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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Pillar Number Five: Occupational Hierarchy: The Jatis and the Mudsill," what is the rhetorical purpose of including information about Hammond's nieces?
(a) It supports Wilkerson's point about the hypocrisy of the upper caste.
(b) It clarifies the relationship of the Hammond quotes to Wilkerson's claims.
(c) It impeaches Hammond's character.
(d) It demonstrates the subordinate role of women in America.

2. According to Wilkerson, who is at the top of the "ladder of humanity" created by colonists in North America?
(a) English Protestants.
(b) White men.
(c) Northern Europeans.
(d) Christians.

3. In "Pillar Number Seven: Terror as Enforcement, Cruelty as a Means of Control," what common misunderstanding of the slave system in America does Wilkerson dispute?
(a) That brutality against slaves was the result of whites' fear of slave rebellion.
(b) That slaves were too "valuable" to be mistreated.
(c) That many slaves entered into consensual relationships with slaveholders.
(d) That many slaveholders were cruel just because they could be.

4. In "A Long-Running Play and the Emergence of Caste in America," what does Wilkerson say Americans want to dismiss as a "sad, dark chapter" of American history (43)?
(a) The Jim Crow era.
(b) The Colonial treatment of Blacks.
(c) The Trump presidency.
(d) Slavery.

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

6. In "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," where does Wilkerson say that the idea of race began?
(a) In the transatlantic slave trade.
(b) In colonial India.
(c) During the Moorish invasion of Spain.
(d) In Ancient Greece and Rome.

7. 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?
(a) Autonomous, occurring without social or environmental input.
(b) Spontaneous, occurring without planning.
(c) Automatic, occurring without conscious thought.
(d) Involuntary, occurring without choice.

8. At what famous Alabama bridge did the police violently attack peaceful protesters on their way to Montgomery?
(a) The Seven Mile Bridge.
(b) The Edmund Pettus Bridge.
(c) The New River Gorge Bridge.
(d) The Benson Bridge.

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 is too psychologically painful to admit that one's own position is unearned.
(c) It preserves their place in the hierarchy.
(d) It allows them to discriminate without having to admit that they are racists.

10. In "The Third Pillar: Endogamy and the Control of Marriage and Mating," what does Wilkerson imply was the reason for the prosecution of Hugh Davis?
(a) Davis raped a Black woman.
(b) Davis treated his Black partner as an equal.
(c) The Black woman in the relationship was already married.
(d) Very few white men had previously admitted to relationships with Black women.

11. As Wilkerson explains on page 9, under what circumstances can mental health professionals make a diagnosis public?
(a) When the person is a celebrity or other national media figure.
(b) When the person presents a danger to themselves or other people.
(c) When the person is deceased.
(d) When the person is not a paying client.

12. According to "Pillar Number Four: Purity versus Pollution," what makes the United States's racial hierarchy different from those in the rest of the Americas?
(a) Racial absolutism.
(b) The size of the highest caste.
(c) Privileges that increase with increasing "degree of Whiteness."
(d) The degree of segregation.

13. On page 15, Wilkerson says of the old house that "whatever is lurking will fester." What is especially apt about her choice of the word "fester"?
(a) Its connotations evoke the idea of a swamp or mire.
(b) It has a lighter and more comic "sound" than the synonyms Wilkerson might have chosen.
(c) It has meanings that can be applied to both literal structures and to abstract structures.
(d) Its sibilance is part of an alliterative pattern.

14. According to Wilkerson's explanation on page 9, why did Democrats hesitate to impeach Trump?
(a) The evidence was unclear.
(b) Many had investments in Trump businesses.
(c) Fear of backlash from his base.
(d) Fear of retribution from Trump himself.

15. In "Pillar Number Five: Occupational Hierarchy: The Jatis and the Mudsill," what is the rhetorical purpose of including the Hammond quotes?
(a) It demonstrates that religious belief is incompatible with endorsement of a caste system.
(b) It bolsters Wilkerson's ethos, making the reader more receptive to her claims about India.
(c) This is a defining historical moment that explicitly supports the chapter's central claim.
(d) This illustrates the depth of hatred that White Southerners had for the lowest caste.

Short Answer Questions

1. On page 6, Wilkerson refers to white "preeminence." What quality is she referring to?

2. In the opening analogy of the book, what is the melting permafrost being compared to?

3. About how many years did American slavery last?

4. In "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," what does Wilkerson say human-genome testing has revealed about race?

5. On page 11, what does Wilkerson indicate the term "evangelical voters" is code for?

(see the answer keys)

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