WorksheetsCivil Rights STAAR Review Questions
Total questions: 24
Worksheet time: 12mins
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale.
—President Harry S. Truman, Executive Order 9981, July 26, 1948
Which of the following contributed to President Truman’s decision to issue this order?
A lack of funding for veteran pensions
Declining enlistment rates during peacetime
Discrimination against minority service members
A desire to repeal the draft
“Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassinated in Memphis”
How did the event in this headline impact the Civil Rights movement?
The focus of the movement shifted to the struggle of migrant workers.
The movement lost credibility with the American public
The focus of the movement shifted to protesting U.S. involvement in foreign wars.
The movement lost an important national leader
How did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 contribute to the increase in voter participation between 1964 and 1968?
It helped reduce voter discrimination at polling sites.
It increased state revenues associated with poll taxes.
It contributed to increased involvement of lobbyists in political campaigns.
It helped voters determine educational policy based on literacy test results.
How did the Brown v. Board of Education decision influence the Civil Rights movement?
By discouraging activists from relying on the judicial system
By guaranteeing scholarships to minority college students
By providing a judicial basis for achieving equality in other areas
By eliminating social barriers associated with hiring practices
We claim for ourselves every single right that belongs to a freeborn American, political, civil and social; and until we get these rights we will never cease to protest and assail the ears of America. The battle we wage is not for ourselves alone but for all true Americans.
—W. E. B. Du Bois, Niagara Movement Address to the Country,1906
How did the ideas presented in this address affect the early Civil Rights movement in the United States?
By encouraging African Americans to achieve equality through vocational education
By directly supporting Marcus Garvey’s Black Star Steamship Line
By encouraging African Americans to accept Jim Crow laws
By forming the basis for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
Which action is prohibited under provisions of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972?
A principal refuses to organize athletic events and programs for female sports teams
The funding for a music program is cut because of declining tax revenues.
A teacher attempts to organize a charity basketball game for faculty and students
The staffing for a foreign language class is reduced due to lack of interest
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 established a Civil Rights Division within the U.S. Department of Justice. What was the main purpose of this division?
To enforce laws prohibiting discrimination
To integrate public schools
To enforce privacy protections
To integrate the armed forces
During Reconstruction the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments were ratified. Which issue did these amendments address?
Rights for women
Readmission of states to the Union
Rights for former slaves
Presidential impeachment proceedings
Which headline can be most directly attributed to the efforts of the Civil Rights Movement?
“ Four African Americans served in U.S. Congress in 1959; Now there are many more”
“Federal Voting Age lowered to 18”
“Senate Supports Treaty to expand trade with African nations”
“ U.S. Government Reinstates the Military Draft”
The contractor will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
—Executive Order 11246 as amended, September 24, 1965
What was the main purpose of this executive order?
To expand protections in hiring decisions
To guarantee a minimum wage for employees
To provide corporate tax cuts to companies
To provide on-the-job training for new workers
What is the significance of this 1978 mural?
It is representative of artistic expressions of the Beat Generation.
It was commissioned by the federal government through the National Endowment for theArts (NEA).
It is an example of cultural pride among Mexican Americans.
It was painted by artists employed under the Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Which action did the U.S. government take in 1924 to expand the rights of American Indians?
Granting citizenship to American Indians
Establishing private schools for American Indian children
Providing retirement benefits to American Indians
Guaranteeing jobs for American Indians in urban areas
How did Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique affect the lives of everyday Americans?
By inspiring women in the 1960s to question their traditional social roles
By focusing attention on a widespread environmental problem
By advocating for passage of consumer safety laws during the 1970s
By bringing attention to racial discrimination in government hiring practices
Selected Interest Groups
• Japanese American Citizens League (JACL)
• League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
• National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
• National Urban League
• Rainbow PUSH Coalition
How have these groups helped shape U.S. culture?
By fighting against child labor
By supporting strict immigration quotas
By focusing on expanding civil rights for minorities
By lobbying against equal pay for equal work
Which method for achieving civil rights is most associated with Martin Luther King, Jr.?
Using peaceful protests and acts of civil disobedience
Obtaining signatures to petition for a referendum
Pursuing litigation through the court system
Recalling officials in special elections
Read the list and answer the question that follows.
• Suffrage for African American men
• Suffrage for women
• Suffrage for 18-year-old men and women
How were these rights formally obtained?
By granting citizenship to immigrants
By passing antitrust legislation
By ratifying constitutional amendments
By engaging in an international conflict
Read the passage and answer the question that follows.
In the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court decided that the Equal Protection Clause allowed state governments to apply the “separate but equal” provision to public facilities.
What was one way the decision described in this passage affected the United States in the first half of the twentieth century?
Minorities were not allowed to attend schools with whites
Poll taxes in federal elections were ruled unconstitutional
Affirmative action programs were ruled unconstitutional
Minorities were not allowed to join the military
What did the federal government do to address the social injustice shown in this photograph?
Enforced the Wisconsin v. Yoder decision protecting First Amendment rights
Established the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to promote voting rights
Passed civil rights legislation banning segregation in public places
Issued an executive order prohibiting limits on interstate migration
In the 1960s which action of the Black Panthers was MOST DIFFERENT from the philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?
Writing a ten-point platform that demanded decent housing
Using armed patrols to protect neighborhoods
Operating the Free Breakfast for Children Program
Creating “survival” programs that included medical and legal aid
What is one way the Civil Rights Movement impacted the United States?
By increasing diversity in the workplace
By leading to the creation of a national health care system
By increasing the globalization of the economy
By leading to the passage of antitrust laws
Read the excerpt and answer the question that follows.
In a unanimous decision, the Court held that the Equal Protection
Clause required that Sweatt be admitted to the university. . . .
—“Sweatt v. Painter,”
How did the decision in this 1950 case benefit minorities?
By setting a precedent for Brown v. Board of Education
By reinforcing the decision in Plessy v. Ferguson
By giving state governments the power to create school programs
By allowing for the creation of religious schools
During the late 1960s, Mexican American students in Los Angeles participated in the Chicano movement by organizing school walkouts. What was the PRIMARY goal of these walkouts?
To end the use of poll taxes for voting
To raise awareness of insufficient educational opportunities
To protest the rising cost of college education
To support the passage of a minimum wage law
Which action opposed the civil rights advances that the Reconstruction amendments had promised?
The temperance movement
The passage of Jim Crow laws
The passage of antitrust legislation
The conservation movement
Read the list and answer the question that follows.
• Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
• National Child Labor Committee (NCLC)
• Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
• Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)
How have these groups influenced U.S. culture?
By supporting government funding of the arts and sciences
By supporting increased environmental protections
By supporting the implementation of social reforms
By supporting the development of free trade practices
