Chapter 4 vocab Flashcards
Civil liberty
Freedoms to think and act without government interference or fear of unfair legal treatment.
Free speech
The right to say our opinions, in public or in private, without fear of being stopped or punished by the government for those ideas.
Censorship
The banning of printed materials or films due to alarming or offensive ideas.
Petition
a formal request for government action.
Slander
Spoken untruths that are harmful to someone’s reputation.
Libel
Written untruths that are harmful to someone’s reputation.
Civil
Of or relating to citizens.
Restriction
Limit placed on something.
Accused
A person officially charged with a crime.
Probable cause
- Strong reasons to think that a person or property was involved in a crime.
Search warrant
A court order allowing law-enforcement officers to search a suspect’s home or business and take specific items as evidence.
Indictment
A document issued by a body called a grand jury that formally charges someone with a crime.
Double jeopardy
Putting someone on trial for a crime of which he or she was previously found not guilty.
Self- incrimination
Giving evidence that could lead to one being found guilty of a crime.
Due process-
Following established legal procedures.
Eminent domain
The right of the government to take private property for public use.
Bail
A sum of money used as a security deposit to ensure that an accused person returns for his or her trial.
License
A document granting the holder permission to do something.
Retain
To keep or hold secure.
Black codes
Laws from after the civil war that kept African Americans from holding certain jobs, gave them few property rights, and limited their rights in other ways.
Suffrage
The right to vote.
Poll tax
A sum of money required of voters before they are permitted to cast a ballot.
Eliminate
To take away or to end.
Conduct
To carry out.
Discrimination
Unfair treatment based on prejudice against a certain group.
Segregation
The social separation of the races.
Jim Crow law
Southern segregation law.
Civil rights
The rights of full citizenship and equality under the law.
Nonviolent resistance
Peaceful protest against laws believed to be unfair.
Sit-in
The act of occupying seats or sitting down on the floor of an establishment as a form of organized protest.
Hate crime
A violent act against a person because of his or her race, color, national origin, gender, or disability.
Persist
To last or to continue.
Exploit
To use unfairly for someone else’s gain.
