Civil Rights in the USA | AQA A-Level Politics (7152)
Civil Rights in the USA
- 69 questions
- 6 subtopics
- Paper 2: government and politics of the USA
- Paper 2
Where rights come from in a codified system, how the Fourteenth Amendment carried them into the states, the civil rights movement and its methods, and the issues still being fought over..
It covers civil Liberties, Civil Rights and the Bill of Rights, entrenchment, Incorporation and the Rights Amendments, landmark Rights Rulings and the Supreme Court, the Civil Rights Movement, rights Groups and the Courts and contested Rights Issues Today.
Sample questions from Civil Rights in the USA
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Civil Liberties, Civil Rights and the Bill of Rights
State the freedoms protected by the First Amendment.
Show the answer
It protects freedom of religion through the establishment and free exercise clauses, together with freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and the right to petition government. -
Civil Liberties, Civil Rights and the Bill of Rights
What rights does the Sixth Amendment give a criminal defendant?
Show the answer
It gives the right to a speedy public trial by an impartial jury, to be told the charge, to confront witnesses and to have the assistance of a lawyer. -
Entrenchment, Incorporation and the Rights Amendments
Which amendment is the main engine of civil rights law, and what are its key clauses?
Show the answer
It is the Fourteenth Amendment, which confers citizenship by birth and guarantees due process and the equal protection of the laws. -
Entrenchment, Incorporation and the Rights Amendments
Why is it misleading to think of the Fifteenth Amendment as having secured black voting rights?
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Southern states used literacy tests, poll taxes, intimidation and discriminatory registration to disenfranchise black citizens for almost a century afterwards, until federal legislation in 1965. -
Landmark Rights Rulings and the Supreme Court
What did Texas v Johnson decide?
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It held in 1989 that burning the national flag as a political protest is symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment. -
Landmark Rights Rulings and the Supreme Court
Trace what the Supreme Court has said about abortion.
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Roe v Wade recognised a constitutional right to abortion in 1973 on privacy grounds, later restated as an undue burden test in 1992, and in 2022 the Court overruled Roe and returned the regulation of abortion to elected state governments. -
The Civil Rights Movement
Describe the tactics that characterised the movement.
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It relied on non-violent direct action such as boycotts, sit-ins, freedom rides and mass marches, chosen to provoke a visible reaction and force a federal response. -
The Civil Rights Movement
State what the Voting Rights Act of 1965 achieved.
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It banned literacy tests and similar devices and placed states with a history of discrimination under federal supervision of their election rules, producing a dramatic rise in black registration.
The 6 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Civil Liberties, Civil Rights and the Bill of Rights | Recall questions on the difference between liberties and rights, what the Bill of Rights is, why it came so soon and what the First Amendment protects. | 11 |
| Entrenchment, Incorporation and the Rights Amendments | Recall questions on why entrenchment makes rights secure, the two stages of amendment, the incorporation doctrine and the key clauses of the Fourteenth. | 9 |
| Landmark Rights Rulings and the Supreme Court | Recall questions on landmark Supreme Court rulings on rights, from Brown and Miranda to Heller, Obergefell and the Court's changing position on abortion, and on whether the Court is a reliable protector of rights. | 11 |
| The Civil Rights Movement | Recall questions on what the movement was, the NAACP's central strategy, why the Montgomery bus boycott mattered and the tactics that defined it. | 11 |
| Rights Groups and the Courts | Recall questions on how groups use litigation to make policy, why it suits a minority cause, and on groups ranged on opposite sides of one issue. | 8 |
| Contested Rights Issues Today | Recall questions on the Hyde Amendment, why affirmative action is contested, the partisan fight over voting rights and immigration as a constitutional question. | 19 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
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