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CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE UNITED STATES SUMMARY INFORM
OF QUESTION AND ANSWER. LATEST UPDATE 2025
QUESTION: Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, KS, 1954 - ANSWER-Supreme Court ruling reversing
the policy of segregation from Plessy v Ferguson, declaring that separate can never be equal and a year
later ordered the integration of all public schools with all deliberate speed
QUESTION: Civil Rights Act of 1964 - ANSWER-A federal law that authorized federal action against
segregation in public accommodations, public facilities, and employment. The law was passed during a
period of great strength for the civil rights movement, and President Lyndon Johnson persuaded many
reluctant members of Congress to support the law.
QUESTION: Jim Crow Laws - ANSWER-southern state laws designed to enforce segregation of blacks
from whites (grandfather clause, poll tax, literacy tests, separate but equal, etc)
QUESTION: "separate but equal" - ANSWER-Principle upheld in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) in which the
Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public facilities was legal.
QUESTION: De jure discrimination - ANSWER-Racial segregation that is required by law, Racial
segregation that is a direct result of law or official policy
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QUESTION: De facto discrimination - ANSWER-Segregation resulting from economic or social conditions
or personal choice., discrimination that is the result not of law but rather of tradition and habit
QUESTION: Separate but equal - ANSWER-Principle upheld in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) in which the
Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public facilities was legal.
QUESTION: Equal Protection Clause - ANSWER-14th amendment clause that prohibits states from
denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination
QUESTION: Poll Tax - ANSWER-A tax of a fixed amount per person and payable as a requirement for the
right to vote
QUESTION: Civil disobedience - ANSWER-A form of political participation that reflects a conscious
decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences.
QUESTION: Voting Rights Act of 1965 - ANSWER-1965; invalidated the use of any test or device to deny
the vote and authorized federal examiners to register voters in states that had disenfranchised blacks; as
more blacks became politically active and elected black representatives, it brought jobs, contracts, and
facilities and services for the black community, encouraging greater social equality and decreasing the
wealth and education gap
CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE UNITED STATES SUMMARY INFORM
OF QUESTION AND ANSWER. LATEST UPDATE 2025
QUESTION: Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, KS, 1954 - ANSWER-Supreme Court ruling reversing
the policy of segregation from Plessy v Ferguson, declaring that separate can never be equal and a year
later ordered the integration of all public schools with all deliberate speed
QUESTION: Civil Rights Act of 1964 - ANSWER-A federal law that authorized federal action against
segregation in public accommodations, public facilities, and employment. The law was passed during a
period of great strength for the civil rights movement, and President Lyndon Johnson persuaded many
reluctant members of Congress to support the law.
QUESTION: Jim Crow Laws - ANSWER-southern state laws designed to enforce segregation of blacks
from whites (grandfather clause, poll tax, literacy tests, separate but equal, etc)
QUESTION: "separate but equal" - ANSWER-Principle upheld in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) in which the
Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public facilities was legal.
QUESTION: De jure discrimination - ANSWER-Racial segregation that is required by law, Racial
segregation that is a direct result of law or official policy
, Page 2 of 10
QUESTION: De facto discrimination - ANSWER-Segregation resulting from economic or social conditions
or personal choice., discrimination that is the result not of law but rather of tradition and habit
QUESTION: Separate but equal - ANSWER-Principle upheld in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) in which the
Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public facilities was legal.
QUESTION: Equal Protection Clause - ANSWER-14th amendment clause that prohibits states from
denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination
QUESTION: Poll Tax - ANSWER-A tax of a fixed amount per person and payable as a requirement for the
right to vote
QUESTION: Civil disobedience - ANSWER-A form of political participation that reflects a conscious
decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences.
QUESTION: Voting Rights Act of 1965 - ANSWER-1965; invalidated the use of any test or device to deny
the vote and authorized federal examiners to register voters in states that had disenfranchised blacks; as
more blacks became politically active and elected black representatives, it brought jobs, contracts, and
facilities and services for the black community, encouraging greater social equality and decreasing the
wealth and education gap
