utap3e_ch27

Quiz for Analyzing Historical Evidence: The Brown Decision

Feature Link

Analyzing Historical Evidence: The Brown Decision

Choose the best answer to each question.

Question

1. In the Supreme Court’s unanimous opinion in the Brown v. Board of Education case, Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote, “Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other ‘tangible’ factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities? . . . We believe that it does.” What does the full text of the opinion reveal about how the justices believed that segregation operated to make public education for black children inherently unequal?

Segregation mandated that black schools hire less-qualified teachers.

School districts inevitably funneled less money to black schools.

School segregation deprived black children of access to whites’ ideas.

Segregated schools harmed black children’s confidence and self-esteem.

Correct. The answer is D. The justices’ opinion revealed their belief that even if every tangible factor were equal for children in white schools and children in black schools—including quality teachers, budgets, books, and so on—the process of segregating black children from white children created inequality by instilling in them a sense of inferiority and unworthiness.

Incorrect. The correct answer is D. The justices’ opinion revealed their belief that even if every tangible factor were equal for children in white schools and children in black schools—including quality teachers, budgets, books, and so on—the process of segregating black children from white children created inequality by instilling in them a sense of inferiority and unworthiness.

Question

2. On what basis did the members of Congress who signed the Southern Manifesto on Integration argue that the Supreme Court’s opinion in the Brown case in 1954 was invalid?

The Supreme Court justices did not get input from all the parties involved in the case.

The Constitution makes no mention of or provision for the education of its citizens.

The states had the right to classify and evaluate their citizens in any way they chose.

Most black families did not understand the need for their children to change schools.

Correct. The answer is B. The crux of the signers’ argument was that the Supreme Court had interpreted the Constitution—which made no provision for or mention of education—too broadly and, in doing so, encroached on the rights of the states to educate their citizens as they saw fit.

Incorrect. The correct answer is B. The crux of the signers’ argument was that the Supreme Court had interpreted the Constitution—which made no provision for or mention of education—too broadly and, in doing so, encroached on the rights of the states to educate their citizens as they saw fit.

Question

3. The statement from the high school athlete in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in 1957 supports which of the following arguments about the impact of the Brown case on black students’ lives in the 1950s?

School desegregation gave black school athletes the same opportunities as white school athletes.

The Brown case ensured that black children conceived of themselves as equal to white children.

School desegregation ended racist practices and treatment but could not eliminate southerners’ discriminatory attitudes.

The Brown case integrated schools, but it did not eliminate the discriminatory treatment of black children.

Correct. The answer is D. The Oak Ridge athlete’s statement reveals that he had more opportunities at the integrated school, but that he was still subject to discriminatory attitudes and treatment in school sports. School desegregation was not enough to protect black children from the negative effects of discrimination.

Incorrect. The correct answer is D. The Oak Ridge athlete’s statement reveals that he had more opportunities at the integrated school, but that he was still subject to discriminatory attitudes and treatment in school sports. School desegregation alone was not sufficient to protect black children from the negative effects of discrimination.

Question

4. What does the story of the high school girl in Document 4 suggest about how school desegregation affected the attitudes of some southern whites?

School desegregation made southern whites uniformly hostile and belligerent.

The presence of black children in white schools had no influence on whites’ racist attitudes.

Some whites’ assumptions about black students were changed by interacting with them.

White students were hostile to black students, but teachers and administrators were not.

Correct. The answer is C. The reminiscence in Document 4 reveals that, through personal interaction with black students, some whites began to change their racist assumptions and attitudes.

Incorrect. The correct answer is C. The reminiscence in Document 4 reveals that, through personal interaction with black students, some whites began to change their racist assumptions and attitudes.

Question

5. Which of the following conclusions can be supported by the evidence presented in Documents 3, 4, and 5?

The Brown decision gave black students greater access to white education but could not protect them from the harmful effects of racism.

The Brown decision caused considerable disruption in the South but solved the problem of racial inequality.

Whites responded with hostility and violence to school integration efforts in 1956, but by the end of the decade they were resigned to the change.

School desegregation after the Brown decision proved that black students were no better off in integrated schools than in segregated ones.

Correct. The answer is A. Documents 3, 4, and 5 indicate that black students who went to previously all-white schools did benefit from greater academic and athletic opportunities and that, in some cases, their presence shifted white individuals’ attitudes. But the documents also show that racist attitudes toward and treatment of black students by whites persisted long after 1954 and that black students suffered personally as a result of it.

Incorrect. The correct answer is A. Documents 3, 4, and 5 indicate that black students who went to previously all-white schools did benefit from greater academic and athletic opportunities and that, in some cases, their presence shifted white individuals’ attitudes. But the documents also show that racist attitudes toward and treatment of black students by whites persisted long after 1954 and that black students suffered personally as a result of it.

Understanding the American Promise 3ePrinted Page 789