AP Gov.
Name _________
Civil Rights and Public Policy
Take-Home/Open Book Exam
Due on Monday, Nov. 2nd
 Multiple-Choice Questions
1.
The Thirteenth Amendment bans slavery. When was it passed?
a. when the South seceded from the Union
b. during the Civil War
c. immediately after the Civil War
d. immediately after Reconstruction
e. during the civil rights movement
2.
The Fourteenth Amendment attempted to guarantee which of the following to former
slaves?
a. forty acres of farmland and a mule
b. free university education
c. economic equality with whites
d. citizenship rights
e. debt forgiveness
3.
The provision of the Fourteenth Amendment that prohibits any state from denying any
person within its jurisdiction “the equal protection of the laws” is known as the __________
clause.
a. due process
b. jurisdiction
c. grandfather
d. equal protection
e. privileges and immunities
4.
The Fifteenth Amendment guarantees citizens the right to vote regardless of __________.
a. race
b. gender
c. age
d. property ownership
e. involvement in insurrection
5.
What was the objective of the women’s suffrage movement?
a. the right to an abortion
b. the right to own property
c. equal pay for equal worth
d. the right to vote
e. broad gender equality
6.
When did women win the guaranteed right to vote?
a. when the Constitution was adopted
b. during the Civil War
c. immediately after the Civil War
d. at the same time that black males won the right to vote
e. decades after black males won the right to vote
7.
Which of these does the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ban?
a. poll taxes and grandfather clauses
b. discrimination in public accommodations
c. affirmative action
d. discrimination based on sexual orientation
e. nonviolent resistance
8.
The civil rights movement pushed for racial equality. When did this movement begin?
a. immediately after the Civil War
b. during Reconstruction
c. during the early 1900s
d. in the 1950s
e. after passage of the Equal Rights Amendment
9.
What was the primary focus at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention for activists like Elizabeth
Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott?
a. the prohibition of alcohol
b. women’s rights
c. rights for former slaves
d. ending the Civil War
e. the New Deal
10.
What did Jim Crow laws mandate?
a. voting rights
b. racial segregation
c. poll taxes
d. grandfather clauses
e. black codes
11.
What was Reconstruction?
a. the struggle for newly freed slaves to gain the right to vote, especially in the South
b. the gradual elimination of both Black Codes and Jim Crow laws
c. the refusal of Southern states to abide by the Fourteenth Amendment until forced to do
so by the Supreme Court
d. the period after the Civil War when the South was occupied by the federal government
e. the period between the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment and the enactment of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
12.
The Tailhook Association’s 1991 convention became notorious for __________.
a. discrimination against African Americans
b. racial profiling
c. voter protection policies
d. sexual harassment
e. gerrymandering
13.
Women were guaranteed the right to vote by __________.
a. Korematsu v. United States
b. Reed v. Reed
c. the Nineteenth Amendment
d. the 1964 Civil Rights Act
e. the 1965 Voting Rights Act
14.
Who had to pay poll taxes?
a. winning candidates
b. losing candidates
c. county clerks
d. voters
e. nonvoters
15.
In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), the Supreme Court determined that
__________ were unconstitutional.
a. poll taxes
b. grandfather clauses
c. all forms of affirmative action
d. Jim Crow laws
e. racial quotas
16.
Rosa Parks was arrested for challenging which of the following?
a. poll taxes
b. grandfather clauses
c. segregation laws
d. slavery
e. integration
17.
In Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Supreme Court declared that African-Americans were
__________.
a. free
b. citizens
c. eligible to vote
d. chattel
e. separate but equal
18.
In Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez (1978), the Supreme Court did which of the following?
a. strengthened the tribal power of individual tribe members and furthered Indian selfgovernment
b. declared that Indian tribes have a status similar to that of states
c. strengthened tribal power so that Indian tribes have a status similar to that of counties
d. declared that Indian tribes would have the same status as towns or townships
e. strengthened the position of Indian tribes by making them equal to incorporated
businesses
19.
What did the Supreme Court determine was unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education?
a. integrated schools
b. poll taxes
c. segregation of schools
d. unequal school funding
e. school busing
20.
The freedom riders used civil disobedience to help end which form of discrimination in the
South?
a. lynchings by the Ku Klux Klan
b. racial segregation
c. discrimination against black women
d. lack of access to voting polls
e. racial quotas
21.
What provision of the Fourteenth Amendment serves as a cornerstone of our understanding
of civil rights?
a. the all men are created equal clause
b. the equal protection clause
c. the privileges and immunities clause
d. the Equal Rights Amendment
e. the grandfather clause
22.
During the ten years after the Civil War, the strict conditions imposed by Congress on the
former Confederate states about who could be seated as representatives and senators
allowed which of the following to happen?
a. Most African American men were banned from political offices because they came from
southern states.
b. Many African American men were allowed to hold state and federal offices in the North,
but were banned from offices in the South because of segregation laws.
c. A few African American men began to run for state and federal offices, but most were not
successful.
d. Some African American men and women held state and federal offices.
e. Many African American men held state and federal offices.
23.
What did the Supreme Court decide in Korematsu v. United States (1944) regarding the
internment of those with Japanese ancestry living in the United States?
a. It was permissible because the United States was at war with Japan.
b. It was permissible because it only applied to noncitizens.
c. It did not pass the inherently suspect test, and the internment was promptly terminated.
d. It was unconstitutional, but it was too late to do anything about it.
e. It was unconstitutional, and Japanese Americans must be duly compensated.
24.
What strategy did the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) use most effectively to advance civil rights for African Americans?
a. boycotts
b. protests
c. litigation
d. nonviolent resistance
e. marches and rallies
25.
What was the basis for the Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that upheld
the constitutionality of a state law requiring segregated railroad facilities?
a. Former slaves are not entitled to full citizenship rights because they did not immigrate to
the United States willingly.
b. Former slaves are not entitled to full citizenship rights because they were considered
property under the law.
c. The Constitution does not prohibit segregation; it only mandates equal protection under
the law.
d. Railroad transportation involves interstate commerce, which is regulated by Congress;
there is no provision in federal law that prohibits segregation.
e. Each state has the right to interpret the Constitution as it sees fit, as long as the
interpretation is “reasonable and without malice.”
26.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Lawrence v. Texas (2003) primarily enhanced the civil
liberties of __________.
a. African Americans
b. Asians
c. American Indians
d. gays and lesbians
e. disabled Americans
27.
In the South after Reconstruction, what did the Democratic Party use to prevent African
Americans from having a meaningful impact on the outcome of elections?
a. Jim Crow laws
b. whites-only primaries
c. majority-minority districts
d. de facto segregation/discrimination
e. affirmative action
28.
Why do two equally important basic principles of democracy, individual liberty and equality,
sometimes conflict with each other?
a. When everyone has individual liberty, those who have less will strive for equality with
those who have more, thus creating a social struggle.
b. Equality tends to favor majority rule, which can conflict with individual liberties.
c. If everyone is equal and two groups want different things, then individual liberties have to
be set aside for one group to win.
d. Equality tends to favor minorities, which can cause conflicts with the individual liberties
of the majority.
e. Individual liberty tends to favor the majority, which may deny equality to minority citizens.
29.
What is the source of de facto segregation and discrimination?
a. practice
b. law
c. the Constitution
d. Congress
e. affirmative action
30.
Which of the following is an accurate statement about the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy?
a. Barack Obama initiated the policy as a goodwill gesture to the gay and lesbian community.
b. It prevented gays and lesbians from serving in the military.
c. It required gay and lesbian soldiers to keep quiet about their sexual orientation.
d. It prevented the military from discharging gay and lesbian soldiers.
e. It prohibited gay and heterosexual soldiers from discussing their sexual activity.
31.
Which of the following was a common critique given by opponents of the Equal Rights
Amendment?
a. It was a threat to the American family.
b. African Americans were never intended to have full citizenship rights.
c. Foreign-language ballots discourage efforts to learn English.
d. Equality existed in action, so an amendment was redundant.
e. It did not go far enough to protect women’s rights.
32.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is most likely
to fight to reduce which of the following?
a. racism
b. affirmative action
c. sexism
d. sodomy
e. job training programs
33.
The history of which of the following groups demonstrates that politically and socially
powerful minorities can suppress majorities as well as other minorities?
a. women
b. Native Americans
c. people with disabilities
d. African Americans
e. gays and lesbians
34.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was designed to overturn which of the following?
a. integration
b. Jim Crow laws
c. nonviolent resistance
d. the Fifteenth Amendment
e. Reconstruction
35.
In Adarand Constructors v. Pena, the Supreme Court determined the standard by which
affirmative action policies should be evaluated. What standard did they use?
a. Affirmative action policies must be scrutinized using the same suspect standard that is
used for other policies classifying people by race.
b. Affirmative action policies are subject to an intermediate standard whereby they are
presumed to be permissible.
c. Affirmative action policies must be broadly tailored to accomplish a compelling
government interest.
d. Affirmative action policies must be crafted so as to be reasonable for accomplishing a
legitimate government goal.
e. Affirmative action policies must be designed to address past discrimination without taking
into account race, ethnicity, religion, or creed.
36.
According to Figure 5.2, in which of the following states are minorities most
underrepresented?
a. Maine
b. Texas
c. California
d. Georgia
e. Illinois
37.
If a group of people were systematically discriminated against in the past, which of the
following would constitute an affirmative action policy designed as a remedy to help the
members of this group overcome the legacy of discrimination?
a. a hiring policy that favors those with relatives working in government
b. a college admissions policy that gives preferential treatment to members of the group
c. a color-blind job application process to give members of this group an equal chance
d. a policy that gives extra weight to votes cast by members of the group
e. requiring all applicants for government jobs to have at least two years of prior experience
38.
Which of the following accommodations would an employer most likely have to make to be
in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act?
a. hiring a disabled person instead of an equally qualified person without a disability
b. providing better medical insurance for employees who have a disability
c. lowering expectations for the quality of work performed by employees with disabilities
d. ensuring that employees who use a wheelchair have jobs that shield them from public
contact
e. installing a ramp and other physical accommodations for someone who uses a wheelchair
39.
Under the Civil Rights Cases (1883) ruling in which the Supreme Court voided a law barring
African Americans from serving on juries, in which of the following situations would racial
discrimination also have been illegal?
a. segregation in a church
b. refusal of a restaurant owner to serve a black person
c. a company boss refusing to promote an African American
d. a hotel owner’s refusal to rent a room to an African American
e. the refusal to let an African American man run for public office
40.
For which of the following would the Supreme Court most likely apply an “intermediate
scrutiny” standard of review to determine whether the policy is an unconstitutional violation
of the equal protection clause?
a. preventing whites from attending schools designed to serve African American students
b. prohibiting Jewish people from becoming members of a club
c. refusing to promote a Latino woman when she is the most qualified of candidates
d. requiring government contractors to have a racially diverse workforce
e. having different minimum ages for men and women to marry
41.
Of the following people, who could serve in the military under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
policy?
a. all gays and lesbians
b. gays but not lesbians
c. lesbians but not gays
d. only those who were straight
e. closeted gays and lesbians
42.
In the 1857 Scott v. Sandford decision, an important milestone on the road to Civil War, the
Supreme Court held which of the following?
a. A free black man had rights, but a slave did not, and Congress had no power to ban
slavery in any territory.
b. Black men were to be allowed certain rights, whether they were free or were slaves, and
Congress had a right to ban slavery in western territories.
c. A black man, whether slave or free, had no rights, and Congress had no power to ban
slavery in western territories.
d. Free black men had certain rights, but slaves did not, and Congress had the power to ban
slavery, but only in the western territories.
e. No black men were to be accorded any rights until Congress had banned slavery, which it
had the power to do but had not yet done.
43.
Which of the following is an example of de jure segregation?
a. Jim Crow laws
b. the tendency for churches to be racially homogeneous
c. the small number of African American senators
d. sequestering the jury in order to ensure a fair trial
e. Title IX legislation
44.
Which of the following affirmative action programs would be a clear violation of the
Supreme Court’s decision in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)?
a. considering race as a factor in university admissions decisions
b. considering how an applicant would contribute to the diversity of the university
c. considering applicants’ academic and extracurricular achievements
d. admitting some minority applicants with lower academic achievement than some rejected
white applicants
e. setting aside a certain percentage of admissions slots for African American students
45.
Which of the following laws would be the most likely to be reviewed under the
“intermediate scrutiny” standard by the Supreme Court when determining its
constitutionality?
a. Government contracts must be awarded to a contractor who is a racial minority whenever
at least 10 percent of the bidders are minority-owned businesses.
b. Businesses cannot discriminate against gays and lesbians in hiring and promotion
decisions.
c. Those without a college degree are not eligible for upper-level civil service jobs.
d. African Americans and whites must be given equal access to the public school system,
including extracurricular activities.
e. Male and female student athletes cannot compete on the same basketball team at the
university level.
46.
Which of the following situations would most likely be a violation of Title IX?
a. an election jurisdiction that does not provide bilingual ballots when there is a large
bilingual community
b. a legal prohibition on hiring women for positions that are known to be hazardous to
women’s reproductive health
c. a college that spends significantly more on sports programs for men than for women
d. job applications that are not made accessible to the blind
e. an employer who systematically pays women less than men for doing comparable work
47.
If you thought you were getting an inferior public education because of your ethnicity, which
part of the Constitution would you rely on most heavily to justify your case?
a. the First Amendment
b. the Thirteenth Amendment
c. the Fourteenth Amendment
d. the Nineteenth Amendment
e. the Equal Rights Amendment
48.
Based on the Supreme Court’s decision in Reed v. Reed, which of the following laws would
most likely be overturned?
a. Twenty percent of university admissions slots are reserved for Latinos.
b. Police officers must retire at seventy years old.
c. Men can vote at seventeen years of age; women cannot vote until eighteen.
d. Pilots must have perfect vision to receive a license.
e. Male gym teachers cannot enter the women’s locker room; female gym teachers cannot
enter the men’s locker room.
49.
What is the definition of suffrage?
a. the legal right to vote
b. the right of African Americans to vote
c. women’s right to vote
d. the right of Native Americans to vote
e. the right of Hispanic Americans to vote
50.
How has the Equal Rights Amendment affected women’s civil rights?
a. It has ensured that men and women are treated equally in the workplace.
b. It has ensured that the courts evaluate gender discrimination using the inherently suspect
test.
c. It has eliminated gender discrimination in the military.
d. It solidified the civil rights women had earlier won through legal victories.
e. It has had little effect because it was not formally adopted.
51.
What is the status of affirmative action in college admissions after the Supreme Court
decisions in the two cases involving the University of Michigan, Gratz v. Bollinger (2003) and
Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)?
a. Affirmative action policies are generally permissible, but they cannot involve race-based
quotas or numerical point systems.
b. Affirmative action policies are assumed to be unconstitutional unless the university can
demonstrate the need to promote racial tolerance.
c. Affirmative action policies are assumed to be constitutional unless an applicant can
demonstrate that race affected the admissions decision.
d. Affirmative action policies must ensure that all racial and ethnic groups are represented in
accordance with the population of the nation as a whole.
e. All forms of affirmative action are unconstitutional because they unfairly favor some
people over others based on the color of their skin.
52.
How might the Supreme Court decisions about Japanese internment in Korematsu v. United
States (1944) and segregated railroad facilities in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) be viewed as being
similar?
a. Both decisions upheld important constitutional principles.
b. Both decisions were positive turning points in the history of American jurisprudence.
c. Both decisions hindered the civil rights of racial or ethnic majorities.
d. Both decisions were important early victories in the struggle for civil rights.
e. Both decisions were troubling missed opportunities for the Supreme Court to protect civil
rights.
53.
Why did southern states enact poll taxes?
a. to raise revenue for the government
b. to ensure that only people who really want to vote would do so
c. to get around the Fifteenth Amendment
d. to enfranchise former slaves
e. because literacy is necessary for democracy to function
54.
Why did Congress pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
a. in order to facilitate the prosecution of those who had restricted the voting rights of
African Americans
b. because it was clear that the South had no intention of living up to the spirit of the
Fifteenth Amendment
c. because Congress was afraid the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. would lead a boycott of
white businesses if the legislation was not passed
d. to prevent the race riots from spreading from African American neighborhoods into
traditionally white neighborhoods
e. the Supreme Court had determined that only the national government could regulate
elections
55.
How are the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 similar?
a. They both were enacted quickly and easily.
b. They both passed the inherently suspect test administered by the Supreme Court.
c. They were both based on Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce.
d. They both sought equal rights for women.
e. They both sought equal rights for African Americans.
56.
In the standards of review used to determine whether a policy is an unconstitutional
violation of the equal protection clause, how do the “inherently suspect” and
“reasonableness” standards differ?
a. The inherently suspect standard requires the person challenging it to prove that there is no
rational relationship to a legitimate governmental goal, while the reasonableness standard
requires the person challenging it to prove the policy does not accomplish a compelling
governmental purpose.
b. Under the reasonableness standard, courts presume the rule maker is being reasonable so
the burden is on the challenger to prove the policy is arbitrary, while under the inherently
suspect standard, courts presume the rule maker is being reasonable and consider the
challenge to be inherently suspect.
c. The inherently suspect standard applies to a broader array of classifications than the
reasonableness standard.
d. Under the inherently suspect standard, courts presume the policy is invalid and the burden
is on the rule maker to prove the policy serves a compelling public interest, while under the
reasonableness standard, courts defer to the rule maker unless the person challenging the
policy can prove it is arbitrary rather than reasonable.
e. Those who challenge a policy will have an easier time getting it overturned if the courts
apply the reasonableness standard than if they use the inherently suspect standard.
57.
What was the Supreme Court’s justification for overturning the separate-but-equal doctrine?
a. The Supreme Court did not have all of the facts when it adopted the separate-but-equal
doctrine.
b. The separate-but-equal doctrine was never intended to apply to people.
c. The quality of life for African Americans in the South had deteriorated considerably since
the adoption of the separate-but-equal doctrine.
d. The Supreme Court needed to step in because the South had been unwilling to segregate
educational facilities as required by Plessy v. Ferguson.
e. Segregated schools stigmatize minority children and are inherently unequal.
58.
Which of the following arguments would most likely be made by an opponent of affirmative
action policies?
a. Affirmative action helps to compensate for past discrimination.
b. Discrimination is a natural part of the human experience.
c. Affirmative action discriminates on the basis of race.
d. Diversity helps Americans better understand each other.
e. Unaddressed past discrimination causes perpetual inequality.
59.
What rationale did the Supreme Court rely on in deciding that Jim Crow laws were not
unconstitutional?
a. Segregation in public facilities was not unconstitutional as long as the separate facilities
were substantially equal.
b. Segregation was important for maintaining social order, a prerequisite for racial equality.
c. Jim Crow laws helped African Americans to achieve equality by building character through
overcoming adversity.
d. The equal protection clause applied only to the actions of the federal government, not to
actions of private businesses and individuals.
e. Equal protection was a social equality standard and did not imply legal or political equality.
60.
Why was bussing necessary for integrating some public schools?
a. Some whites refuse to attend schools with African Americans.
b. Freedom riders prevented many African Americans from integrating Southern schools.
c. Black codes had required schools be built away from population centers.
d. De jure segregation existed even after Brown v. Board of Education.
e. De facto segregation existed even after Brown v. Board of Education.
Free Response Questions
1. The Supreme Court has decided a number of cases involving civil rights. For TWO of
the following issues, identify the legal/Constitutional issue involved and summarize the
Court’s decisions on the issue:
a. Abortion
b. Affirmative action
c. Homosexual rights
2. Both Brown v Board of Education and Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education deal
with school desegregation. For each case,
a. Discuss the Court’s ruling and its impact.
b. Identify and discuss one limitation on school desegregation