AP U.S. Government and Politics Flashcards: Affirmative Action
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
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What two main societal areas are affirmative action policies intended to address?
Affirmative action policies are intended to address disparities in the workplace and in education.
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What two main societal areas are affirmative action policies intended to address?
Affirmative action policies are intended to address disparities in the workplace and in education.
Term: Disparities (in the context of affirmative action)
Disparities are the differences or inequalities in workplace and educational outcomes that affirmative action policies are intended to address.
What types of disparities are affirmative action policies designed to address?
These policies are designed to address disparities related to race, ethnic origin, gender, disability, and age.
Which constitutional amendment is central to the debate over affirmative action?
The Fourteenth Amendment, and specifically its equal protection clause, is central to the Supreme Court's debate on affirmative action.
What is the 'equal protection clause' in the context of affirmative action debates?
It is the part of the Fourteenth Amendment that the Supreme Court debates in determining if affirmative action policies are constitutionally protected.
What is affirmative action?
Affirmative action refers to policies intended to address workplace and educational disparities related to race, ethnic origin, gender, disability, and age.
A university creates a program to increase enrollment of students with disabilities. This is an example of what kind of policy?
This is an example of an affirmative action policy, as it is intended to address educational disparities related to disability.
What is the central constitutional question in Supreme Court debates about affirmative action?
The central debate is whether affirmative action is protected by the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
What is the core tension examined by the Supreme Court regarding affirmative action and the 14th Amendment?
The court examines whether policies designed to help certain groups are themselves a violation of the equal protection clause, or if they are protected by it.
What is the primary focus of Supreme Court debates regarding affirmative action?
The primary focus is on the constitutionality of these policies under the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause.