Chapter 5 Civil Rights

Question 1

What was the effect of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education?

Answer 1

Although the ‘separate but equal’ rule has been struck down, it took some time for desegregation to occur since some states failed to enforce the decision until sued de facto segregation still existed.

Question 2

What does Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 do?

Answer 2

-Title VII makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment on the basis of color, religion, sex, national origin, and race.
-Title VII delegated powers to enforce fair-employment practices to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Question 3

What were some events that took place in order for Asian Americans to gain civil rights?

Answer 3

-The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 acknowledged the forced removal and internment of Japanese people as an injustice and provided reparations of $20,000 to each surviving Japanese American.
-Several Western states passed laws denying Japanese immigrants the right to own property, and after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, 120,000 people of Japanese descent—including 90,000 American citizens—were forcibly confined in internment prisons.
-In 1870, Congress declared Chinese immigrants ineligible for citizenship, and in 1882 the first Chinese Exclusion Act suspended the entry of Chinese laborers.

Question 4

a legal strategy using civil rights laws designed to ensure fair access to the political system

Answer 4

mass mobilization

Question 5

made wage discrimination illegal

Answer 5

Equal Pay Act of 1963

Question 6

Why was Brown v. Board of Education a significant case?

Answer 6

-It signaled that the Court was willing to apply the strict scrutiny test in cases involving racial discrimination.
-It overturned the separate but equal doctrine established by Plessy v. Ferguson.

Question 7

In 2003, the Supreme Court ruled on two different University of Michigan cases related to affirmative action. They ruled that it was ——— to use race as one of a number of considerations while also ruling that it was ——– to give minority applicants a specific number of bonus points in the application scoring system.

Answer 7

In 2003, the Supreme Court ruled on two different University of Michigan cases related to affirmative action. They ruled that it was constitutional to use race as one of a number of considerations while also ruling that it was unconstitutional to give minority applicants a specific number of bonus points in the application scoring system.

Question 8

A 1971 Supreme Court case held that ——–could be a remedy for school segregation. In subsequent decisions, the Court has ——- its support for busing.

Answer 8

A 1971 Supreme Court case held that busing children across school districts could be a remedy for school segregation. In subsequent decisions, the Court has weakened its support for busing.

Question 9

-protection from government infringement upon an individual’s rights and autonomy
Protections from an overreaching, abusive government
Consistent with concept of “limited government”
e.g., 1st Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom to worship

Answer 9

Civil Liberties

Question 10

-Students’ rights to attend desegregated schools
-guarantees of equal opportunity and protection for all citizens
-Designed to protect citizens from discrimination and ensure their full participation in political life
Define how people are treated in employment, education, public accommodations and other aspects of American society

Answer 10

Civil Rights

Question 11

Which amendment formally guaranteed all women in the United States the right to vote?

Answer 11

19th

Question 12

Which amendment provides the most substantial grounding for modern civil rights legislation?

Answer 12

14th

Question 13

What congressional action did the Supreme Court use as their foundation for opposing sexual harassment?

Answer 13

-Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Question 14

What effect did the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 have?

Answer 14

-It called for making all public businesses accessible to those with disabilities.
-It prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and healthcare.

Question 15

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program?

Answer 15

-DACA is a temporary shield that allows undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. to work or study.
-The Trump administration sought to dismantle the DACA program, and the Biden administration has sought to secure the program through litigation.

Question 16

allowed the government to initiate legal action in cases of housing discrimination

Answer 16

Fair Housing Act

Question 17

made it easier for employees to sue in cases of wage discrimination

Answer 17

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Question 18

allowed monetary damages for Title IX violations

Answer 18

Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools

Question 19

“Forty acres and a mule” – symbolized

Answer 19

the reversal of fortunes that black people experienced after they were emancipated from slavery

Question 20

After the Civil War, three amendments to the Constitution expanded civil rights for African Americans. Once Reconstruction ended, however, ——– laws severely restricted the rights of African Americans, with southern states taking the lead in segregating many public facilities.

Answer 20

After the Civil War, three amendments to the Constitution expanded civil rights for African Americans. Once Reconstruction ended, however, Jim Crow laws severely restricted the rights of African Americans, with southern states taking the lead in segregating many public facilities.

Question 21

How are cases on affirmative action different from those such as Brown v. Board of Education and Loving v. Virginia?

Answer 21

-Affirmative action programs are designed to assist victims of past injustices.
-Affirmative action programs disadvantage those in dominant majority groups.

Question 22

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Answer 22

ended the era of “separate but equal” schools

Question 23

In affirmative action cases, which of the following represent the Supreme Court’s position?

Answer 23

-The Supreme Court has ruled that minority status may be considered as one of many factors in university admissions.
-The Supreme Court has ruled that the government does have a compelling interest in promoting diversity.

Question 24

What contributed to the expansion of civil rights for African Americans after World War II?

Answer 24

-NAACP lawyers won several important court cases.
-Congress made it illegal for southern states to force African Americans to use separate public facilities.
-Intense, well-organized support in the form of protests, boycotts, and other direct-action campaigns helped expand civil rights.

Question 25

In the 1960s, the federal government proposed —— programs, but in the 1970s the government proposed —– programs.

Answer 25

In the 1960s, the federal government proposed desegregation programs, but in the 1970s the government proposed integration programs.

Question 26

African-Americans were essentially reduced to second-class citizenship and confined to desperately poor neighborhoods and towns and inferior schools and services under the pretense of a “——–” doctrine

Answer 26

African-Americans were essentially reduced to second-class citizenship and confined to desperately poor neighborhoods and towns and inferior schools and services under the pretense of a “separate but equal” doctrine doctrine

Question 27

The Voting Rights Act was complemented by other legislation and measures to remove arbitrary barriers to the exercise of the franchise by African-Americans and other minority groups:

Answer 27

-Ratification of the 24th Amendment in 1964, which abolished the poll tax

-Passage of legislation in 1975 which permanently outlawed literacy tests in all 50 states and mandated bilingual ballots or oral assistance for Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Korean speakers, and Native Americans and Alaska natives

Question 28

The Voting Rights Act:

Answer 28

The Voting Rights Act:
1. Barred literacy and other tests as a condition for voting in six southern states
2. Established criminal penalties for interference with efforts to vote
3. Replaced local registrars with federally appointed registrars in counties designated by the U.S. attorney general as significantly resistant to registering eligible African-Americans to vote
4. Required some states and local governments in the South where disenfranchisement of African Americans was deeply rooted to obtain “federal preclearance” before making any changes to their voting laws or practices

Question 29

the U.S. did ratify the International Convention on Childbearing which:

Answer 29

1. Gave international community’s seal of approval for family planning and abortion
2. Banned forced sterilization
3. Affirmed right of widows to inherit their husband’s properties

Question 30

How did Dred Scott v. Sanford influence civil rights in the United States?

Answer 30

-The decision denied civil rights to all Black people.

In Dred Scott, the Supreme Court ruled that Black people were not citizens of the United States, depriving them of any due process rights. Dred Scott remained enslaved despite living in a free state.The Dred Scott decision of 1857 ruled the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, denying civil rights to Black Americans, and upsetting the balance between slave and nonslave states. This was one of many events that occurred in the lead-up to the Civil War.

Question 31

——– Laws, which criminalized racial intermarriage and segregated railroad travel, were enacted by southern states following Reconstruction. These laws were upheld by the Supreme Court in ————– which established the “separate but equal” rule.

Answer 31

Jim Crow Laws, which criminalized racial intermarriage and segregated railroad travel, were enacted by southern states following Reconstruction. These laws were upheld by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson, which established the “separate but equal” rule.

Question 32

In the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, the Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and declared that “separate but equal are inherently unequal.”

Answer 32

In the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, the Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and declared that “separate but equal are inherently unequal.”

Question 33

True or False:
No Supreme Court ruling or national legislation explicitly protected gay and lesbian people from discrimination until 1996.

Answer 33

True

Question 34

allowed gay men and women to serve openly in the military

Answer 34

repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell”

Question 35

guaranteed same-sex couples the right to marry in all states

Answer 35

Obergefell v. Hodges

Question 36

extended the right of privacy, as related to intimate contact, to sexual minorities

Answer 36

Lawerence v. Texas

Question 37

The Twenty-Fourth Amendment abolished the poll tax and was later expanded to prohibit literacy tests in what year?

Answer 37

1968

Question 38

When did affirmative action programs start?

Answer 38

Affirmative action programs began with Lyndon Johnson’s executive orders in 1965 and were expanded in the 1970s.

Question 39

In court cases involving claims of discrimination, an individual or entity is expected to provide sufficient evidence that discrimination has occurred, which is known as the ———————.

Answer 39

burden of proof.

Question 40

How are cases on affirmative action different from those such as Brown v. Board of Education and Loving v. Virginia?

Answer 40

-Affirmative action programs are designed to assist victims of past injustices.
-Affirmative action programs disadvantage those in dominant majority groups.

Question 41

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program?

Answer 41

-DACA is a temporary shield that allows undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. to work or study.
-The Trump administration sought to dismantle the DACA program, and the Biden administration has sought to secure the program through litigation.

Question 42

What services and protections does the United States provide to unauthorized immigrants?

Answer 42

-access to emergency medical care
-access to K–12 education

Question 43

Which level of scrutiny makes it easiest for the government to discriminate against a subset of citizens?

Answer 43

When discrimination is subject to the rational basis test, it may be supported by the courts.The higher the level of scrutiny, the less likely it is that the courts will support the discrimination.

Question 44

the level of scrutiny used for cases that deal with gender-based and discrimination claims

Answer 44

intermediate scrutiny

Question 45

the lowest level of scrutiny applied by the courts

Answer 45

rational basis

Question 46

the level of scrutiny used for cases that deal with racially based discrimination claims

Answer 46

strict scrutiny

Question 47

——– are sustained campaigns by disadvantaged populations in support of a political or social goal.

Answer 47

Social movements