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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the 1863 Draft Riots, what immigrant group perpetrated violence against Blacks?
(a) Italians.
(b) Germans.
(c) Irish.
(d) Chinese.

2. Where does the word "caste" come from?
(a) The Middle English "outcasten," meaning "to expel or reject."
(b) The Old Norse word "kasta," meaning "throw."
(c) The Portuguese word "casta," meaning "breed" or "race."
(d) The Latin "castus," meaning "chaste."

3. When 20 Black people arrived in the New World on a Dutch ship in 1619, what were they classified as?
(a) Indentured servants.
(b) Merchandise.
(c) Slaves.
(d) Colonists.

4. What is the best definition of "heritability" as used in "The Second Pillar: Heritability"?
(a) Capable of being passed down from parent to child.
(b) Able to bind different families together.
(c) A privilege that stays within a particular family.
(d) A status based on genetics.

5. To whom is Wilkerson referring on page 4 when she describes someone as "a no-nonsense national figure overqualified by some estimates"?
(a) Donald Trump.
(b) Hillary Clinton.
(c) Barack Obama.
(d) Bernie Sanders.

6. Besides the caste systems in India and the United States, which other caste system does Wilkerson say that she will focus on?
(a) Yuan China.
(b) Nazi Germany.
(c) The Nigerian Osu System.
(d) Apartheid South Africa.

7. What was decided at the conference depicted in the opening of "The Nazis and the Acceleration of Caste"?
(a) Forced sterilization of Jews.
(b) The plan to exterminate German Jews.
(c) The Lebensraum program.
(d) The Nuremberg Laws.

8. In "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," what does Wilkerson say human-genome testing has revealed about race?
(a) There is tremendous variation within each of the five races.
(b) It is entirely dependent on geography.
(c) There are up to 36 divisions that could be called "races."
(d) It does not exist.

9. In "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," what reason does Wilkerson give for most people's participation in the American caste system?
(a) It is human nature to want to dominate others.
(b) It preserves their place in the hierarchy.
(c) It allows them to discriminate without having to admit that they are racists.
(d) It is too psychologically painful to admit that one's own position is unearned.

10. According to "Pillar Number Five: Occupational Hierarchy: The Jatis and the Mudsill," what percentage of Blacks worked in white-collar professions during the Great Depression?
(a) 5.
(b) 15.
(c) 10.
(d) 20.

11. In "Pillar Number Six: Dehumanization and Stigma," Wilkerson explains that enslaved people were not allowed to cry as their families were separated. What is this meant to serve as an example of?
(a) Stigma.
(b) Mockery.
(c) Dehumanization.
(d) Minstrelsy.

12. In "Defining Purity and the Constancy of the Bottom Rung," what does Wilkerson note is referred to as "the most segregated hour in America" (128)?
(a) Recess at public schools.
(b) Sunday mornings.
(c) Dinnertime.
(d) School lunch time.

13. On page 6, Wilkerson refers to white "preeminence." What quality is she referring to?
(a) Unjustified rage.
(b) Using language and mannerisms that indicate superiority.
(c) Devotion to tradition or already existing institutions.
(d) Having the highest rank or position.

14. In the opening analogy of the book, what is the melting permafrost being compared to?
(a) Racism.
(b) The 2016 election.
(c) Denial of climate change.
(d) A "silent" earthquake.

15. When legislation was finally adopted to limit the workday of enslaved persons, how long did their workday become?
(a) 12 hours.
(b) 18 hours.
(c) 9-10 hours.
(d) 14-15 hours.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Wilkerson, who is at the top of the "ladder of humanity" created by colonists in North America?

2. In "A Long-Running Play and the Emergence of Caste in America," where does Wilkerson say that the American caste system was born?

3. In "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," what does Wilkerson say we are doing when we "see" race?

4. According to Wilkerson, how are jobs assigned under the Indian caste system?

5. In "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," Wilkerson says that actions that reinforce the caste system are "autonomic." What is the best meaning of this word in this context?

(see the answer keys)

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