Question 1

Which of the following best summarizes the debate reflected in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka II (1955)?

Accepted Answer

What means should be used to implement the principles outlined in Brown I?

Answer

What role should the President play in the enforcement of Brown I?

Answer

Can states legally resist the dictates of Brown I?

Answer

Did the Supreme Court overstep its authority in Brown I?

Question 2

Which of the following most clearly states the outcome of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, I (1954)?

Accepted Answer

Segregation of students in public schools, per the "separate but equal" standard, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because separate facilities are inherently unequal.

Answer

States must immediately desegregate their public school systems.

Answer

The "separate but equal" standard directly violates the Thirteenth Amendment.

Answer

Any form of segregation instituted by a state, per the "separate but equal" standard, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 3

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's led to legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that was designed to prevent several different types of discrimination. Which of the following is one of the provisions of that legislation?

Accepted Answer

Prohibition of discrimination in public accommodations.

Answer

Elimination of poll taxes for voting.

Answer

Prohibition of discrimination by private clubs.

Answer

Prohibition of the use of literacy tests for voter registration.

Question 4

The final opinions of the Supreme Court cases McCulloch v. Maryland and Brown v. Board of Education share this commonality.

Accepted Answer

Both resulted in unanimous decisions

Answer

Both upheld state laws

Answer

Both upheld the supremacy clause of the Constitution

Answer

Both referenced the necessary and proper clause to support the ruling

Question 5

Which of the following best summarizes the debate reflected in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, I (1954)?

Accepted Answer

Does the "separate but equal" standard, applied to state public schools, violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?

Answer

Does the "separate but equal" standard, applied to state public schools, violate the Thirteenth Amendment?

Answer

Can the Federal Government force states to desegregate their public school systems?

Answer

Can the Federal Government regulate state public education?

Question 6

The Fifteenth Amendment was ratified in in 1870, stating that voting rights cannot be abridged based on race. Almost 100 years later, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited voting qualifications or practices which result in denying voting rights based on race. Which of the following best explains what led to passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965?

Accepted Answer

The Civil Rights Movement brought attention to the extent to which minority voting rights were being denied.

Answer

Constitutional amendments are not enforceable without specific legislation.

Answer

The Democratic Party in the South demanded voting rights protections for minorities.

Answer

National legislation was needed to create consistency with legislation protecting voting rights that had already been passed by the states .

Question 7

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was passed in response to public pressure to promote greater equality. Which of the following has been the most significant impact of Title IX?

Accepted Answer

Increased participation of women in high school and college sports.

Answer

Increased protections for students based on sexual orientation.

Answer

Decreased racial discrimination in admissions to postsecondary institutions.

Answer

Increased federal funding for colleges and universities.

Question 8

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits states from imposing voting qualifications that deny voting rights based on race. Which of the following constitutional provisions most directly supports the power of Congress to pass the law?

Accepted Answer

Fifteenth Amendment.

Answer

Commerce clause.

Answer

Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Answer

Thirteenth Amendment.

Question 9

The concurring opinion of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka II (1955) is most closely associated with which political philosophy?

Accepted Answer

Federalism.

Answer

Corporatism.

Answer

Totalitarianism.

Answer

Confederalism.

Question 10

Which of the following accurately summarizes the entities involved in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka II (1955)?

Accepted Answer

Mr. Oliver Brown and the NAACP sought relief from the Board of Education of Topeka, KS and all states requiring or permitting racial discrimination in public education.

Answer

Mr. Oliver Brown and the NAACP attempted to broaden the ruling of Brown I to include the desegregation of all public accommodations in Kansas.

Answer

Mr. Oliver Brown and the NAACP sought monetary compensation from the Board of Education of Topeka, KS.

Answer

Mr. Oliver Brown and the NAACP pursued an injunction against the Attorney General of Kansas.

Question 11

The main argument within the unanimous opinion of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, I (1954) rested upon which of the following interpretations of the Constitution?

Accepted Answer

State operation of separate public schools for whites and blacks violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Answer

While citing its rejection of segregation, the Supreme Court felt that the U.S. Constitution did not give it the power to end racial segregation of public schools.

Answer

Black students should be allowed to exercise their right to equal education as guaranteed by the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

Answer

Under the Freedom of Assembly Clause of the First Amendment, black students had the right to attend the same public schools as white students.

Question 12

Which of the following would directly violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

Accepted Answer

A hotel that refused to allow racial minorities to rent rooms.

Answer

An executive order requiring the Justice Department to limit prosecution of civil rights cases.

Answer

Federal legislation that makes the voting age 16.

Answer

A state law that gives preference to women in child custody cases.

Question 13

Today in the U.S., what possible remedy might female collegiate athletes seek to redress the issue of inequality in scholarship opportunities?

Accepted Answer

Both Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Answer

Title IX exclusively

Answer

The Nineteenth Amendment exclusively

Answer

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment exclusively

Question 14

Which of the following organizations was founded on principles that were in direct opposition to the views on segregated education advocated in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka II (1955)?

Accepted Answer

The Citizens' Councils.

Answer

The Congress on Racial Equality (CORE).

Answer

The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Answer

The National Urban League.

Question 15

Which of the following most clearly states the outcome of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka II(1955)?

Accepted Answer

States with segregated public school systems should act on the principles mandated in Brown I and move to full compliance "with all deliberate speed."

Answer

States who have resisted the Brown I ruling may be denied federal funding through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Answer

Localities with segregated public school systems must immediately implement desegregation plans to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Answer

Segregated public school districts will have exactly ten years to come into compliance with the dictates of Brown I.

Question 16

Which of the following provides Congress with authority to enact the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

Accepted Answer

Power to regulate commerce.

Answer

Oversight power.

Answer

Power to tax.

Answer

Thirteenth Amendment.

Question 17

Which of the following entities would most likely advocate for the concurring opinion of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka II (1955)?

Accepted Answer

Members of the Little Rock Nine.

Answer

The Board of Trustees at the University of Mississippi.

Answer

Signatories to the Southern Manifesto.

Answer

Followers of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

Question 18

A political scientist would most likely use Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka II (1955) to illustrate which of the following?

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court underestimated the depth of southern resistance to desegregation.

Answer

The path towards recognition of Civil Rights in the U.S. was relatively quick and painless.

Answer

Vague, gentle directives issued by the Supreme Court are the best way to gain state compliance with its decisions.

Answer

The Supreme Court pushed the issue of desegregation too fast according to the vast majority of Americans.

Question 19

A political scientist would most likely use Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, I (1954) to illustrate which of the following?

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court is capable of overturning a precedent when American society demands it do so.

Answer

The Supreme Court always issues a directive for action with its rulings.

Answer

The Supreme Court always issues concurring and dissenting opinions with each of the cases it hears.

Answer

Once the Supreme Court makes a landmark decision, its ruling is irreversible.

Question 20

The outcome of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka I (1954) relied most heavily on which of the following ideas reflected in the U.S. Constitution?

Accepted Answer

The Equal Protection Clause.

Answer

The Free Exercise Clause.

Answer

The Freedom of Assembly Clause.

Answer

The Search and Seizure Clause.

Question 21

Based on your knowledge of the Civil Rights era, which of the following best explains the immediate impact of the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, I (1954) decision?

Accepted Answer

Southern state legislatures hastily drafted interposition laws.

Answer

Southern states immediately cooperated with the verdict by desegregating their public schools.

Answer

State universities throughout the South voluntarily desegregated.

Answer

The percentage of black students attending integrated public schools in the South skyrocketed.

Question 22

Through passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the federal government was specifically attempting to extend the provisions of which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Answer

Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Answer

Commerce Clause.

Answer

Fifteenth Amendment.

Question 23

Based on Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka II (1955) and your knowledge of the Civil Rights era in the U.S., which of the following best describes the attitude of southern states towards compliance with the Supreme Court's directives?

Accepted Answer

Southern states continued their resistance of Federal Government encouragement to follow the principles laid out in Brown I and Brown II.

Answer

Southern cooperation with Brown I and Brown II necessitated little intervention by the Federal Government.

Answer

After the Brown II ruling, no further litigation was needed to force southern states into compliance.

Answer

While many southern states defied the Brown I ruling, they immediately fell into compliance after Brown II was issued.

Question 24

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, I (1954) most likely resulted in a unanimous decision because

Accepted Answer

Chief Justice Earl Warren actively lobbied his fellow justices to speak with one voice to discourage southern resistance to integration.

Answer

all of the Justices on the Supreme Court came from northern states.

Answer

the Supreme Court felt it had to send a strong message to an uncooperative Justice Department.

Answer

all of the Justices had been appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Question 25

Mendez v. Westminster (1947) is a federal court case that challenged Mexican remedial schools in Orange County, California. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the forced segregation of Mexican students into separate “Mexican schools” violated equal protection rights which should govern the laws responsible for the public-school system in California. Which of the following Supreme Court decisions is most clearly built upon the logic of Mendez v. Westminster (1947)?

Accepted Answer

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Answer

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

Answer

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

Answer

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Question 26

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, I (1954) affected the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower in which of the following ways?

Accepted Answer

Although reluctant to pursue rapid change in civil rights, President Eisenhower used his executive power to enforce the Brown decision.

Answer

President Eisenhower did all he could to obstruct the Brown ruling to gain southern political support.

Answer

President Eisenhower met personally with Dr. Martin Luther King to discuss federal cooperation with the civil rights movement.

Answer

President Eisenhower began to actively promote an aggressive civil rights agenda.

Question 27

In hindsight, which of the following statements most accurately depicts the main shortcoming of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka II (1955)?

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court issued no firm time frame in Brown II, opening the door to numerous southern strategies of resistance.

Answer

The Supreme Court failed to communicate clearly with representatives from southern state governments prior to handing down its decision.

Answer

The Supreme Court micromanaged the desegregation plan for every southern school district, refusing any local input.

Answer

The Supreme Court failed to use the Federal Court System to monitor progress in carrying out the dictates of Brown II.

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