Political Science 101- Introduction to American Politics » Spring 2021 » Chapter 5 Post Test

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Question #1
Which of the following accurately describes how the issue of slavery influenced the development of civil rights?
A.   Opposition to slavery influenced the abolitionist movement.
B.   The Court’s decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford expanded rights for African Americans.
C.   Southerners broke into post offices to destroy antislavery literature.
D.   Slavery was vital to the economy of the South.
Question #2
The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees
A.   equal pay for all races.
B.   due process of law to all citizens of the United States.
C.   African American men the right to vote.
D.   no person may be held in involuntary servitude, that is to say, slavery.
Question #3
During the late nineteenth century, the equal protection clause was
A.   more strongly defended by individual states than by the federal government.
B.   not implemented because of a lack of tax revenue.
C.   severely limited in scope by the Supreme Court.
D.   ruled unconstitutional.
Question #4
Restrictive covenants were
A.   state-level bans on interracial marriage.
B.   policies enacted by the U.S. military during World War II that segregated soldiers on the basis of race.
C.   agreements between state and local governments to provide higher levels of funding for all White schools than for all Black schools.
D.   contract clauses added by the seller of a home that required the buyer to agree never to sell the home to any non-Caucasian.
Question #5
When racial segregation in schools is the result of hundreds of thousands of housing choices made by individuals and families rather than the result of law, it is referred to as
A.   libertarian.
B.   organic.
C.   de jure.
D.   de facto.
Question #6
Strict scrutiny refers to
A.   a set of regulations determining which schools receive grants-in-aid from the federal government.
B.   a test used by the Supreme Court that places the burden of proof partially on the government and partially on the challengers to show that the law in question is unconstitutional.
C.   a test used by the Supreme Court that places the burden of proof on the government rather than on the challengers to show that the law in question is constitutional.
D.   the apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one racial or ethnic group or political party.
Question #7
If a bank offers loans at rates well above market averages to African American and Latino home buyers, and does so with complex provisions that borrowers may not fully understand, the bank could be sued for
A.   predatory lending.
B.   de facto segregation.
C.   sequestering.
D.   redlining.
Question #8
The Black Lives Matter movement has many goals, but it was first started in Ferguson, Missouri, in order to
A.   discourage police departments to adopt new rules regarding police behavior.
B.   end school segregation in the Southern states.
C.   launch a large campaign against segregationists across the United States.
D.   end discriminatory treatment of African Americans by the police.
Question #9
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
A.   created an independent circuit of federal courts devoted entirely to school desegregation litigation.
B.   eliminated the Department of Justice and replaced it with the Department of Civil Rights.
C.   authorized the Justice Department to implement federal court orders to desegregate schools without having to wait for individual parents to bring complaints.
D.   prohibited the Justice Department from implementing federal court orders to desegregate schools unless at least three individual parents filed formal complaints.
Question #10
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment to the Constitution
A.   granted women the right to vote.
B.   abolished the poll tax.
C.   prevented state governments from denying “any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
D.   lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
Question #11
In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the Supreme Court
A.   upheld the 1965 Voting Rights Act’s formula for determining whether a jurisdiction needed federal preclearance before making any changes to its voting laws or practices.
B.   struck down the 1965 Voting Rights Act’s formula for determining whether a jurisdiction needed federal preclearance before making any changes to its voting laws or practices.
C.   struck down an Arizona law requiring that individuals produce proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote.
D.   struck down all state laws that required voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot.
Question #12
Why did the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) rely primarily on the courts to press for Black political rights in its early years?
A.   The NAACP was legally prohibited from contacting elected officials at the state and local levels and therefore had no other alternative than a strategy of litigation.
B.   Many judges were African American and therefore more sympathetic than legislators to the claims of the NAACP.
C.   The NAACP was composed of five members and, due to the fact that they were all lawyers, the strategy of litigation seemed to be the most logical choice.
D.   The northern African American vote was too small to bring about policy change at the legislative level, so the NAACP chose a strategy of litigation.
Question #13
The Supreme Court first began to weaken support for legal racial discrimination in the
A.   1960s.
B.   1910s.
C.   1930s.
D.   1890s.
Question #14
Which of the following best summarizes the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?
A.   School segregation is unethical but does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment.
B.   States that segregate must spend less money on all-White schools in order to make them equal with African American schools.
C.   States that segregate must spend more money to make African American schools equal.
D.   Racially segregated schools can never be equal.
Question #15
It was during the tenure of Chief Justice ________ that the Supreme Court established gender discrimination as a highly visible area of civil rights law.
A.   Rehnquist
B.   Warren
C.   Taft
D.   Burger
Question #16
The Equal Rights Amendment failed to pass because it
A.   was not ratified by the necessary 38 states.
B.   won approval in the House but not in the Senate.
C.   was vetoed by President Ronald Reagan.
D.   won approval in the Senate but not in the House.
Question #17
Which of the following are names of Latino civil rights organizations?
A.   NCAA, MLB, and NFL
B.   NOW, NARAL, and Emily’s List
C.   G.I. Forum, LULAC, and MALDEF
D.   NRDC, NAACP, and ACLU
Question #18
Which of the following provisions of Arizona’s 2010 immigration law was upheld by the Supreme Court?
A.   that local police check the immigration status of a detained individual
B.   that undocumented immigrants cannot apply for jobs that receive federal subsidies
C.   that immigrants carry identity papers
D.   that police can stop persons they suspect of being undocumented immigrants
Question #19
Before 1924, Native Americans
A.   were considered to be foreigners because their tribes were regarded as separate nations.
B.   had the same legal status as any other citizen of the United States.
C.   were considered to be unauthorized immigrants, unless they lived on reservations.
D.   were federal citizens but not citizens of the states in which they lived.
Question #20
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
A.   significantly hurt the women’s movement in the 1960s and 1970s because it required the government to treat men and women differently in many areas of public policy.
B.   was a valuable tool for the women’s movement in the 1960s and 1970s because it added the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution.
C.   significantly hurt the women’s movement in the 1960s and 1970s because it only outlawed discrimination on the basis of race.
D.   was a valuable tool for the women’s movement in the 1960s and 1970s because it prohibited gender discrimination.
Question #21
Mendez v. Westminster (1947) was significant because
A.   the decision to uphold policies that created separate schools for Mexican Americans in California was eventually overturned by Brown v. Board of Education.
B.   it overturned state laws on who can become an American citizen.
C.   the decision to overturn school segregation of Mexican American students in California served as a precursor to Brown v. Board of Education.
D.   it was the first court case in American history to rule on the issue of segregation.
Question #22
Strict scrutiny places the burden of proof on the government to show that a law’s classification scheme
A.   does not discriminate against any individual on the basis of race, gender, or national origin.
B.   serves a “compelling interest,” is “narrowly tailored to achieve that goal,” and that the government has used the “least restrictive means” for achieving its compelling interest.
C.   is “broadly construed” to achieve a “constitutionally defined imperative.”
D.   eliminates all “negative externalities” in its attempt to achieve a “constitutionally defined imperative.”
Question #23
As a result of a Supreme Court decision in 1995, affirmative action policies are now subject to ________ scrutiny.
A.   intermediate
B.   strict
C.   full
D.   low
Question #24
The Civil Rights Act of 1964’s ban on racial discrimination in privately owned businesses was justified on the basis of which constitutional provision?
A.   the Fourteenth Amendment
B.   the commerce clause
C.   the Tenth Amendment
D.   the Thirteenth Amendment
Question #25
Women’s rights advocates called the Statue of Liberty “the greatest hypocrisy of the nineteenth century” because
A.   “liberty” had historically been represented as a male figure, not a female figure.
B.   the statue wore clothes that were inappropriate for women during the time.
C.   it was in New York—a state that had prohibited women from owning property throughout its history.
D.   it was supposed to represent “liberty,” yet women could not vote in the United States.
Question #26
How did the Dred Scott v. Sanford decision help to precipitate the Civil War?
A.   It established the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments, which the Confederacy had rejected.
B.   It weakened the institution of slavery by granting the rights of citizenship to all Black Americans, either free or enslaved.
C.   It declared that slavery unconstitutional.
D.   It reinforced the institution of slavery and denied the rights of citizenship to all Black Americans, either free or enslaved.
Question #27
What was the Seneca Falls Convention?
A.   an important gathering that initiated the abolitionist movement
B.   the convention that wrote and debated the Fourteenth Amendment
C.   a meeting in upstate New York during the mid-nineteenth century regarding women’s rights
D.   the convention where leaders of the Confederacy and the Union negotiated the end of the Civil War
Question #28
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 attempted to
A.   protect women against disenfranchisement in the voting booth.
B.   expand the protections of the Fourteenth Amendment to recent Asian immigrants.
C.   protect African Americans against disenfranchisement in the voting booth.
D.   protect formerly enslaved people from discrimination in public accommodations such as hotels and theaters.
Question #29
The ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
A.   upheld the Civil Rights Act of 1875.
B.   ruled that the equal protection clause applied only to the federal government and not to state governments
C.   established the “separate but equal” rule.
D.   declared that segregation by race was unconstitutional.
Question #30
After World War II, which government institution took the lead in addressing reports of discrimination against Black soldiers?
A.   the President
B.   the Supreme Court
C.   the State Department
D.   Congress
Question #31
In terms of combating racism, the NAACP had the most success with
A.   lawsuits.
B.   radio and television advertising.
C.   mass marches and protests.
D.   civil disobedience.
Question #32
Imagine a neighborhood in a suburb that is known for its strong school system. Houses in the area are very expensive, and substantially above the ability for someone making the average annual salary for the surrounding communities. Ninety-five percent of homes in the neighborhood are currently owned by White individuals. This is an example of
A.   de facto segregation.
B.   in loco parentis segregation.
C.   de jure segregation.
D.   separate but equal segregation.
Question #33
The Montgomery bus boycott began after ________ refused to give up her seat for a White man.
A.   Elizabeth Cady Stanton
B.   Lucretia Mott
C.   Rosa Parks
D.   Orbal Faubus
Question #34
Suppose several states enact voter ID laws in the run up to an election. How might this policy change affect minority and non-White voter turnout?
A.   Minority turnout would likely be lower after voter ID laws than before.
B.   Minority turnout would likely not be affected one way or another
C.   Minority turnout would be the same as non-minority turnout.
D.   Minority turnout would likely be higher after voter ID laws than before.
Question #35
How did the Court’s decision in Loving v. Virginia influence the Court’s later support for same-sex marriage?
A.   Loving v. Virginia extended the right to privacy to sexual minorities.
B.   In 1967, the Court ruled that interracial marriage was not necessary for people’s existence and survival.
C.   In Loving v. Virginia, the Court established that marriage was a basic civil right.
D.   In 1967, the Court ruled that same-sex marriage was unconstitutional in some states.
Question #36
The Black Lives Matter protests started in
A.   Chicago, Illinois.
B.   Baltimore, Maryland.
C.   Ferguson, Missouri.
D.   New York City, New York.
Question #37
“Massive resistance” was the name given to
A.   the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott of the 1950s.
B.   attempts by White southerners during the 1950s to block the federal government’s school desegregation efforts.
C.   the movement of White southerners opposing the Reconstruction policies of the federal government during the 1870s.
D.   the NAACP’s efforts to use the federal judiciary to challenge segregation in southern states during the 1930s.
Question #38
During a presidential primary election debate Senator Kamala Harris noted that, as a child, she was bused to a school in a different neighborhood than her own. The goal of school busing was to
A.   segregate Black and White children in separate schools.
B.   desegregate schools that were racially segregated.
C.   expand federal aid to segregated schools across the South.
D.   challenge the Justice Department efforts to segregate schools.
Question #39
One step taken toward achieving desegregation of public schools was
A.   opening numerous private schools and academies.
B.   providing White parents with tax credits if they enrolled their children in all-Black schools.
C.   attracting more Black students to White schools by hiring only African American teachers.
D.   busing children from poor urban school districts to wealthier suburban ones.
Question #40
What occurs when electoral districts are drawn so that one group or party is unfairly advantaged?
A.   logrolling
B.   reapportionment
C.   redlining
D.   gerrymandering
Question #41
The Seneca Falls Convention was significant because it
A.   marked the end of the modern women’s movement.
B.   marked the starting point of the modern women’s movement.
C.   marked the starting point of the abolitionist movement.
D.   led to the passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments.
Question #42
The Reconstruction era came to an end because
A.   African Americans had been granted full social, political, and economic equality in the South.
B.   in 1876, state legislatures in the South passed laws forcing the federal government to remove all troops immediately.
C.   the Supreme Court ruled that federal troops could not be stationed in southern states.
D.   northern Republicans agreed to end federal occupation of the South if southern Democrats allowed Rutherford B. Hayes to become president.
Question #43
President Harry S. Truman was moved to bring the problem of racial discrimination to the nation’s attention by
A.   the 1963 March on Washington.
B.   the Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson.
C.   the southern states’ strategy of “massive resistance” to federal attempts at desegregation.
D.   revelations of Nazi racial atrocities during World War II.
Question #44
In Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), the Supreme Court determined that
A.   African Americans had a right to “equal protection” under the U.S. Constitution.
B.   enslaved people were not citizens of the United States.
C.   Dred Scott was a free citizen.
D.   the Missouri Compromise was constitutional in all aspects.
Question #45
Which of the following is true of Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?
A.   The Court outlawed de facto segregation.
B.   The Court upheld the “separate but equal” doctrine.
C.   The Court outlawed de jure segregation.
D.   The Court allowed school systems to desegregate on a case-by-case basis.
Question #46
  
A.   intermediate scrutiny
B.   stare decisis
C.   loose scrutiny
D.   strict scrutiny
Question #47
Which of the following contains the sentence, “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex”?
A.   the Declaration of Independence
B.   the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
C.   the Fourteenth Amendment
D.   the Equal Rights Amendment
Question #48
In 2011, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights issued a “Dear Colleague” letter to the more than 7,000 colleges and universities receiving federal funding that told colleges to
A.   shift the burden of proof away from the accused and toward the accuser in cases of sexual assault and harassment on campus.
B.   institute affirmative action policies that take race, gender, and sexual orientation into account during the admissions process.
C.   end all affirmative action programs.
D.   shift the burden of proof away from the accuser and toward the accused in cases of sexual assault and harassment on campus.
Question #49
________ was the leader of the United Farm Workers union in the 1960s.
A.   César Chávez
B.   Gonzalo Mendez
C.   Martin Luther King, Jr.,
D.   Guadalupe Hidalgo
Question #50
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a policy that
A.   instructs immigration officials to take no action to deport law-abiding individuals who entered the United States illegally as children.
B.   provides citizenship to any undocumented immigrant who came to the United States as a young child if he or she graduates from high school.
C.   makes the deportation of undocumented children a top priority for federal immigration officials.
D.   requires universities to make admissions decisions about the applications of undocumented students after all other applications have been evaluated.
Question #51
In 1870, Congress passed a law forbidding ________ immigrants from becoming U.S. citizens.
A.   Russian
B.   Mexican
C.   Chinese
D.   Italian
Question #52
The rights of disabled individuals to access public businesses is guaranteed by the
A.   amended Civil Rights Act of 1991.
B.   federal courts, not laws passed by Congress.
C.   Civil Rights Act of 1964.
D.   Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Question #53
In Lawrence v. Texas (2003), the Supreme Court
A.   Extended the right to privacy to sexual minorities.
B.   ruled that gays and lesbians should be allowed to marry.
C.   denied that homosexuals were a protected class under the Fourteenth Amendment.
D.   upheld a state law banning private homosexual activity.
Question #54
Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools (1992) is important because it
A.   narrowed the free speech rights that students enjoyed at school.
B.   asserted that violations of Title IX of the 1972 Education Act could be remedied with monetary damages.
C.   permitted public schools to experiment with gender segregation.
D.   ruled that busing was unconstitutional.
Question #55
Which of the following has been most important in encouraging groups and individuals to convert their grievances into questions of rights and of the deprivation of those rights?
A.   Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
B.   the Equal Rights Amendment
C.   Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act
D.   the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
Question #56
The phrase “levels of scrutiny” refers to the
A.   three-tiered system Congress uses in determining which groups will receive funding from the federal government.
B.   four-step system the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission uses to investigate workplace discrimination complaints.
C.   three-tiered system federal courts use in determining the government’s burden of proof during challenges to state-imposed systems of classification.
D.   four-step system the Department of Justice uses to investigate claims of voter intimidation and disenfranchisement.
Question #57
The Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) was significant because it
A.   asserted that there was no constitutional right to privacy for consensual homosexual activity.
B.   asserted that there was a constitutional right to privacy for consensual homosexual activity.
C.   upheld the constitutionality of state-level bans on same-sex marriage.
D.   guaranteed same-sex couples the right to marry in all states.
Question #58
Which group was not permitted to immigrate to the United States from the late nineteenth century until the 1940s?
A.   Chinese
B.   Russians
C.   Japanese
D.   Mexicans
Question #59
Under the “rational basis test,”
A.   government classification schemes are enacted only when a cost-benefit analysis proves that they will help more people than they will hurt.
B.   courts use a points-based formula for calculating whether the plaintiff or the government bears the burden of proof.
C.   courts determine whether to uphold government policies based on a “rational” interpretation of the Constitution.
D.   the burden of proof is on the plaintiff to show that there is no rational basis, whatsoever, for the government’s rules.
Question #60
Which of the following are the Civil War amendments?
A.   the Twentieth, Twenty-First, and Twenty-Second amendments
B.   the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments
C.   the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh amendments
D.   the First, Second, and Third amendments

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