the government has a compelling interest in singling out a race or an ethnicity
they are applying
*a. strict scrutiny
b. suspect scrutiny
c. quasi-suspect scrutiny
d. rights consideration
Question type: applied
Page number:
84) A law that singles out an ethnicity is likely to have what court decision?
a. moved forward
*b. struck down
c. refused
d. sent back to be rewritten
Question type: factual
Page number:
85) A special category for gender is
a. suspect
b. strict scrutiny
*c. quasi-suspect
d. non-suspect
Question type: applied
Page number:
86) Legislation that mandates retirement at age 72 would fall under which category
a. suspect
b. strict scrutiny
c. quasi-suspect
*d. non-suspect
Question type: factual
Page number:
87) The group that developed the tactics other groups would use in battling for civil rights were
*a. African Americans
b. Asian Americans
c. Native Americans
d. Hispanics
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
88) Slaves found leadership and organization in their
a. homes
*b. churches
c. businesses
d. government
Question type: applied
Page number:
89) The legislation that enabled Maine to enter the union in 1820 as a free state was the
a. Compromise of 1850
b. Civil War
*c. Missouri Compromise
d. Emancipation Proclamation
Question type: applied
Page number:
90) Reading and interpreting a constitutional passage in order to vote is an example of a(n)
a. voting test
b. enrollment test
c. citizenship test
*d. literacy test
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
91) Discrimination that is codified in law is known as
*a. de jure discrimination
b. de facto discrimination
c. political discrimination
d. social discrimination
Question type: factual
Page number:
92) Discrimination that exists without a legal basis is
a. de jure discrimination
*b. de facto discrimination
c. political discrimination
d. social discrimination
Question type: applied
Page number:
93) The first racially integrated federal institution in the United States was the
a. House of Representatives
b. West Wing
*c. military
d. FBI
Question type: factual
Page number:
94) Segregated schools were ruled unconstitutional in
a. Marbury v Madison
b. Plessy v Ferguson
c. Citizens United
*d. Brown v Board of Education
Question type: conceptual
Page number:
95) Segregation was finally defeated by
*a. ordinary American people
b. military involvement
c. Executive order
d. court rulings
Question type: factual
Page number:
96) An approach that involves direct, positive steps to increase representation is
a. civil rights
*b. affirmative action
c. civil liberties
d. judicial review
Question type: factual
Page number:
97) When companies create policies that discriminate, even unintentionally, they are guilty of
a. affirmative action
b. equal opportunity
*c. disproportionate impact
d. proportional impact
Question type: factual
Page number:
98) School busing was meant to
a. fill school desks
b. bring rural children to urban schools
c. balance student numbers
*d. integrate public schools
Question type: factual
Page number:
99) The word added to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that changed women’s rights was
*a. sex
b. gender
c. female
d. woman
Question type: factual
Page number:
100) Phyllis Schlafly stopped what amendment by reframing the issue
a. Civil Rights
*b. Equal Rights
c. Equal Employment
d. Voting Age
Question type: factual
Page number: 198
Short-Answer Questions
1) We are a nation founded on the idea that all people are “created equal” and “endowed” with
“unalienable rights” including “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” We are also a very
diverse nation that often does not live up to its noble founding vision. Blacks, women, and
Chinese groups were not treated equally. Are there groups in America currently that are not
treated “equally”?
 Discusses political rights guaranteed in the Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution
 Discusses diversity in America today
 Highlights groups in America that do not have rights adequately protected
2) Define and explain civil rights in 100 words or less.
 Includes in definition discussion of America’s founding documents
 Provides examples of what civil rights mean
 Highlights historical development of the practice of this concept
3) What does the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee?
 Discusses equal protection under the law
 Discusses due process
 Discusses historical circumstances of its creation
4) Explain the Brown v. Board of Education case.
 Discusses the differences between segregation and desegregation
 Discusses Plessy v. Ferguson
 Discusses historical implications of the decision
5) Elaborate on the threefold division in the framework for civil rights law: suspect categories,
quasi-suspect categories, and nonsuspect categories.
 Explains the three categories
 Explains the importance of each
 Provides examples
6) Even after liberation from slavery, black Americans faced another century of repression. Describe
their quest for freedom in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. What were the three additional
forces that held black Americans back from full equality even after slavery ended, and how did
black Americans survive and overcome these forces?
 Names three forces that prevented full equality (Jim Crow laws, white primary, black
codes, etc.)
 Provides examples of what each looked like in practice
 Discusses ways black Americans sought to overcome these forces
7) What is affirmative action?
 Defines affirmative action
 Provides examples of what affirmative action looks like
 Discusses continuing controversy about this practice
8) Cite one of the organizations that was spawned from the women’s movement of the 1870s. What
did it do, and what was its impact on American history?



Names an organization that emerged from the women’s movement of the 1870s
Discusses what the organization did
Discusses its impact on American history
9) During the 1916 election, why did the South remain strongly opposed to women’s suffrage?
 Explains the women’s suffrage movement
 Discusses how, in the West, women obtained the vote relatively quickly
 Discusses issues in the South related to its resistance to women’s suffrage
10) Define class action lawsuit. Explain why one might be used and provide examples.
 Defines class action lawsuit
 Explains why one might be used
 Provides examples of class action lawsuits
11) Describe the history behind Chicanismo and the United Farm Workers organization. What was
the impact of these movements?
 Explains the history of Chicanismo and why it emerged
 Explains the United Farm Workers organization and its purpose
 Discusses the impact of these movements on Latino history
12) What was the California Alien Land Law of 1913 and why did it come about? What was its
impact?
 Explains the California Alien Land Law of 1913
 Discusses why this law came about
 Discusses its impact
13) A stereotype that emerged in the 1960s for Asian groups in America was that they were a “model
minority.” Explain what this term means and its implications for Asians and American society.
 Defines model minority
 Provides examples of what a model minority looks like in comparison to other minority
groups that are not “model”
 Explains the implication of this idea for Asians and larger American society
14) What was the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924?
 Defines the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924
 Explains the historical relationship between Native Americans and the US government
 Discusses impact of Indian Citizenship Act on Native Americans today
15) Define the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and elaborate on its impact in American life.
 Defines the American with Disabilities Act of 1990
 Provides examples of what this law does
 Explains its impact on American life
16) Explain what the term civil union means and how it compares to marriage.
 Defines civil unions
 Compares civil unions to marriage for gay Americans
 Names states that have allowed gay marriage, as well as states that have instead defined
marriage as being between a man and a woman
17) What is the Lilly Ledbetter Law? Why do you think President Obama chose that as the first law
to sign as president?
 Defines the Lilly Ledbetter Law
 Explains the circumstances of how it came about
 Discusses the political implications of signing this law
18) Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities have moved from taboo to mainstream.
Nevertheless, the conflict over marriage and childrearing remains a flash point of contemporary
culture wars. Why do you think this is the case?
 Discusses the evolution of perceptions of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender
communities
 Provides examples of changes in social acceptance of these groups
 Suggests reasons for the changes
19) Same-sex marriage rights are an important issue for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender
communities. What are the reasons for the demand for this right? For those against these marriage
rights, what are the reasons to deny them and only allow civil unions?
 Discusses the reasons those who support same-sex marriage want to have these rights
 Discusses the reasons those who oppose same-sex marriage want to have these rights
denied
 Compares marriage rights with the rights allowed in civil unions
Essay Questions
1) Has the United States marched toward greater civil rights for all? Or has the progress been
unsteady? Explain the evolution of civil rights in this country.
 Discusses the steps toward civil rights throughout American history
 Provides analysis on whether progress has been made consistently or has been subject to
reversal
 Provides examples of progress toward civil rights for all
 Provides potential threats to civil rights equality
 Offers suggestions on how to ensure civil rights equality can keep moving forward
2) Elaborate on the seven steps to gaining political rights.
 Analyzes seven steps for gaining rights
 Compares each of the steps with each other
 Provides examples of various minority groups who have gained political rights
 Suggests ways the process can be accelerated
 Analyzes ways the process has changed from earlier advances
3) Most Americans preferred to ignore the issue of slavery, but a group of abolitionists fought to end
slavery. Describe the abolition movement in the context of its times. Are there equivalent movements
today? Could they be as successful as the abolitionists were?
 Examines the historical development of slavery in America
 Discusses the rise of the abolitionist movement
 Examines the techniques used by abolitionists to raise awareness of the evils of slavery
 Compares the abolitionist movement to modern movements
 Suggests possible political impact of modern movements
4) Elaborate on the 1857 Supreme Court ruling Dred Scott v. Sandford case. What was its impact on
American history? Was the Civil War an inevitable result?
 Discusses the context of American politics in the 1850s
 Examines the particulars of the Dred Scott v. Sandford case
 Presents the reasoning used by the Supreme Court majority to justify its decision
 Discusses its impact on American history
 Suggests potential alternative results of the case
5) The Fourteenth Amendment (1868) made anyone born in the United States an American citizen.
Today, the provision is at the heart of the immigration debate; even the children of undocumented
immigrants born on American soil are American citizens. Some feel that these children should
not be citizens, since their parents were here illegally. What is your view on this matter? Is there
an alternative to the current interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment still in keeping with
American values of equality and inclusion?
 Presents the historical context of the drafting of the Fourteenth Amendment
 Discusses current issues regarding immigration (anchor babies, birth-travel tourism, etc.)
specific to provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment
 Presents arguments for and against keeping the Fourteenth Amendment as it is
 Shares an informed opinion on this matter
 Suggests potential alternatives to the current interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment
still in keeping with American values of equality and inclusion
6) In 1909, the NAACP began fighting segregation. In 1941, it finally won the first executive order
on race since Reconstruction. What was this landmark decision and what pushed Roosevelt to
act?
 Discusses the founding of the NAACP
 Analyzes the political context of 1941 under the Roosevelt administration
 Discusses what executive orders are
 Examines the impact of the executive order
 Presents reasons for Roosevelt’s actions
7) Many of the remedies for past discrimination have appeared to guarantee equality of outcome:
reserving jobs or opportunities for individuals based on their race or gender. Is this necessary to
right past wrongs? If so, for how long? And are these remedies—extended to minorities and
women—unfair to white men?
 Defines equality of outcome
 Presents history and practice of affirmative action
 Discusses examples of past wrongs done to groups
 Presents an opinion about how long affirmative action is necessary
 Discusses whether affirmative action is effective
8) Despite the recent rise, the United States ranks seventy-first (tied with Turkmenistan) in the
percentage of women in Congress. Why? Should the government do anything to change this?
What could be done?
 Discusses historical discrimination against women
 Discusses efforts in place to help women have equal rights
 Discusses history of women obtaining political power


Presents an opinion about whether government should take steps to give women more
seats in Congress or other political institutions
Suggests ways women can obtain greater political power
9) Discuss at length the purpose of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Has it been
effective?
 Discusses the history of the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
 Discusses examples of past discrimination in the United States
 Discusses the role and tasks of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
 Presents an opinion about its effectiveness
 Suggests activities the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission can undertake to be
more effective
10) Elaborate on the history and purpose of the National Organization for Women (NOW) formed in
1966.
 Discusses the history of discrimination against women
 Explains the history of the National Organization for Women
 Discusses the purpose of the National Organization for Women
 Examines the National Organization for Women’s effectiveness
 Suggests additional steps that can be taken to address discrimination against women
11) The controversy over language reflects the constant changes in American culture. Currently,
Hispanics are the largest minority group in America. Should English be made the official
language of the United States?
 Examines the growth of Hispanics in America
 Discusses the historical debate over immigrants speaking other languages in the United
States
 Discusses Supreme Court cases regarding students receiving instruction in alternate
languages
 Presents an opinion about whether efforts should be made for language availability
 Discusses the implications of making English the official language
12) Today, a pan-Latino movement seeks to find common ground and mobilize voters around issues
that transcend any one country or group. Some Hispanics worry that a pan-Latino construction
may lead to the loss of national identity and pride; others respond that finding common cause is
an important step to political influence. Discuss which argument you support and why.
 Discusses the pan-Latino movement
 Discusses the diversity of Latino culture, national origins, and political opinions
 Explains how some believe a pan-Latino idea could lead to loss of national identity and
pride
 Explains how some believe that building common cause can lead to greater political
influence
 Presents an opinion on which point of view is correct
13) As a group, Asian Americans have the highest education level and the highest median personal
income among American population groups. What factors contribute to their success? Can other
groups do the same?
 Explains the history of Asian Americans in the United States




Discusses key events for particular groups, such as the Japanese internment, which have
molded Asian American attitudes about America
Compares Asian American experiences historically with those of other groups
Discusses factors that contribute to their success
Suggests whether these factors are unique to Asian Americans or whether other groups
could follow this example
14) American Indian poverty rates are approximately three times as high as the national rates and
stand at 26.2 percent—well above any other American group. Native Americans also suffer from
low education levels and high infant-mortality rates—again, with rates worse than those of other
groups but somewhat better than those for African Americans. Discuss what the US government
can do to help improve these startling statistics (after all, America was originally their home).
 Discusses the history of Native Americans with the US government
 Discusses the reaction of Native Americans to ongoing problems— the debate over the
“Ethnic Minority” or “Tribal Movement”
 Discusses steps the federal government can take to assist Native Americans
 Suggests ways Native American life can improve
15) What led to the riot in 1969 in a New York City gay bar? Explain the political consequences of
this event for gay Americans. What other key events have occurred that have led to greater
political power for gay Americans?
 Discusses the factors that led to the Stonewall Riots
 Examines American social and political attitudes toward gay Americans
 Discusses key political events such as the implementation and ending of “don’t ask, don’t
tell”
 Discusses the movement in support of same-sex marriage
 Suggests implications of greater political power for gay America
16) Discuss the new Jim Crow. What is the main control mechanism? Who is most affected?
 Mass incarceration
 African Americans
 Comparable to legal segregation