Chapter 5 Government and Politics – Flashcards

1. (p. 147) The focus of civil liberties is the ________ and the focus of civil rights is the ________. A. individual; individual B. group; group C. individual; group D. group; individual E. Tenth Amendment; Twenty-seventh Amendment

3. (p. 150) Culminating in a historic victory in 1954, black activists in the early twentieth century generally pursued civil rights through A. legal action. B. legislative action. C. pressure for presidential decree. D. bureaucratic action. E. campaigning through mass media.

4. (p. 150) The Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas ruling (1954) held that racial segregation in schools violated the A. due process clause of the Fifth Amendment. B. due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. C. equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. D. Civil Rights Act. E. establishment clause of the First Amendment.

7. (p. 169) Which statement about women's rights is correct? A. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was ratified by the necessary 38 states in 1982. B. The women's rights movement began in the era of World War I and within a few years achieved voting rights for women. C. Women have made clear gains in the areas of appointive and elective offices. D. Women tend to cast their votes for Republican candidates. E. All these answers are correct.

10. (p. 170) The average pay for full-time female employees is about ________ percent of that for full-time male employees. A. 93 B. 50 C. 65 D. 80 E. 70

13. (p. 152) Any law that attempts a racial or ethnic classification is subject to the A. reasonable basis test. B. strict scrutiny test. C. intermediate scrutiny test. D. precedent basis test. E. suspect classification test.

14. (p. 154) The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was aimed in large part at eliminating discrimination A. by governments in their conduct of elections (e.g., registration, placement of polling booths). B. by private individuals in their social relations—bigoted statements and other acts of prejudice are unlawful under most circumstances. C. by governments in their job practices and provision of services (e.g., schools, roads). D. by private individuals in their employment practices and in their operation of public accommodations (e.g., hotels, restaurants). E. against gays and lesbians.

16. (p. 152) In applying the reasonable basis test, courts tend to A. require government only to show that a particular law is reasonable. B. assess whether a law had the support of a two-thirds majority of legislators at the time of passage. C. determine whether a law is working well and, if so, to allow it to remain in effect. D. prohibit any law that results in the unequal treatment of Americans. E. interpret the equal protection clause in a strict manner.

21. (p. 163) One reason that affirmative action is so controversial is that A. since the 1980s the Supreme Court has imposed it on the American public despite congressional attempts to end it. B. most Americans admit that they oppose programs that ensure equal treatment for minorities. C. it is applied only to private businesses and schools, not to government programs and institutions. D. the Supreme Court has repeatedly declared it unconstitutional both in principle and in practice. E. it is viewed as giving preferential treatment, which is unpopular, instead of simply ensuring equal treatment.

26. (p. 159) Native Americans A. have always been legal citizens of the United States. B. were not given citizenship status en masse until the twentieth century. C. do not today have the full legal rights of other U.S. citizens. D. are U.S. citizens unless they choose to live on a reservation. E. have numbered roughly ten million in the United States since the 1700s.

30. (p. 157) Women in America obtained the right to vote in national elections in ________. A. 1790 B. 1865 C. 1890 D. 1920 E. 1974

33. (p. 177) In 2000, ________ became the first state to legalize the civil union of same-sex couples. A. Vermont B. Massachusetts C. New Hampshire D. Rhode Island E. Connecticut

34. (p. 158) How many states ratified the Equal Rights Amendment? A. none of them B. only a few C. about half D. nearly three-fourths E. all but three of them

42. (p. 150) Which of the following is true? A. Public schools are becoming more segregated nationally. B. Many urban public school districts have ended the use of busing for desegregation purposes. C. White flight to suburban schools has made it more difficult to desegregate urban schools. D. The Supreme Court, after ordering cutbacks in busing, said that communities were free to use alternatives, such as increased spending on schools in poor neighborhoods. E. All these answers are correct.

43. (p. 169) Today, women currently hold about ________ of the seats in Congress. A. 1 in 4 B. 1 in 6 C. 1 in 5 D. 1 in 10 E. 1 in 15

44. (p. 154) The Fourteenth Amendment applies to discriminatory action by A. government only. B. private parties only. C. both government and private parties. D. the president specifically. E. Congress specifically.

46. (p. 159) Native Americans were made "official" citizens of the United States in ________. A. 1789 B. 1856 C. 1924 D. 1972 E. 1998

47. (p. 178) Which of the following is true of discrimination against the disabled in the United States? A. The Americans with Disabilities Act grants protections to the disabled only in the employment sphere. B. Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1975. C. Before 1975, four million children with disabilities were getting either no education or an inappropriate one. D. Through the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, Congress required that schools receiving federal funding provide all children, however severe their disability, with a free and appropriate education. E. Discrimination against the disabled is among the forms of discrimination prohibited by the Constitution, but has also been strengthened through statutes.

50. (p. 177) In 2004, by order of the state's Supreme Court, ________ instituted same-sex marriage. A. California B. Texas C. Vermont D. Massachusetts E. Alabama

54. (p. 157) When the United States first came into being, married women were not permitted to A. vote. B. hold office. C. serve on juries. D. own and dispense property without the husband's consent. E. All these answers are correct.

56. (p. 152) The Supreme Court concept of suspect classifications suggests that A. it is impossible to impose quotas fairly because they require classifications of merit based on race. B. it is inherently suspect to classify one school district or public facility reserved for a particular race as inferior or superior to another. C. laws that classify people differently on the basis of their race or ethnicity are presumed to have discrimination as their purpose. D. any form of classification of people based on race or gender is not a sufficient basis for which to overturn an established federal law. E. any law designed to specifically affect members of different genders in different ways is inherently discriminatory.

57. (p. 176-177) Which of the following is true? A. In 1996, Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as "a legal union of one man and one woman as husband and wife". B. The Supreme Court justices ruled in 2003 that states cannot ban homosexual relations among consenting adults. C. The Supreme Court justices ruled in 1996 that states could not adopt discriminatory policies toward gays and lesbians. D. All are true: The Supreme Court ruled states could not adopt discriminatory policies toward gays and lesbians (1996), Congress passed DOMA (1996), and states cannot ban homosexual relations among consenting adults (2003). E. None of these answers is correct.