The Fourteenth Amendment attempted to guarantee which of the following to former slaves?

1. forty acres of farmland and a mule
2. debt forgiveness
3. economic equality with whites
4. citizenship rights

What provision of the Fourteenth Amendment serves as a cornerstone of struggles to win equality for certain groups?

1. the all men are created equal clause
2. the equal protection clause
3. the privileges and immunities clause
4. the Equal Rights Amendment

What rationale did the Supreme Court rely on when deciding that segregation in transportation was permissible in Plessy v. Ferguson?

1. Segregation in public facilities was not unconstitutional as long as the separate facilities were substantially equal.
2. Segregation was important for maintaining social order, a prerequisite for racial equality.
3. Jim Crow laws helped African Americans to achieve equality by building character through overcoming adversity.
4. The equal protection clause applied only to the actions of the federal government, not to actions of private businesses and individuals.

In Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Supreme Court declared that African Americans were __________.

1. separate but equal
2. citizens
3. eligible to vote
4. property or chattel

School busing policies were designed to overcome __________.

1. the refusal of African Americans to attend school with whites
2. freedom rides
3. de facto segregation
4. de jure segregation

What did the Supreme Court determine was unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education?

1. school integration
2. school busing
3. school segregation
4. unequal school funding

What strategy did the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) successfully use to fight against school segregation?

1. boycotts
2. protests
3. litigation
4. marches and rallies

After Reconstruction, which of the following was used to prevent African Americans from having a meaningful impact on the outcome of elections?

1. Jim Crow laws
2. white primaries
3. majority-minority districts
4. affirmative action

Which of the following is an example of de jure segregation?

1. Jim Crow laws
2. the tendency for churches to be racially homogeneous
3. the small number of African American senators
4. sequestering the jury in order to ensure a fair trial

How are the Supreme Court decisions in Korematsu v. United States (1944) and Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) similar?

1. Both decisions upheld important constitutional principles.
2. Both decisions were positive turning points in the history of American jurisprudence.
3. Both decisions limited the civil rights of racial or ethnic minorities.
4. Both decisions were important early victories in the struggle for civil rights.

Why did Congress pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965?

1. the Supreme Court had determined that only the national government could regulate elections
2. because it was clear that many areas in the South had no intention of living up to the spirit of the Fifteenth Amendment
3. because Congress was afraid the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. would lead a boycott of white businesses if the legislation was not passed
4. to prevent the race riots from spreading from African American neighborhoods into traditionally white neighborhoods

What was the Supreme Court’s justification in Brown v. Board of Education?

1. The Supreme Court did not have all of the facts when it adopted the separate-but-equal doctrine.
2. The separate-but-equal doctrine was never intended to apply to people.
3. The quality of life for African Americans in the South had deteriorated considerably since the adoption of the separate-but-equal doctrine.
4. School segregation violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.

Which of the following does the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ban?

1. poll taxes and grandfather clauses
2. racial discrimination in public accommodations
3. nonviolent resistance
4. discrimination based on sexual orientation

When did women across the country achieve the constitutionally guaranteed right to vote?

1. during the Civil War
2. immediately after the Civil War
3. at the same time that black males won the right to vote
4. decades after black males won the right to vote

The Supreme Court’s decision in Lawrence v. Texas (2003) primarily enhanced the civil liberties of __________.

1. disabled Americans
2. Asian Americans
3. American Indians
4. gays and lesbians

In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), the Supreme Court determined that __________ were unconstitutional.

1. racial quotas in university admissions
2. grandfather clauses
3. all forms of affirmative action
4. Jim Crow laws

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 this legacy of discrimination?

1. a hiring policy that favors those with relatives working in government
2. a college admissions policy that gives preferential treatment to members of the group
3. a color-blind job application process to give members of this group an equal chance
4. requiring that all job applicants have at least two years of prior experience

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)?

1. considering race as a factor in university admissions decisions
2. considering how an applicant would contribute to the diversity of the university
3. setting aside a certain percentage of admissions slots for African American students
4. admitting some minority applicants with lower academic achievement than some rejected white applicants

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)?

1. Affirmative action policies are generally permissible, but they cannot involve race-based quotas or numerical point systems.
2. Affirmative action policies are assumed to be unconstitutional unless the university can demonstrate the need to promote racial tolerance.
3. Affirmative action policies must ensure that all racial and ethnic groups are represented in accordance with the population of the nation as a whole.
4. All forms of affirmative action are unconstitutional because they unfairly favor some people over others based on the color of their skin.

Which of the following arguments would most likely be made by an opponent of affirmative action policies?

1. Unaddressed past discrimination causes perpetual inequality.
2. Discrimination is a natural part of the human experience.
3. Affirmative action discriminates on the basis of race.
4. Diversity helps Americans better understand each other.

This review material was submitted by a student.  This is not for sale.  The material seeks to help struggling students with their Political Science class