Social Issues Flashcards
Social Issues
Average U.S. white family’s wealth: $________
Average U.S. black family’s wealth: $________
Average U.S. white family’s wealth: $170,000
Average U.S. black family’s wealth: $17,000
Social Issues
When and via what legislation did U.S. slavery become illegal?
1865
The 13th Amendment
Social Issues
When was the final U.S. slave freed?
Juneteenth
1865
Social Issues
What was accomplished by the 1866 Civil Rights Act?
To define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by the law
Social Issues
The Post-Slavery Great Migration
In 1910, ___% of African Americans lived in the South, but by 1970, this was true of only ___%.
The Post-Slavery Great Migration
In 1910, 89% of African Americans lived in the South, but by 1970, this was true of only 53%.
(Following 1864, former slaves began moving as far away as the majority of counties in Montana - where they flourished for a time, until racist sentiments revived and drove them out / consolidated them in urban ghettos.)
Social Issues
When did reconstruction end?
Following the election of which President?
1877
Hayes
Social Issues
What occurred following the 1877 end of reconstruction under President Hayes?
Southern violence, racist sentiment, and sharecropping schemes exploded
Social Issues
1883 legislation ruled what in relation to the Civil Rights Act of 1866?
That housing discrimination did not violate the act
(giving the green light to housing discrimination)
Social Issues
Jim Crow laws were first established in what year?
1887
Social Issues
How did racial feelings in the U.S. change in the early 1900s?
Racial animous increased and African Americans were expelled from their new homes across the nation
(e.g. African Americans in Montant went from being members of nearly all counties to being present in only a few isolated locations within the state.)
Social Issues
What legislation established the ‘separate but equal’ ruling?
In what year?
Plessy v. Ferguson
1896
Social Issues
In the 19__s, the ______ and ______ administrations promoted zoning laws designed to separate the races.
In the 1920s, the Harding and Hoover administrations promoted zoning laws designed to separate the races.
Social Issues
True/False.
The 1930s Roosevelt administration New Deal programs managed to reverse some of the racial damage done by the Harding and Hoover administrations’ zoning laws.
False.
The 1930s Roosevelt administration New Deal programs continued and expanded the housing segregation.
Social Issues
Starting in the 19___s, the FHA and VA rejected blacks seeking insurance in white communities and vice versa.
Starting in the 1940s, the FHA and VA rejected blacks seeking insurance in white communities and vice versa.
Social Issues
What legislation established high-rise projects in urban areas, thus consolidating/segregating poor blacks in city centers?
The 1949 Housing Act
Social Issues
In the 1940s, the FHA, VA, and many state constitutions had explicit segregationist rules for _________/_________ (well over half of all mortgages and nearly all subdivision financing nationwide).
In the 1940s, the FHA, VA, and many state constitutions had explicit segregationist rules for insurance/mortgages (well over half of all mortgages and nearly all subdivision financing nationwide).
(This subdivision development was almost always only for whites.)
Social Issues
What decision about the Brown v. Board of Education decision on school segregation was made in 1955?
It was ruled to not apply to housing segregation
Social Issues
What three major pro- racial equality legislations were passed in the 1960s?
1. The Civil Rights Act
2. The Voting Rights Act
3. The Fair Housing Act
Social Issues
Despite the passing of the Fair Housing Act in the late 1960s, what decision was passed in 1971?
The 1950s state constitutions requiring referendums on suburban integration were upheld as constitutional
Social Issues
True/False.
1950s state constitutions requiring referendums on suburban integration were upheld as constitutional as recently as the 1970s.
True.
Many cities continue to cluster public housing in predominately black neighborhoods (as opposed to the recommended scatter-site projects)
Social Issues
The war on drugs was begun by President __________ in 19___.
The war on drugs was begun by President Nixon in 1971.
(As a way of targeting hippies via marijuana and African Americans via heroin.)
Social Issues
Which President of the 1980s expanded on Nixon’s war on drugs, mandating severe penalties and minimum prison sentences?
Reagan
Social Issues
Name some of the effects of the post-Nixon, Reagan war on drugs.
Massive increase in incarcerations, especially along race lines (see crack cocaine vs. powder cocaine distinction)
Social Issues
The race riots and rise of the black power movement in the 1980s arose out of what policies?
The war on drugs / mass incarceration
Social Issues
Racial tensions flared during the 1990s in the face of public examples of what?
Police brutality
Social Issues
In the 2000s and 2010s, we’ve still struggled most obviously with systemic racial inequalities along what the lines?
Policing,
drug prosecution,
mass incarceration
Social Issues
True/False.
Blacks are more likely to live in impoverished, crime-ridden areas and are much more likely to be arrested, especially for drug abuse, as drug use rates are much higher among poor minorities.
False.
Blacks are more likely to live in impoverished, crime-ridden areas and are much more likely to be arrested, especially for drug abuse, even though drug use rates are similar across class lines.
Social Issues
In what way is there a positive feedback loop of crime and poverty and policing in poor communities?
Increased policing typically leads to increased likelihood of being arrested, regardless of the likelihood of crime being committed.
For example: in regards to drug use, low-income (often minority) neighborhoods are typically policed more heavily than high-income neighborhoods (often Caucasian), even though likelihood of frequent drug use does not change with racial differences or even necessarily based on income. Thus, increased policing in poor neighborhoods just leads to increased minority individuals in jail (and more broken families), not necessarily a decrease in crime.
Social Issues
Describe the series of major events/themes of racial inequality from the mid-1860s to 1900.
Explicit slavery
Sharecropping
Jim Crow
End of Reconstruction
Resurgence of major oppressive violence
Social Issues
Describe the series of major events/themes of racial inequality from 1900 to the mid-1960s.
Explicitly racist zoning laws enacted
Implicitly racist zoning laws enacted
Harding and Hoover administration racial segregation in public housing
Roosevelt New Deal programs provide explicitly segregated public housing
Blacks rejected from FHA/VA housing projects and mortgage insurance
Social Issues
Aside from the remnant racial segregation and lack of social/financial mobility created by past administrations, name some of the impediments that have stood in the way of progress in African-American communities since the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The War on Drugs
Mass Incarceration
Differential policing
Social Issues
True/False.
Making abortions illegal drastically decreases the amount provided but also makes the abortions more dangerous.
False.
Making abortions illegal does not drastically change the amount provided but does make the abortions more dangerous.
Social Issues
What are the three most common reasons women get abortions?
1. Negative impact on the mother’s life (e.g. interference with education, work, or ability to care for dependents) (74%)
2. Financial instability (73%)
3. Relationship problems/unwillingness to be a single mother (48%)
Social Issues
In 2011, ___% of abortions were performed during the first trimester.
In 2011, 91 % of abortions were performed during the first trimester.
Social Issues
Do most women find the process of undergoing an abortion emotionally/mentally difficult?
Do most women regret getting one?
About half (53%).
No! >99% still consider it the right choice, even if they have some sadness or guilt afterwards
Social Issues
_____% of women getting abortions are poor or low-income.
75 % of women getting abortions are poor or low-income (49% below the FPL).
Social Issues
_____% of women getting abortions are religiously affiliated.
62 % of women getting abortions are religiously affiliated.
Social Issues
_____% of women getting abortions already have at least one child.
59 % of women getting abortions already have at least one child.
Social Issues
_____% of women getting abortions are in their 20s.
60 % of women getting abortions are in their 20s (only 12% are in their teens and 4% are minors).
Social Issues
Describe the racial breakdown of women getting abortions.
39% White
28% Black
25% Hispanic
6% Asian / Pacific Islander
3% Other
Social Issues
True/False.
The majority of women getting abortions already have given birth to at least one child.
True.
~60%
Social Issues
Which is more dangerous, childbirth or abortions?
Childbirth
(~14x more dangerous!)
Social Issues
________ (most/few/about half of) states require women to wait a day or more after seeing a doctor to go through an abortive procedure.
About half of (27) states require women to wait a day or more after seeing a doctor to go through an abortive procedure.
Social Issues
________ (most/few/about half of) states require parental notification or consent before letting minors get abortions.
Most (38) states require parental notification or consent before letting minors get abortions.
Social Issues
True/False.
About half of all states require women to receive counseling before getting an abortion.
True.
Social Issues
How many states prevent private insurers from covering abortion?
11
Social Issues
In the last 20 years, the global proportion of individuals living in extreme poverty has __________ (increased/decreased) by ______%.
In the last 20 years, the global proportion of individuals living in extreme poverty has decreased by 50 %.
Social Issues
How many years has the average man in the world spent in school?
How about the average woman?
10 years
9 years
Social Issues
What percentage of individuals in the world are malnourished?
~11%
Social Issues
What percentage of the world lives in a democracy?
~56%
Social Issues
What percentage of boys and girls in the world are enrolled in primary school, respectively?
92%
90% (although, only 60% finish in low-income countries)
Social Issues
Over the last 50 years, how has the average number of babies born per woman changed?
It has halved
(5 down to 2.5)
Social Issues
Data shows that half the increase in child survival in the world is due to what?
The increased ability of mothers to read and write.
Social Issues
What are some direct methods to improve health for individuals living in income levels 1 and 2?
Fund primary schools,
provide nurse education,
train health workers,
administer vaccinations.
Social Issues
In a rough approximation, how many billions of people live in Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia, respectively?
What will these numbers be in 2100?
1 - 1 - 1 - 4
1 - 1 - 4 - 5
Social Issues
True/False.
Religion is the main indicator as to how many children a woman is likely to have in her lifetime.
False.
Income level is the main indicator as to how many children a woman is likely to have in her lifetime.
Social Issues
The U.S. prison system has increased by ____% since 1980.
The U.S. prison system has increased by 600% since 1980.
From ~0.25 million to ~1.5 million (with another ~1 million in jail).
Social Issues
Name some of the factors that are filling up American prisons.
The war on drugs
Minimum mandatory sentencing
Private prison bed-fill quotas
Social Issues
~____% of those in U.S. prisons are in for drug offenses.
~ 50 % of those in U.S. prisons are in for drug offenses.
Social Issues
~____% of those in U.S. prisons have some form of mental illness.
~ 50 % of those in U.S. prisons have some form of mental illness.
Social Issues
In other high-income countries, the rate of incarceration is ~______ per 100,000 individuals.
In the U.S. this number is ~______ per 100,000 individuals.
Pre-1980, the U.S. number was ~______ per 100,000 individuals.
In other high-income countries, the rate of incarceration is ~ 100 per 100,000 individuals.
In the U.S. this number is ~ 700 per 100,000 individuals.
Pre-1980, the U.S. number was ~ 100 per 100,000 individuals.
Social Issues
While they may not be as high as the U.S. incarceration rate (~700 per 100,000 individuals), name three countries that have high rates (around 300 or 400 per 100,000).
Rwanda
Russia
Brazil
Social Issues
When did private prisons first rise and start filling up with prisoners?
The 1980s
Social Issues
Which organization reported in 2013 that numerous studies indicate private jails are actually filthier, more violent, less accountable, and possibly more costly than their public counterparts?
The ACLU
Social Issues
True/False.
Private prisons typically have state contracts, most of which have bed-fill quotas in them upwards of 95%. If these bed-fill quotas are not reached, the state is hit with a fine.
True.
Social Issues
What damaging effects can incarceration have on an individual (especially one incarcerated for non-violent crime)?
Inability to obtain work afterwards
Inability to vote
Long-lasting mental illness due to trauma
Differential association and increased likelihood of recidivism
Social Issues
____% of the U.S. prison population is in prison for marijuana-related crimes.
25 % of the U.S. prison population is in prison for marijuana-related crimes.
Social Issues
What are some of the common complaints about the state of U.S. prisons?
Violent/exploitive conditions (of physical, emotional, and sexual natures)
Overcrowded population + understaffed/undertrained workforce
Dirty conditions
Poor medical care
Poor quality of food
