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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why were blacks primarily prevented from buying houses?

2. When did the PWA end?

3. What does Rothstein say caused many black families to lose the homes they bought from blockbusters?

4. What was the effect of sharecropping on African-American families?

5. What does Rothstein say was the main driver of de jure segregation?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the economic argument racist local governments used for restricting black families’ housing options?

2. How does Rothstein say blacks were prevented from voting in South Carolina in 1876?

3. How did the courts end the use of racially restrictive covenant?

4. Why did Roosevelt’s New Deal leave African Americans behind, according to Rothstein?

5. How do the political parties that operated in America in the late 1800s correspond to today’s political parties?

6. How did the government overcome expense as a barrier to home ownership under Hoover?

7. What does Rothstein say public housing means now, and what did it originally meant?

8. When black families could end up getting mortgages, how does Rothstein say those mortgages affected them?

9. What is blockbusting?

10. What effect does Rothstein say Woodrow Wilson had on integration in the U.S. government?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a character sketch of the author based on his style and content. What can we tell about him, based on the choices he makes in terms of description, characterization and plot? What values does he hold dear? What are his hopes and fears? What kind of person do you think he is? Anchor your sketch in passages in the book.

Essay Topic 2

Write an evaluative review of The Color of Law. What is this book’s place in our culture? Who will find this book most useful? What are its uses? What are its limitations?

Essay Topic 3

Where is the climax of this book? Are there different climaxes? What questions does each climax resolve? What questions does each climax leave unanswered?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 947 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample