Quiz—How Well Do You Know Your Civil Rights History?
1. Which political party began as a Civil Rights Movement? a)the Republican Party b)the Democrat Party c)The Whig Party
2. Which political party had a mission of “ending slavery and ensuring equality for black Americans”? a)the Republican Party b)the Democrat Party c)The Whig Party
3. Who signed the Emancipation Proclamation which freed the slaves? a)U.S. Grant b)Abraham Lincoln c)Andrew Johnson
4. Which political party gave rise to the Ku Klux Klan and formed the “iron triangle”, a three-pronged “coalition that mounted a formidable and often lethal front against the …fight for black rights”? a)the Republican Party b)the Democrat Party c)The Whig Party
5. The co-founders of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) were from this political party. a)the Republican Party b)the Democrat Party c)The Whig Party
6. Theophilus Eugene “Bull” Connor was infamously known for turning dogs and fire hoses on black Americans. To which political party did this Alabama Police Commissioner belong?a)the Republican Party b)the Democrat Party c)The Whig Party
7. Which Republican orator which after an anti-slavery speech on the Senate floor was bludgeoned by the opposition and was confined to a wheelchair for three years? a)Stephen Douglas b)Andrew Butler c)Charles Sumner
8. Who was the attacker who although censured for his actions was summarily re-elected? a)Preston Butler b)Stephen Douglas c)Jim Crow
9. In 1868, what arm of the Democratic party took to “night riding” to force blacks to vote Democrat or not at all? a)Daughters of the Confederacy b)the Carpetbaggers c)The Ku Klux Klan
10. Which political party enacted “Jim Crow” laws designed to strip blacks of basic rights and privileges?a)the Republican Party b)the Democrat Party c)The Whig Party
11. What political party initiated and passed the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments?a)the Republican Party b)the Democrat Party c)The Whig Party
12. The 13th Amendments purpose was to: a)officially and forever abolish slavery b)give blacks personhood under the constitution c)outlaw lynchings
13. Out of eighty Democrats, how many supported the 13th Amendment? a)50 b)2 c)16
14. What American president vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (a precursor to the Civil Rights Act of 1964)? a)Abraham Lincoln b)Andrew Johnson c)Calvin Coolidge
15. Which tactics were used by the KKK to intimidate voters? a)leaving miniature coffins on doorsteps b)lynchings c)random night beatings d)all of the above
16. The 14th Amendment was proposed by Republicans for the purpose of a)giving blacks the vote b)giving blacks equal protection under the law c)repealing the Civil Rights Act of 1866
17. True or False? Every single vote in favor of the 14th Amendment belonged to a Republican.
18. The 15th Amendment protected what constitutional right? a)the right to due process b)the right to own property c)the right to vote
19. In what year was the 15th Amendment fully enforced? a)1965 b)1870 c)1928
20. What U.S. President said, “Son, when I appoint a n— to the court, I want everyone to know he’s a n– ”? a)John F. Kennedy b)Woodrow Wilson c)Lyndon B. Johnson
21. Which U.S. President handed down executive orders for the Treasury Dept. and Postmaster General “imposing segregated departments”? a)Lyndon B. Johnson b)Franklin D. Roosevelt c)Woodrow Wilson
22. Which First Lady “had a hand in expanding the segregation of federal employees in Washington”? a)Lady Bird Johnson b)Ellen Wilson c)Eleanor Roosevelt
23. Which Republican President refused to compromise on the issues of Civil Rights and became a stalwart proponent of black causes? a)Calvin Coolidge b)Herbert Hoover c)Warren G. Harding d)All of the above
24. Which president nominated a former klansman to the Supreme Court which led to an unsuccessful showdown by Republicans to remove him? a)Woodrow Wilson b)Franklin D. Roosevelt c)Harry Truman
25. Martin Luther King, Jr. said this president had a “schizophrenic tendency” when it came to civil rights. a)Abraham Lincoln b)Woodrow Wilson c)John F. Kennedy
26. Although given credit for finally giving way to civil rights legislation, which president had a Senate and House record of voting against every civil rights bill that had come to a vote? a)John F. Kennedy b)Barry Goldwater c)Lyndon B. Johnson
27. Which current Democratic Senator delivered a record-setting filibuster in order to defeat the civil rights bill? a)Ted Kennedy b)Albert Gore, Sr. c)Robert C. Byrd d)Barry Goldwater
28. True or False? Democrats rallied behind their President LBJ to enact the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
29. The ratio of House Democrats that voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act was a)1.5 to 1 b)2 to 1 c)4 to 1
30. Southern Democrats continued to filibuster federal anti-lynching legislation until what year? a)1937 b)1907 c)1967
ANSWERS
1. A–The Republican Party “See, it’s not just enough to say that the Republican Party advanced civil rights, the Republican Party began the civil rights movement.” Michael Zak, Republican Party historian.
2. A–The Republican Party
3. B–Abraham Lincoln
4. B–the Democrat Party. “The Klan became in effect a terrorist arm of the Democratic party”. Allen W. Trelease, Professor of History, University of North Carolina in the late 19th century.
5. A–The NAACP was co-founded by black and white Republicans.
6. B–the Democrat party
7. C–Charles Sumner, Republican Massachusettes. Both Stephen Douglas and Andrew Butler were Democrats and both fiercely racist.
8. A–Preston Butler, Democrat
9. C–the KKK
10. B–the Democrat Party
11. A–the Republican Party
12. A–officially and forever abolish slavery
13. C—16
14. B–Andrew Johnson was Southern Democrat and a racist. He worked hard to undo the progress that Republican’s had made on behalf of blacks. Thankfully, Republicans overrode his veto and passed the bill.
15. D–all of the above. Sadly, 3,426 blacks were lynched by the KKK from the period of 1882 to 1947.
16. B–giving blacks equal protection under the law. The “Iron Triangle” had become very effective at intimidating the masses in Southern States and “wiping blacks off the electoral map”, so much so that Republicans feared a repeal of the Civil Rights Acto of 1866. In order to protect blacks from Democratic Party oppression they proposed the 14th Amendment that would make all people born on U.S. soil citizens and given them equal protection under the law.
17. True
18. C–the right to vote
19. A—1965 It was 1965 with the Voting Rights Act. “Had the Democratic Party not been such a lethal and obstructionist force, it is conceivable that the civil rights legislation of the 1950’s and 1960’s would have been unnecessary.
20. C–President Lyndon Baines Johnson , Democrat
21. C–Woodrow Wilson, Democrat
22. B– Ellen Wilson
23. D—all of the above Woodrow Wilson had been such a racist president and even successfully killed anti-lynching laws. Therefore Americans were sick and after 8 years of racism in the White House, elected three Republicans in a row. Harding gave the famous “Birmingham Speech” re-emphasizing the rights of blacks, Coolidge advocated a National Commission to address the righteous complaints of blacks, and Hoover gave a convention speech promising to stand up for “freedom for all men”.
24. B–Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Hugo Black to the Supreme Court in August 1937.
25. C–John F. Kennedy I don’t even want to repeat what President Kennedy was quoted as saying about blacks as they marched on Washington. In my opinion it is too vulgar to be shared on my blog.
26. C–Lyndon B. Johnson was a life-long racist who even voted against bills that would protect blacks from lynching.
27. C– Robert C. Byrd, Democrat WV is a former klansman who helped to encourage a third of all Senate Democrats to oppose the bill. Incidentally, Senator Byrd is still a member in good standing with the Democratic party and still makes racial slurs.
28. False. LBJ could not have passed it without House and Senate Republicans.
29. A–1.5 to 1. The ratio of House Republicans was actually 4 to 1
30. C–1967 Unbelievable!
Scoring (Number correct)
25-30 Civil Rights Guru You know your history, and have earned the right to be in the debate. In fact, you need to be educating others so that history does not repeat itself. I especially would like to see you comment on this blog.
15-24 Civil Rights Protector You’re getting there, but as a conscientious American need to educate yourself further on the facts. This is an important part of American History and although colleges aren’t teaching it anymore, it is up to us to educate our children so they will not make the same mistakes our forebears did.
9-14 Bumpersticker Professor You’ve been educated behind the wheel of your car, in front of the TV and Newspaper by the bamboozlers. You know just enough American History to be dangerous, but not nearly enough to make wise decisions regarding electing of officials who will make laws. Go back to school and do your homework.
1-8 Bamboozled! You have been bamboozled by the lies of the elites and the confusion of the uninformed masses. You don’t know either because you were not taught, your in denial, or you just don’t care. Depending on which it is will determine your actions.
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That was a provocative quiz. I did pretty well, but many of my answers were, Let’s say “educated guesses”. For one thing, you made it pretty clear that the deck was stacked against the demo. party, and some of us are pretty good guessers with multiple choice. Keep us the good work.