Chapter Chronology

Quiz for Seeking the American Promise: “Suing for Access: Disability and the Courts”

Select the best answer for each question. Click the “submit” button for each question to turn in your work.

Question

1. Why did Beverly Jones still find herself in public places that were inaccessible to her wheelchair, years after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990?

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B.
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D.
Correct. The answer is a. Jones was still unable to access many courthouses in her home state of Tennessee years after the ADA passed because Tennessee, like many states, simply refused to enforce ADA law. Jones’s experience illustrates how, throughout American history, enforcement of laws can be as difficult (and as important) as getting the laws passed in the first place.
Incorrect. The answer is a. Jones was still unable to access many courthouses in her home state of Tennessee years after the ADA passed because Tennessee, like many states, simply refused to enforce ADA law. Jones’s experience illustrates how, throughout American history, enforcement of laws can be as difficult (and as important) as getting the laws passed in the first place.

Question

2. When the courts began questioning whether Congress had the right to force states to uphold federal laws in 2001, the legal principle they cited was

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B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is b. Courts began arguing in 2001 that since the Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution granted states sovereign immunity, which meant that the states could not be sued in a federal court, Congress’s right to force states to uphold federal laws may be severely limited. This was the argument Tennessee referred to in Tennessee v. Lane to argue that Congress had no right to force the state to uphold the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Incorrect. The answer is b. Courts began arguing in 2001 that since the Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution granted states sovereign immunity, which meant that the states could not be sued in a federal court, Congress’s right to force states to uphold federal laws may be severely limited. This was the argument Tennessee referred to in Tennessee v. Lane to argue that Congress had no right to force the state to uphold the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Question

3. In the 2004 case of Tennessee v. Lane, in which five people sued Tennessee to enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), how did the state’s lawyers echo the kinds of arguments used in the 1950s and 1960s battles for African American civil rights?

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Correct. The answer is d. Tennessee challenged the constitutionality of the ADA by arguing that the law violated sovereign immunity and states’ rights. As the executive director of the Tennessee Disability Coalition pointed out, an argument rooted in states’ rights was exactly the same kind of argument that opponents of African American civil rights cited in the 1950s and 1960s.
Incorrect. The answer is d. Tennessee challenged the constitutionality of the ADA by arguing that the law violated sovereign immunity and states’ rights. As the executive director of the Tennessee Disability Coalition pointed out, an argument rooted in states’ rights was exactly the same kind of argument that opponents of African American civil rights cited in the 1950s and 1960s.

Question

4. Even though the Supreme Court case Tennessee v. Lane was decided in 2004 in favor of the five disabled plaintiffs, why was the decision still limited in its efficacy?

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B.
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Correct. The answer is c. The Supreme Court ruled in Tennessee v. Lane that states that did not have accessible courthouses could be sued for damages. Although the ruling applied nationwide, the ruling did not comment on any other kind of public space or facility other than courthouses, which limited its application.
Incorrect. The answer is c. The Supreme Court ruled in Tennessee v. Lane that states that did not have accessible courthouses could be sued for damages. Although the ruling applied nationwide, the ruling did not comment on any other kind of public space or facility other than courthouses, which limited its application.

Question

5. This essay supports which of the following historical arguments?

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B.
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D.
Correct. The answer is b. Beverly Jones’s fight to force Tennessee to enforce the ADA lasted until 2004, and it still continues to this day. Jones’s story demonstrates how the civil rights struggle did not end in the 1960s, or the 1970s, or the 1990s. It continues, and it will likely continue for a very long time.
Incorrect. The answer is b. Beverly Jones’s fight to force Tennessee to enforce the ADA lasted until 2004, and it still continues to this day. Jones’s story demonstrates how the civil rights struggle did not end in the 1960s, or the 1970s, or the 1990s. It continues, and it will likely continue for a very long time.