Deck 5: Equal Rights: Struggling Toward Fairness

Question 1

,the Supreme Court ruled that

A)strict racial quotas were a valid means of ensuring racial diversity on college campuses.
B)private colleges could refuse to admit prospective students on the basis of sexual orientation.
C)male-only admissions policies at state-supported military academies were unconstitutional.
D)because female instructors created an undue distraction at all-male universities,the schools in question could discriminate against women in their hiring practices.
E)colleges affiliated with a particular religion could not take the religious persuasion of job candidates into consideration during the hiring process.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

held that racial segregation in schools violated the

A)due process clause of the Fifth Amendment.
B)due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
C)equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
D)Civil Rights Act.
E)establishment clause of the First Amendment.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

De jure discrimination and de facto discrimination are two ways in which some Americans are treated as less equal than others.Examples of public policies designed to address each of these forms of discrimination are

A)the Brown decision (de jure),and affirmative action (de facto).
B)affirmative action (de jure),and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (de facto).
C)the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (de jure),and the Brown decision (de facto).
D)the Supreme Court's busing decisions (de jure),and affirmative action decisions (de facto).
E)None of these answers is correct.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In applying the reasonable basis test,courts tend to

A)require government only to show that a particular law is reasonable.
B)assess whether a law had the support of a two-thirds majority of legislators at the time of passage.
C)determine whether a law is working well and,if so,to allow it to remain in effect.
D)prohibit any law that results in the unequal treatment of Americans.
E)interpret the equal protection clause in a strict manner.

Question 5

One example of a policy that aimed chiefly to overcome de facto discrimination is

A)the Equal Rights Amendment.
B)the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
C)busing to achieve racial integration in the schools.
D)the Brown v.Board of Education of Topeka,Kansas ruling.
E)the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 6

The focus of civil liberties is the ________ and the focus of civil rights is the ________.

A)individual;individual
B)group;group
C)individual;group
D)group;individual
E)Tenth Amendment;Twenty-seventh Amendment

Question 7

Disadvantaged Americans have generally gained their rights

A)through the enlightened policies of advantaged Americans.
B)through judicial action only.
C)through struggle against entrenched interests.
D)mainly through action by the states rather than the federal government.
E)by waiting patiently for public opinion to back their cause.

Question 8

The movement for women's rights was initially aligned with

A)the abolition movement.
B)the Progressive movement.
C)the labor movement.
D)the modern civil rights movement.
E)the modern environmental movement.

Question 9

The modern civil rights movement had a peak moment with the March on Washington in ________.

A)1954
B)1960
C)1963
D)1968
E)1973

Question 10

Housing in America

A)falls largely outside the scope of the law-people are free to rent or sell property to whomever they want.
B)is an area where equality in practice is now nearly a reality;people of similar incomes,regardless of race or color,find it equally easy to qualify for home mortgages.
C)is an unimportant civil rights issue,since housing patterns almost completely reflect the personal preferences of people and are not substantially influenced by past or present racial bias.
D)continues to evidence a high degree of racial segregation.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 11

Native Americans

A)today number more than 2 million.
B)have a far higher infant mortality rate than the national average.
C)have in recent years filed suit to reclaim their ancestral lands.
D)are less than half as likely to finish college as other Americans.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 12

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was aimed in large part at eliminating discrimination

A)by governments in their conduct of elections (e.g. ,registration,placement of polling booths).
B)by private individuals in their social relations-bigoted statements and other acts of prejudice are unlawful under most circumstances.
C)by governments in their job practices and provision of services (e.g. ,schools,roads).
D)by private individuals in their employment practices and in their operation of public accommodations (e.g. ,hotels,restaurants).
E)against gays and lesbians.

Question 13

The Supreme Court's decision in the Regents of the University of California v.Bakke case

A)invalidated the principle of affirmative action.
B)ruled that Bakke could not be admitted to medical school.
C)established quota systems as a legitimate basis of affirmative action.
D)upheld the principle of affirmative action.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 14

Which statement about women's rights is correct?

A)The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)was ratified by the necessary 38 states in 1982.
B)The women's rights movement began in the era of World War I and within a few years achieved voting rights for women.
C)Women have made clear gains in the areas of appointive and elective offices.
D)Women tend to cast their votes for Republican candidates.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 15

The average pay for full-time female employees is about ________ percent of that for full-time male employees.

A)93
B)50
C)65
D)80
E)70

Question 16

Culminating in a historic victory in 1954,black activists in the early twentieth century generally pursued civil rights through

A)legal action.
B)legislative action.
C)pressure for presidential decree.
D)bureaucratic action.
E)campaigning through mass media.

Question 17

All of the following statements about Latino Americans are true EXCEPT that

A)they are the fastest-growing minority in the United States.
B)they have made major political gains in terms of electing local officials,particularly in the southwestern states.
C)Hispanics are healthier and have a longer life expectancy than would be expected from their education and income levels.
D)their average annual income is relatively close to the national average.
E)they are one of the nation's oldest ethnic groups.

Question 18

The policy of affirmative action arose when

A)it became apparent that disadvantaged Americans would not attain equal employment opportunities through lawsuits that benefited single individuals only.
B)the Supreme Court declared in Bakke that the Fourteenth Amendment requires government and large firms to hire more women and minorities.
C)the Supreme Court ruled that de facto discrimination is unlawful.
D)private firms decided on their own that a more diverse workforce was actually a more productive and effective workforce.
E)the Supreme Court rendered its Adarand v.Pena decision in 1995.

Question 19

All of the following statements about Asian American rights are true EXCEPT that

A)they have not attained a proportionate share of top business positions.
B)Asian Americans are an upwardly mobile group but are underrepresented in top positions in society due to past and present discrimination.
C)Asian Americans have the highest percentage of two-parent families of any racial group.
D)Asian Americans have made notable educational advancements.
E)Asian Americans have the second highest median family income of any group.

Question 20

Any law that attempts a racial or ethnic classification is subject to the

A)reasonable basis test.
B)strict scrutiny test.
C)intermediate scrutiny test.
D)precedent basis test.
E)suspect classification test.

Question 21

Which of the following statements is true of age discrimination in the United States?

A)The courts have not given government and employers much leeway in establishing age-based policies.
B)Forced retirement for reasons of age is not permissible even if justified by the nature of a particular job or the performance of a particular employee.
C)Age discrimination is among the forms of discrimination prohibited by the U.S.Constitution.
D)Mandatory retirement ages for most jobs have been eliminated by law.
E)Hiring bias on the basis of age is still allowed by all private companies,but has been most abolished in government and public agencies.

Question 22

Women in America obtained the right to vote in national elections in ________.

A)1790
B)1865
C)1890
D)1920
E)1974

Question 23

The Supreme Court halted the general use of quotas in the granting of federal contracts in the 1995 case of

A)Adarand v.Pena.
B)Fullilove v.Klutznick.
C)Craig v.Boren.
D)Rostker v.Goldberg.
E)United States v.Virginia.

Question 24

Which region of the world has the highest proportion of women serving in its national legislatures?

A)Scandinavia
B)Latin America
C)North America
D)East Asia
E)Central Europe

Question 25

With regard to affirmative action,the Supreme Court in recent years has

A)moved to outlaw it.
B)moved to narrow its application.
C)asked Congress to clarify the policy.
D)asked the president to clarify the policy.
E)asked the state legislatures to clarify the policy.

Question 26

What event occurred in 1877 in the South that brought about rapid legal discrimination against blacks?

A)a backlash against the civil rights movement
B)the religious revival movement
C)the removal of federal troops
D)several state legislature elections that brought racist leadership into power
E)a severe depression that reduced the economic power of the black population

Question 27

Equality of result policies are primarily directed at ________ discriminatory effects.

A)de jure
B)de facto
C)religious
D)gender
E)due process

Question 28

How many states ratified the Equal Rights Amendment?

A)none of them
B)only a few
C)about half
D)nearly three-fourths
E)all but three of them

Question 29

Since the height of the busing era,the trend in public schools has been

A)toward greater integration.
B)toward greater segregation.
C)to rely more and more on busing.
D)to reinstate de jure racial segregation.
E)to retain the gains in racial integration achieved through the 1970s,but not to further them.

Question 30

The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act

A)authorizes states to grant marital rights to a same-sex couple that has been granted these rights by another state.
B)authorizes states to deny marital rights to a same-sex couple that has been granted these rights by another state.
C)invalidated,through federal legislation,the marriages of same-sex couples that had become married in states that allow same-sex unions.
D)established a timeline by which all states must legally allow same-sex marriages.
E)invalided state laws that had mandated that marriage be defined only as a union between a man and a woman.

Question 31

Asian Americans account for about ________ percent of professionals and technicians in the United States.

A)1
B)5
C)10
D)15
E)25

Question 32

Native Americans

A)have always been legal citizens of the United States.
B)were not given citizenship status en masse until the twentieth century.
C)do not today have the full legal rights of other U.S.citizens.
D)are U.S.citizens unless they choose to live on a reservation.
E)have numbered roughly ten million in the United States since the 1700s.

Question 33

Which of the following would be considered the worst setback by affirmative action proponents?

A)Adarand v.Pena
B)Craig v.Boren
C)Regents of the University of California v.Bakke
D)Swann v.Charlotte-Mecklenberg Board of Education
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 34

The Supreme Court's ruling in the Swann case on busing differed from the Brown decision in that Swann

A)addressed the problem of de facto discrimination.
B)applied to many northern communities in addition to communities in the South.
C)sanctioned the use of busing in desegregation.
D)dealt specifically with the issue of busing.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 35

Which of the following statements is true?

A)About one in three single-parent families that are headed by women live below the poverty line.
B)The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act represented a setback for women by reducing the amount of guaranteed benefits that new mothers receive.
C)Recent Supreme Court decisions have made it harder for employees to sue an organization that retaliates against them for filing a sexual harassment complaint.
D)There are generally fewer single-parent families headed by women below the poverty line than two-parent families below the poverty line.
E)The "feminization of poverty" describes the phenomenon of greater government protection for women below the poverty line than men.

Question 36

One reason that affirmative action is so controversial is that

A)since the 1980s the Supreme Court has imposed it on the American public despite congressional attempts to end it.
B)most Americans admit that they oppose programs that ensure equal treatment for minorities.
C)it is applied only to private businesses and schools,not to government programs and institutions.
D)the Supreme Court has repeatedly declared it unconstitutional both in principle and in practice.
E)it is viewed as giving preferential treatment,which is unpopular,instead of simply ensuring equal treatment.

Question 37

In 2007 the Supreme Court ruled that the pursuit of racial integration in public schools through busing

A)was a practice that should be left to state governments to adopt or reject.
B)should be enacted and monitored by the federal government to ensure full compliance.
C)was as necessary to ensure racial justice as was the ending of de facto segregation in 1954.
D)was a permanent solution to an intractable problem.
E)deprived white students of their Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection.

Question 38

According to Gunnar Myrdal,what is America's curse?

A)greed
B)racial discrimination
C)obesity
D)street violence
E)religious intolerance

Question 39

In 2000,________ became the first state to legalize the civil union of same-sex couples.

A)Vermont
B)Massachusetts
C)New Hampshire
D)Rhode Island
E)Connecticut

Question 40

The demand that women should receive equal pay relative to men for work that is similarly demanding,involves similar responsibilities,and requires similar levels of education and training is the basis of the concept of

A)equality of opportunity.
B)affirmative action.
C)comparable worth.
D)de jure discrimination.
E)reverse discrimination.

Question 41

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

A)brought about greater rights to the disabled.
B)came in response to the passage of the Civil Rights Act.
C)was conducted by women seeking fairer treatment in the workplace.
D)was conducted by women seeking the right to vote.
E)was conducted by African Americans seeking equality of rights.

Question 42

What is affirmative action? What is the Supreme Court's general position on affirmative action?

Question 43

Discuss the racial problems addressed by the Brown v.Board of Education of Topeka,Kansas decision and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.What provisions of the Constitution provided the basis for each of these policy decisions?

Question 44

The Supreme Court concept of suspect classifications suggests that

A)it is impossible to impose quotas fairly because they require classifications of merit based on race.
B)it is inherently suspect to classify one school district or public facility reserved for a particular race as inferior or superior to another.
C)laws that classify people differently on the basis of their race or ethnicity are presumed to have discrimination as their purpose.
D)any form of classification of people based on race or gender is not a sufficient basis for which to overturn an established federal law.
E)any law designed to specifically affect members of different genders in different ways is inherently discriminatory.

Question 45

The Fourteenth Amendment applies to discriminatory action by

A)government only.
B)private parties only.
C)both government and private parties.
D)the president specifically.
E)Congress specifically.

Question 46

What is the equal protection clause? What three tests are associated with discrimination in law?

Question 47

Which one of the following occurred after the Brown decision?

A)Civil Rights Act of 1964
B)Voting Rights Act of 1965
C)1957 Little Rock riots
D)"I have a dream" speech
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 48

Of the following states,which tends to have larger numbers of Caribbean Hispanics?

A)California
B)Texas
C)New Jersey
D)New Mexico
E)Arizona

Question 49

Describe the provisions and impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

Question 50

In 2004,by order of the state's Supreme Court,________ instituted same-sex marriage.

A)California
B)Texas
C)Vermont
D)Massachusetts
E)Alabama

Question 51

When the United States first came into being,married women were not permitted to

A)vote.
B)hold office.
C)serve on juries.
D)own and dispense property without the husband's consent.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 52

Which of the following is true?

A)Public schools are becoming more segregated nationally.
B)Many urban public school districts have ended the use of busing for desegregation purposes.
C)White flight to suburban schools has made it more difficult to desegregate urban schools.
D)The Supreme Court,after ordering cutbacks in busing,said that communities were free to use alternatives,such as increased spending on schools in poor neighborhoods.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 53

The central issue in the Bakke case was

A)school desegregation.
B)sexual harassment.
C)affirmative action.
D)Native Americans' civil rights.
E)comparable worth.

Question 54

Which of the following is true of discrimination against the disabled in the United States?

A)The Americans with Disabilities Act grants protections to the disabled only in the employment sphere.
B)Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1975.
C)Before 1975,four million children with disabilities were getting either no education or an inappropriate one.
D)Through the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975,Congress required that schools receiving federal funding provide all children,however severe their disability,with a free and appropriate education.
E)Discrimination against the disabled is among the forms of discrimination prohibited by the Constitution,but has also been strengthened through statutes.

Question 55

Today,women currently hold about ________ of the seats in Congress.

A)1 in 4
B)1 in 6
C)1 in 5
D)1 in 10
E)1 in 15

Question 56

What was politically significant about Geraldine Ferraro in 1984?

A)She became the first woman to be elected governor of a state.
B)She became the first woman to run on the national ticket of a major political party.
C)She became the first woman to serve as attorney general of the United States.
D)She was the first woman to hold the top position in the U.S.House of Representatives.
E)She was the first person to hold the top position in the U.S.Senate.

Question 57

The first large and well-organized attempt to promote women's rights came in 1848 in

A)Boston,Massachusetts.
B)San Francisco,California.
C)Minneapolis,Minnesota.
D)Seneca Falls,New York.
E)Madison,Wisconsin.

Question 58

Native Americans were made "official" citizens of the United States in ________.

A)1789
B)1856
C)1924
D)1972
E)1998

Question 59

The first woman ever to serve on the U.S.Supreme Court was appointed by

A)President Truman.
B)President Eisenhower.
C)President Kennedy.
D)President Reagan.
E)President Carter.

Question 60

Which of the following is true?

A)The Supreme Court justices ruled in 2000 that the Boy Scouts can ban gays.
B)The Supreme Court justices ruled in 2003 that states cannot ban homosexual relations among consenting adults.
C)The Supreme Court justices ruled in 1996 that states could not adopt discriminatory policies toward gays and lesbians.
D)All are true;the Supreme Court ruled states could not adopt discriminatory policies toward gays and lesbians (1996),Boy Scouts can ban gays (2000),and states cannot ban homosexual relations among consenting adults (2003).
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 61

What is equality of result? What relation does it have to de facto and de jure discrimination?