MPSC 2022 PYQ 1 — Reasoning
In the election of 1860, the Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln was elected as the President. The Republican Manifesto had included a promise of political freedom to the Blacks. Steps were taken to fulfil the pledge taken during the Civil War, and a number of Constitutional Amendments were done so as to give more political freedom to the Blacks. For example, the Thirteenth Amendment passed in 1863 by the Republican government was about the Abolition of Slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment of 1868 ordered that the right to vote should not be denied to anybody on the criteria of race, colour or a history of slavery. These three Constitutional Amendments set a powerful precedent. The political diplomats who had vowed to reconstruct the Southern States during 1865 — 1876, began to strive towards securing the complete citizenship rights for the Blacks. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 opened a number of fields for them where they would not be discriminated against. The success, however, was limited; because towards the end of the period of Reconstruction, the erstwhile slaves had fallen into the grave situation of economic slavery. The Supreme Court in 1883 declared that the Civil Rights conferred upon the Blacks were unconstitutional. Their voting rights were snatched away during the decade of 1890’s using the trap of literacy tests. Other provisions of the Act that aimed at fighting the racial discrimination were not implemented properly. Consequently, processes of segregation and discrimination became deeply entrenched in most of the institutions in the United States. Jim Crow Laws and other such traditions supported segregation and discrimination against the Blacks in all walks of their life. The Supreme Court validated segregation in a number of related cases. This meant that it became legally very easy to entrench prohibition, segregation and denial of voting rights by the implementation of the Mississippi Plan and the Negros lost their voting rights. The Government Act which took away their voting rights and legalized segregation was declared to be constitutional and legal by the Supreme Court. This put the Blacks in an ironical situation. Technically, they were declared to be of the same status as others, but they were compelled to stay separately. Booker T. Washington wanted to solve the problems of the Blacks by peaceful negotiations and self-support initiatives. However, W.E.B. Du Bois could not agree with Washington, Du Bois gave a radical, nationalist and separatist stand to the Black Movement.
Read the statements. : (a) The Republican Manifesto of 1860 had included a promise of political freedom to the Blacks. (b) The Thirteenth Amendment provided for Abolition of Slavery. (c) The Supreme Court in 1883 declared that the Civil Rights conferred upon the Blacks w e r e unconstitutional.
- (b) is the effect of (a).
- (a) is the effect of (b).
- (c) is the cause of (a).
- (a), (b) and (c) are unrelated.
Answer: A. (b) is the effect of (a).