Lesson 4

4 Opposition to the civil rights movement Quiz: Pearson Edexcel History, Unit 17

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4, Opposition to the civil rights movement: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel GCSE History (1HI0), Unit 17: The USA, 1954–75: conflict at home and abroad, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which party split from the Democrats in 1948 to oppose civil rights?

    • The Dixiecrats
    • The Republicans
    • The Whigs
    • The Populists

  2. In which year were White Citizens' Councils first set up to resist desegregation after Brown v. Board?

    • 1963
    • 1957
    • 1954
    • 1948

  3. In which state was 14-year-old Emmett Till murdered in 1955?

    • Tennessee
    • Mississippi
    • Alabama
    • Georgia

  4. Which white supremacist group used terror and bombings against civil rights in the South?

    • White Citizens Councils
    • Silver Shirts
    • Ku Klux Klan
    • Dixiecrats

  5. Which Arkansas governor used the state National Guard in 1957 to block Black students entering Little Rock Central High School?

    • George Wallace
    • Ross Barnett
    • Earl Long
    • Orval Faubus

  6. Which 1956 declaration by southern politicians pledged resistance to the Brown ruling?

    • The Atlanta Agreement
    • The State Compact
    • The Southern Manifesto
    • The Montgomery Accord

  7. What term describes the southern campaign of legal delay, school closures and state laws to avoid desegregation after 1954?

    • Literacy test
    • Massive resistance
    • Separate but equal
    • Grandfather clause

  8. Which senator spoke for over 24 hours in 1957 in an attempt to block the Civil Rights Act?

    • Strom Thurmond
    • Herman Talmadge
    • Harry Byrd
    • Richard Russell

  9. What term described southern state efforts to block school integration through laws?

    • Constitutional reform
    • Direct action
    • Federal intervention
    • Massive resistance

  10. Which white supremacist groups used economic reprisals against civil rights supporters?

    • White Citizens' Councils
    • State legislatures
    • Union locals
    • Student committees

  11. Whose 1955 murder and open-casket funeral drew national outrage at southern injustice?

    • Martin Luther King
    • Medgar Evers
    • Emmett Till
    • James Chaney

  12. Why did southern states try to force the NAACP to hand over membership lists?

    • To update registers
    • To collect taxes
    • To fund schools
    • To expose members

  13. Why did the Southern Manifesto argue the Brown ruling should be resisted?

    • Judicial overreach
    • Economic cost
    • Lack of funding
    • Foreign pressure

  14. What happened to public schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia, from 1959?

    • Schools were closed
    • Schools were taxed
    • Schools were integrated
    • Schools were rebuilt

  15. What was the main purpose of Klan violence against civil rights activists in the 1950s?

    • To collect taxes
    • To build schools
    • To intimidate activists
    • To win elections

  16. What was the main reason school desegregation stalled after the 1954 Brown ruling?

    • Lack of funding
    • Teacher shortages
    • Federal opposition
    • Southern resistance

  17. Which principle did segregationists use to defend local race and education policies?

    • Equal protection
    • Universal suffrage
    • Federal supremacy
    • States' rights

  18. Why did President Eisenhower send federal troops to Little Rock in 1957?

    • Patrol borders
    • Disarm citizens
    • Protect governor
    • Enforce court orders

  19. What supported the strong opposition to civil rights across the Deep South after 1954?

    • Federal mandates
    • Northern wealth
    • New constitutions
    • Entrenched systems

  20. What was the main focus of the 1957 Civil Rights Act?

    • School integration
    • Housing equality
    • Voter registration
    • Public transport

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