- What are civil liberties?
individual freedoms guaranteed by the constitution
- What are civil rights?
freedom for individual groups (think equal rights)
- When was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution and what was its purpose?
1791 restricts the federal government from infringing listed rights. it was a compromise between federalists and anti-federalists
- Who did it restrict? Did it apply restrictions to states?
Federal government, not states
- What amendment did the court start using to apply the Bill of Rights as restrictions to the states?
14th
- What is selective incorporation? How is it applied? What does the 14th Amendment have to do with it? *This will be very important throughout our class.
The ability of the court to apply rights to the states on a case-by-case basis
- Have all amendments been applied to the states?
no
- What were Jim Crow laws and/or “black codes”? What did they try to do?
Laws restricting the freedoms of black Americans
- What is the difference between de facto and de jure discrimination?
de facto: habit, custom (harder to fix)
de jure: laws
- What happened to Japanese Americans during World War II?
they were sent to internment camps
- What happened in Plessy v. Ferguson?
establishment of “separate but equal”
- What happened in Brown v. Board of Education? How are these (Plessy v. Ferguson) cases related?
undid separate but equal established in Plessy v. Ferguson
- In the Little Rock 9, what branch was responsible for enforcing Brown decision? How was it enforced?
Executive, paratroopers escorted the students to school
- What happened to the Equal Rights Amendment? Who would it have applied to?
The ERA was never fully ratified, it would have applied to women
- How does the court test freedom of speech? Know the ones discussed in the book and how they are applied.
clear and present danger test
imminent lawless action test
miller test (obscenity must be based on local standards)
- Are there limits on freedom of speech and expression?
yes
- What are due process rights and what is their purpose?
laws must be fair and suspects must be treated fairly
- What is libel?
written defamation of character
- What is habeas corpus?
The right to be brought before a judge and informed of the charges and evidence against you
- What was the purpose of the 19th Amendment?
women’s right to vote
- Why is there a debate about religion and the Constitution? Is the Constitution ambiguous in its handling of religion and the role of the state?
many differing opinions
Yes, there is ambiguity
- What is the Lemon test and how is it applied?
Law must:
have secular purpose
not advance religion
not have excessive entanglement with religion
- What does imminent lawless action mean and how is it used?
speech that is aimed at or likely to incite lawless action
- What is the difference between separationists and accommodationists?
separationists: separate church and state
accommodationists: want to accommodate all religions equally
