American Government 100
Patterson, pgs. 140-151, AG11-15
Part II
Equal Rights
True/False Questions
1. The history of civil rights has been largely one of individual as opposed to group claims of
equality. True or False
2. According to Patterson, discrimination by law against persons because of race, sex, religion, or
ethnicity has been virtually eliminated. True or False
3. African Americans, women, Hispanic Americans, and other traditionally disadvantaged groups
have a disproportionately small share of America’s opportunities and benefits. True or False
4. Equality has always been the least fully developed of America's founding concepts. True or False
5. Immediately after the Civil War, the federal courts came to the defense of former slaves in the
South, assuring that their rights were protected from the white majority. True or False
6. A 1954 Gallup Poll indicated that a sizable majority of southern whites supported the Brown
decision. True or False
7. When the Supreme Court ordered forced busing of children to integrate the public schools in
1971, most whites accepted the decision with little resistance. True or False
8. As a result of the end of racial busing and white flight to private and suburban schools,
America’s schools are now more ethnically and racially segregated than they were when busing
began. True or False
9. The courts have ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment's equal-protection clause requires
government to treat all groups or classes of people the same way. True or False
10. The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) male-only admission policy was ruled constitutional by
the Supreme Court arguing that it was based on tradition not discrimination (United States v
Virginia). True or False
11. The Fourteenth Amendment applies only to action by government and does not prohibit
discrimination by private parties. True or False
12. An owner of a small business can discriminate in hiring a worker and a church-related school
can consider the religious background of a prospective teacher. True or False
13. Historically, when a woman got married, she essentially lost her identity as an individual and
could not own and dispose of property without her husband's consent. True or False
11-1
14. Support by the Democratic Party of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of
1965 had little to no effect on how future white southerners would vote. True or False
Multiple Choice Questions
1. The study conducted by the Urban Institute examining the treatment of African Americans
compared to their white counterparts found that: a) blacks experienced discrimination far greater
than originally anticipated, b) blacks were treated almost the same as that of whites, c) whites
experienced similar forms of discrimination as blacks, d) the level of discrimination experienced by
both groups was negligible.
2. Refers to the right of every person to equal protection under the law and equal access to society's
opportunities and public facilities: a) civil liberties, b) equal justice, c) civil rights, d) alienable
rights.
3. The following clause in the Constitution is the basis for states to treat residents equally: a) equal
parameter clause, b) legal assurances clause, c) equal protection clause, d) privileges and
immunities clause.
4. In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled that “separate” public facilities for black citizens did not
violate the Constitution as long as the facilities were “equal.” a) Dickerson v. Planto, b) Plessy v.
Ferguson, c) Sturgess v. Grant, d) Monroe v. Samuels.
5. How did the state of Oklahoma’s law school respond to being forced to admit its first African
American student, Ada Sipuel, in 1949? a) The “powers that be accepted the writing on the wall”
and welcomed Ada Sipuel, b) Although Ada experienced some minimal hostility, most of the
faculty and students accepted her with open arms, c) Although the law school administration and
faculty were hostile, the majority student body were supportive and protective, d) Her seat was
roped off from the rest of the class and the word colored was stenciled on it.
6. According to the Brown decision, racial segregation: a) generates a feeling of superiority among
white children in the public schools, b) allows children of different racial and ethnic groups to feel a
greater level of security because they are among their own kind, c) generates among black children
a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community, d) has minimal and an unquantifiable
effect on children of all races.
7. As a result of Brown, southern congressmen urged their state governments to “resist forced
integration by any lawful means.” a) Equality of Principle Edict, b) Southern Manifesto, c) White
Protection Act, d) Declaration of White Security.
8. Why did most public officials not have to do much of anything to integrate the public schools as
late as fifteen years after the Brown decision? a) black parents refused to send their children to
white-dominated schools, b) white communities simply elected officials to maintain segregation, c)
the state and federal governments simply ignored the original decision, d) most residential
neighborhoods were racially segregated and so too were the schools.
11-2
9. The following judicial test allows for inequalities among groups or classes of people because
they are held to be a practical and legitimate government interest: a) fairness doctrine, b) equity and
justice rational, c) reasonable-basis test, d) consistency and balance act.
10. Any law that posits a racial or ethnic classification is subject to: a) legitimate governmental
interest, b) reasonable-basis test, c) focused legal protection, d) strict-scrutiny test.
11. The Supreme Court's position is that race and national origin are: a) strict classifications, b)
suspect classifications, c) close monitoring, d) protective cover.
12. Laws that prohibited marrying someone of another race were made unconstitutional as a result
of: a) Loving v. Virginia, b) Caulfield v. Hayes, c) Durango v. Hayes, d) Burlingame v. Cho.
13. When it comes to gender discrimination, the Supreme Court applies the intermediate scrutiny
test if the policy: a) in question is substantially related to achieving important governmental
objectives, b) served the personal interests of a religious group, c) achieved a balanced
representation of men and women in the workplace, d) substantially increased the representation
of women in decision-making positions.
14. Rostker v Goldberg (1980) upheld: a) the illegality of comparable worth as a goal in a maledominated corporation, b) a male only draft registration law because it serves the important
objective, c) clarifying why women cannot work in heavy construction, d) an institutional limitation
in physically demanding fire-fighting jobs.
15. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 entitles all persons equal access to restaurants, bars, theaters,
hotels, gasoline stations, and similar establishments serving the general public, based on: a) the
Constitution’s general welfare clause, b) Article VI’s supremacy clause, c) reinterpreting the
“necessary and proper” clause of Article I, d) Congress’s power to regulate commerce.
16. The following sparked the rise of the Civil Rights movement in 1955 when arrested for refusing
to give up a seat on a transit bus: a) Jonathan Homes, b) Oliver Hardy, c) Rosa Parks, d) Jane
Goodell.
17. Why did resistance to the Civil Rights law by white proprietors of restaurants, hotels and other
establishments subside over time? a) whites realized that black people deserve to be treated
respectfully and fairly, b) lawsuits became too costly, c) white Christian leaders stood side by side
with their black brethren, d) dramatic interracial marriages and assimilation created a different
society.
18. The Supreme Court (Tinker v Colwell, 1904) ruled that a wife's adultery was: a) a violation of
the husband's property rights, b) a civil matter and not a criminal act, c) immoral, but not illegal, d)
a private matter that has no business in a civil or criminal case.
19. Which amendment to the Constitution gave women the right to vote? a) 17th, b) 18th, c) 19th,
11-3
d) 20th
20. Introduced in 1973, the Equal Rights Amendment failed to get ratified by how many states? a) 1
b) 3, c) 7, d) 13
21. Leader of the farmworker’s movement of the 1960s that help bring about a union: a) Raul
Castro, b) Joaquin Murietta, c) Cesar Chavez, d) Rudolfo Gonzalez.
Fill-in Questions
1. The United States carried over from English common law a political disregard for women,
a) forbidding them to _____,
b) hold _______ _______,
c) or serve on _______.
2. Among the congressional initiatives that have helped women are the:
a) _____ ____ ____ of 1963, which prohibits sex discrimination in salary and wages by some
categories of employers;
b) ______ ___ of the Education Amendment of 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination in
education;
c) The ______ _______ ____ of 1974, as amended in 1976, which prohibits sex discrimination in
the granting of financial credit.
Answers
True/False Questions
1. False
3. True
5. False
7. False
9. False
11. True
13. True
Fill-in Questions
1. a
3. c
5. d
7. b
9. c
11. b
13. a
11-4
15. d
17. b
19. c
21. c
Fill-in Questions
1. a) vote, b) public office, c) juries
11-5