Chapter-15

Question 0

Natural rights

Answer 0

The rights of all people to dignify and worth; also called human rights

Question 1

Civil rights

Answer 1

The rights of all people to be free from irrational discrimination such as that based on race, religion, sex, or ethnic origin.

Question 2

Affirmative action

Answer 2

Remedial action designed to overcome the effects of discrimination against minorities and women.

Question 3

Naturalization

Answer 3

A legal action conferring citizenship on an alien.

Question 4

Dual citizenship

Answer 4

Citizenship in more than one nation.

Question 5

Right of expatriation

Answer 5

The right to renounce one’s citizenship.

Question 6

Women’s suffrage

Answer 6

The right of women to vote

Question 7

Heightened scrutiny test

Answer 7

This test has been applied when a law classifies based on sex. To be upheld, the law must meet an important government interest.

Question 8

Literacy test

Answer 8

A literary requirement some states imposed as a condition of voting, generally used in the south to disqualify blacks.

Question 9

White primary

Answer 9

A Democratic Party primary in the one party south that was limited to white people and essentially constituted an election; ruled unconstitutional in Smith v Allwright

Question 10

Racial Gerrymandering

Answer 10

Drawing election districts so as to ensure that members of a certain race are a minority in the district. Ruled unconstitutional in Gomillion v Lighhtfoot.

Question 11

Poll tax

Answer 11

Tax required to vote. Prohibited for national elections by the Twenty Fourth Amendment (1964) and ruled unconstitutional for all elections in Harper v Board of Elections

Question 12

Majority-minority district

Answer 12

A congressional district created to include a majority of minority’s voters; ruled unconstitutional so long as race is not the main factor in redistributing

Question 13

Jim Crow Laws

Answer 13

State law formerly pervasive throughout the south requiring public facilities and accommodations to be segregated by race; ruled unconstitutional

Question 14

Commerce clause

Answer 14

The clause of the constitution that gives congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or nations.

Question 15

Class action suit

Answer 15

A lawsuit brought by an individual or a group of people on behalf of all those similarly situated

Question 16

Restrictive covenant

Answer 16

A provision in a deed to real property prohibiting its sale to a person of a particular race or religion. Judicial enforcement of such deeds is unconstitutional

Question 17

De jure segregation

Answer 17

Segregation imposed by law

Question 18

De facto segregation

Answer 18

Segregation resulting from economic or social conditions or personal choice

Question 19

Equal protection clause

Answer 19

A clause in that the 14th amendment that forbids any state to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. By interpretation, the 5th amendment imposes the same limitations on the national government. This clause is the major constitutional restraint on the power of governments to discriminate against persons because of race,national origin,or sex.

Question 20

Due process clause

Answer 20

A clause in the 5th amendment limiting the power of the national government; a similar clause in the 14th amendment prohibits state governments from depriving any person of life,liberty, or property without due process of law.

Question 21

Rational basis test

Answer 21

A standard developed by the courts to test the constitutionality of a law; when applied, a law is constitutional as long as it meets a reasonable government interest.

Question 22

Strict scrutiny test

Answer 22

A test applied by the court when a classification is based on race; the government must show that there is a compelling reason for the law and no other less restrictive way to meet the interest.