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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. 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 many slaveholders were cruel just because they could be.
(b) That brutality against slaves was the result of whites' fear of slave rebellion.
(c) That many slaves entered into consensual relationships with slaveholders.
(d) That slaves were too "valuable" to be mistreated.

3. How many American states had laws officially prohibiting marriage between Blacks and whites?
(a) 12.
(b) 26.
(c) 50.
(d) 41.

4. 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 treated his Black partner as an equal.
(b) Very few white men had previously admitted to relationships with Black women.
(c) The Black woman in the relationship was already married.
(d) Davis raped a Black woman.

5. On page 12, Wilkerson says that some contagions can only be managed with "vigilance." How is she proposing they should be managed?
(a) With careful thoroughness.
(b) With brute force.
(c) With great speed.
(d) With constant watchfulness.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Wilkerson in "The Second Pillar: Heritability," what happened to Forest Whitaker at a Manhattan Deli?

2. In "Pillar Number Five: Occupational Hierarchy: The Jatis and the Mudsill," what is the rhetorical purpose of including information about Hammond's nieces?

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

4. According to "Pillar Number Four: Purity versus Pollution," what did the United States use to "curate" its population (123)?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Summarize the analogy Wilkerson makes between the thawing of the Siberian permafrost and the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

2. Explain the titular analogy in "An Old House and an Infrared Light."

3. What is the rhetorical purpose of stressing the length of time that slavery existed in America?

4. In "Pillar Number Six: Dehumanization and Stigma," what similarities does Wilkerson see between the treatment of Blacks in the time of slavery and Jews entering Nazi camps?

5. In "Pillar Number Two: Heritability," what difference does Wilkerson note between the way caste is inherited in India versus the way it was historically inherited in the U.S.?

6. What explanation does Wilkerson give of the origins of caste in Hindu scriptures in "Pillar Number One: Divine Will and the Laws of Nature"?

7. According to Wilkerson, how did slavery create the conditions for American stereotypes about Black people?

8. Explain the analogy that Wilkerson makes in "The Vitals of History."

9. To what cause does Wilkerson ascribe the election of Donald Trump?

10. What explanation does Wilkerson give of the justification for slavery in Christian scriptures in "Pillar Number One: Divine Will and the Laws of Nature"?

(see the answer keys)

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