Bill Clinton served as president from 1993 to 2001. In this speech, Clinton discusses affirmative action, a set of policies and programs designed to improve opportunities for minorities and women. Affirmative action is typically used in education and employment settings as a way to combat discrimination.
1
In recent weeks I have begun a conversation with the American people about our fate and our duty to prepare our Nation not only to meet the new century but to live and lead in a world transformed to a degree seldom seen in all of our history. Much of this change is good, but it is not all good, and all of us are affected by it. Therefore, we must reach beyond our fears and our divisions to a new time of great and common purpose.
2
Our challenge is twofold: first, to restore the American dream of opportunity and the American value of responsibility; and second, to bring our country together amid all our diversity into a stronger community, so that we can find common ground and move forward as one.
3
More than ever these two endeavors are inseparable. I am absolutely convinced we cannot restore economic opportunity or solve our social problems unless we find a way to bring the American people together. To bring our people together we must openly and honestly deal with the issues that divide us. Today I want to discuss one of those issues, affirmative action.
4
It is, in a way, ironic that this issue should be divisive today, because affirmative action began 25 years ago by a Republican President with bipartisan support. It began simply as a means to an end of enduring national purpose, equal opportunity for all Americans.
5
So let us today trace the roots of affirmative action in our never-ending search for equal opportunity. Let us determine what it is and what it isn’t. Let us see where it’s worked and where it hasn’t, and ask ourselves what we need to do now. Along the way, let us remember always that finding common ground as we move toward the 21st century depends fundamentally on our shared commitment to equal opportunity for all Americans. It is a moral imperative, a constitutional mandate, and a legal necessity. . . .
6
The purpose of affirmative action is to give our Nation a way to finally address the systemic exclusion of individuals of talent on the basis of their gender or race from opportunities to develop, perform, achieve, and contribute. Affirmative action is an effort to develop a systematic approach to open the doors of education, employment, and business development opportunities to qualified individuals who happen to be members of groups that have experienced longstanding and persistent discrimination.
7
It is a policy that grew out of many years of trying to navigate between two unacceptable pasts. One was to say simply that we declared discrimination illegal and that’s enough. We saw that that way still relegated blacks with college degrees to jobs as railroad porters and kept women with degrees under a glass ceiling with a lower paycheck.
8
The other path was simply to try to impose change by leveling draconian penalties on employers who didn’t meet certain imposed, ultimately arbitrary, and sometimes unachievable quotas. That, too, was rejected out of a sense of fairness.
9
So a middle ground was developed that would change an inequitable status quo gradually but firmly, by building the pool of qualified applicants for college, for contracts, for jobs, and giving more people the chance to learn, work, and earn. When affirmative action is done right, it is flexible, it is fair, and it works. . . .
10
Let me be clear about what affirmative action must not mean and what I won’t allow it to be. It does not mean and I don’t favor the unjustified preference of the unqualified over the qualified of any race or gender. It doesn’t mean and I don’t favor numerical quotas. It doesn’t mean and I don’t favor rejection or selection of any employee or student solely on the basis of race or gender without regard to merit. . . .
11
My fellow Americans, affirmative action has to be made consistent with our highest ideals of personal responsibility and merit and our urgent need to find common ground and to prepare all Americans to compete in the global economy of the next century.
12
Today I am directing all our agencies to comply with the Supreme Court’s Adarand decision,1 and also to apply the four standards of fairness to all our affirmative action programs that I have already articulated: No quotas in theory or practice; no illegal discrimination of any kind, including reverse discrimination; no preference for people who are not qualified for any job or other opportunity; and as soon as a program has succeeded, it must be retired. Any program that doesn’t meet these four principles must be eliminated or reformed to meet them.
13
But let me be clear: Affirmative action has been good for America.
14
Affirmative action has not always been perfect, and affirmative action should not go on forever. It should be changed now to take care of those things that are wrong, and it should be retired when its job is done. I am resolved that that day will come. But the evidence suggests, indeed, screams that that day has not come.
15
The job of ending discrimination in this country is not over. That should not be surprising. We had slavery for centuries before the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. We waited another 100 years for the civil rights legislation. Women have had the vote less than 100 years. We have always had difficulty with these things, as most societies do. But we are making more progress than many people.
16
Which provides the most accurate summary of the speech?
A.
Clinton worries about the future of affirmative action. He reminds listeners that preference has long been given to men and now needs to be given to others.
B.
Clinton explains the need for affirmative action. He calls for a search of all areas in which it is not implemented and urges that these programs be eliminated.
C.
Clinton explains why affirmative action is good. He urges lawmakers to submit ideas to Congress for new programs such as this.
D.
Clinton defines affirmative action. He explains the necessity for it and calls for the reform of the current program because it is fundamentally sound.
Based on the evidence, the job is not done. So here is what I think we should do. We should reaffirm the principle of affirmative action and fix the practices. We should have a simple slogan: Mend it, but don’t end it.
1 In Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Peña (1995), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal programs using racial basis in decision making must serve a compelling government interest.
"Address on Affirmative Action" by William Jefferson Clinton. In the public domain.
D.
Clinton defines affirmative action. He explains the necessity for it and calls for the reform of the current program because it is fundamentally sound.
Read the first sentence in paragraph 4. Which of the following best describes the technique Obama uses to convince his audience?
A.
The author appeals to the audience’s emotions rather than logic.
B.
The author develops a vivid image through figurative language.
C.
The author develops a case through anecdotal evidence.
D.
The author appeals to the audience’s assumed patriotism.
You know, every so often, throughout our history, a generation of Americans bears the responsibility of seeing this country through difficult times and protecting the dream of its founding for posterity. This is a responsibility that’s fallen to our generation. Meeting it will require steering our nation’s economy through a crisis unlike anything that we have seen in our time.
2
In the short term, that means jump-starting job creation and restarting lending, and restoring confidence in our markets and our financial system. But it also means taking steps that not only advance our recovery, but lay the foundation for lasting, shared prosperity.
3
I know there’s some who believe we can only handle one challenge at a time. And they forget that Lincoln helped lay down the transcontinental railroad and passed the Homestead Act and created the National Academy of Sciences in the midst of civil war. Likewise, President Roosevelt didn’t have the luxury of choosing between ending a depression and fighting a war; he had to do both. President Kennedy didn’t have the luxury of choosing between civil rights and sending us to the moon. And we don’t have the luxury of choosing between getting our economy moving now and rebuilding it over the long term.
4
America will not remain true to its highest ideals—and America’s place as a global economic leader will be put at risk—unless we not only bring down the crushing cost of health care and transform the way we use energy, but also if we do—if we don’t do a far better job than we’ve been doing of educating our sons and daughters; unless we give them the knowledge and skills they need in this new and changing world.
5
For we know that economic progress and educational achievement have always gone hand in hand in America. The land-grant colleges and public high schools transformed the economy of an industrializing nation. The GI Bill generated a middle class that made America’s economy unrivaled in the 20th century. Investments in math and science under President Eisenhower gave new opportunities to young scientists and engineers all across the country. It made possible somebody like a Sergei Brin to attend graduate school and found an upstart company called Google that would forever change our world.
6
The source of America’s prosperity has never been merely how ably we accumulate wealth, but how well we educate our people. This has never been more true than it is today. In a 21st-century world where jobs can be shipped wherever there’s an Internet connection, where a child born in Dallas is now competing with a child in New Delhi, where your best job qualification is not what you do, but what you know—education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity and success, it’s a prerequisite for success.
7
That’s why workers without a four-year degree have borne the brunt of recent layoffs, Latinos most of all. That’s why, of the 30 fastest growing occupations in America, half require a bachelor’s degree or more. By 2016, four out of every 10 new jobs will require at least some advanced education or training.
8
So let there be no doubt: The future belongs to the nation that best educates its citizens—and my fellow Americans, we have everything we need to be that nation. We have the best universities, the most renowned scholars. We have innovative principals and passionate teachers and gifted students, and we have parents whose only priority is their child’s education. We have a legacy of excellence, and an unwavering belief that our children should climb higher than we did.
9
And yet, despite resources that are unmatched anywhere in the world, we’ve let our grades slip, our schools crumble, our teacher quality fall short, and other nations outpace us. Let me give you a few statistics. In 8th grade math, we’ve fallen to 9th place. Singapore’s middle-schoolers outperform ours three to one. Just a third of our 13- and 14-year-olds can read as well as they should. And year after year, a stubborn gap persists between how well white students are doing compared to their African-American and Latino classmates. The relative decline of American education is untenable for our economy, it’s unsustainable for our democracy, it’s unacceptable for our children—and we can’t afford to let it continue.
10
What’s at stake is nothing less than the American Dream. It’s what drew my father and so many of your fathers and mothers to our shores in pursuit of an education. It’s what led Linda Brown and Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez to bear the standard of all who were attending separate and unequal schools. It’s what has led generations of Americans to take on that extra job, to sacrifice the small pleasures, to scrimp and save wherever they can, in hopes of putting away enough, just enough, to give their child the education that they never had. It’s that most American of ideas, that with the right education, a child of any race, any faith, any station, can overcome whatever barriers stand in their way and fulfill their God-given potential.
Excerpt from "Speech to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce" by Barack Obama. In the public domain.
C.
The author develops a case through anecdotal evidence.
Read these sentences from paragraph 2.
As for intellect, all I can say is, if a woman have a pint, and a man a quart—why can't she have her little pint full? You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much,—for we can't take more than our pint'll hold.How does the rhetoric in these sentences support Truth's central idea?
A.
By firmly stating that most women are physically smaller than men, Truth argues that women should have rights specifically designed for them.
B.
By slyly suggesting that women could never be as smart as men, Truth assures men that granting women equal rights would not be a threat.
C.
By directly comparing a quart to a pint, Truth is embracing the idea that there will always be fundamental differences between men and women.
D.
By subtly referring to the fact that she has been unable to develop her intellect, Truth suggests that the power of her speech is based on emotion.
Speech at the Women's Rights Convention, 1851
by Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth (1797–1883) was an outspoken abolitionist and women's rights activist. Born a slave in 1797, Truth escaped with her infant daughter in 1826, and later successfully fought in court to gain emancipation for her son Peter as well. The following is an original transcript of her speech given at the 1851 Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, taken by journalist Marcus Robinson. It begins with his introduction.
1
One of the most unique and interesting speeches of the convention was made by Sojourner Truth, an emancipated slave. It is impossible to transfer it to paper, or convey any adequate idea of the effect it produced upon the audience. Those only can appreciate it who saw her powerful form, her whole-souled, earnest gestures, and listened to her strong and truthful tones. She came forward to the platform and addressing the President said with great simplicity: "May I say a few words?" Receiving an affirmative answer, she proceeded:
2
I want to say a few words about this matter. I am a woman's rights. I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal; I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as strong as any man that is now. As for intellect, all I can say is, if a woman have a pint, and a man a quart—why can't she have her little pint full? You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much,—for we can't take more than our pint'll hold. The poor men seem to be all in confusion, and don't know what to do. Why children, if you have woman's rights, give it to her and you will feel better. You will have your own rights, and they won't be so much trouble. I can't read, but I can hear. I have heard the bible and have learned that Eve caused man to sin. Well, if woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it right side up again. The Lady has spoken about Jesus, how he never spurned woman from him, and she was right. When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha came to him with faith and love and besought him to raise their brother. And Jesus wept and Lazarus came forth. And how came Jesus into the world? Through God who created him and woman who bore him. Man, where is your part? But the women are coming up blessed by God and a few of the men are coming up with them. But man is in a tight place, the poor slave is on him, woman is coming on him, and he is surely between a hawk and a buzzard.
"Speech at the Women's Rights Convention, 1851" by Sojurner Truth. In the public domain.
C.
By directly comparing a quart to a pint, Truth is embracing the idea that there will always be fundamental differences between men and women.
How does Marcus Robinson most show the effectiveness of Sojourner Truth’s speech?
A.
by quoting Sojourner Truth’s request to speak
B.
by suggesting that it was more than its mere words
C.
by showing how it was like other powerful speeches
D.
by describing her past as an emancipated slave
Speech at the Women's Rights Convention, 1851
by Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth (1797–1883) was an outspoken abolitionist and women's rights activist. Born a slave in 1797, Truth escaped with her infant daughter in 1826, and later successfully fought in court to gain emancipation for her son Peter as well. The following is an original transcript of her speech given at the 1851 Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, taken by journalist Marcus Robinson. It begins with his introduction.
1
One of the most unique and interesting speeches of the convention was made by Sojourner Truth, an emancipated slave. It is impossible to transfer it to paper, or convey any adequate idea of the effect it produced upon the audience. Those only can appreciate it who saw her powerful form, her whole-souled, earnest gestures, and listened to her strong and truthful tones. She came forward to the platform and addressing the President said with great simplicity: "May I say a few words?" Receiving an affirmative answer, she proceeded:
2
I want to say a few words about this matter. I am a woman's rights. I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal; I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as strong as any man that is now. As for intellect, all I can say is, if a woman have a pint, and a man a quart—why can't she have her little pint full? You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much,—for we can't take more than our pint'll hold. The poor men seem to be all in confusion, and don't know what to do. Why children, if you have woman's rights, give it to her and you will feel better. You will have your own rights, and they won't be so much trouble. I can't read, but I can hear. I have heard the bible and have learned that Eve caused man to sin. Well, if woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it right side up again. The Lady has spoken about Jesus, how he never spurned woman from him, and she was right. When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha came to him with faith and love and besought him to raise their brother. And Jesus wept and Lazarus came forth. And how came Jesus into the world? Through God who created him and woman who bore him. Man, where is your part? But the women are coming up blessed by God and a few of the men are coming up with them. But man is in a tight place, the poor slave is on him, woman is coming on him, and he is surely between a hawk and a buzzard.
"Speech at the Women's Rights Convention, 1851" by Sojurner Truth. In the public domain.
The most accurate summary of the speech by Bill Clinton is as follows:
D. Clinton defines affirmative action. He explains the necessity for it and calls for the reform of the current program because it is fundamentally sound. Clinton acknowledges that affirmative action has been good for America but also recognizes that it is not perfect and should not continue indefinitely. He emphasizes the need for it to be reformed and adjusted to address its flaws and ultimately retired when its job is done. He also outlines the four standards of fairness that should be applied to all affirmative action programs and directs all agencies to comply with a Supreme Court decision on the issue. Clinton concludes by urging a commitment to equal opportunity and merit in order to prepare all Americans for the future.