Unit 3 Test Flashcards
What are civil liberties?
Freedoms guaranteed by the BOR
What is the Bill of Rights?
The first 10 Amendments of the Constitution
What does the Bill of Rights do?
Limits the power of the government to protect individual freedoms and liberties
What do civil liberties do?
Protects us against abuse from the government to protect individual freedoms and liberties
What are civil rights?
Rights that guarantee freedom of equality for any race, gender, or other demographic group
What are individual rights?
Constitutional rights protected by the law
What does the First Amendment Protect?
Religion, speech, the press, expression, assembly, and petition
What are the important cases of the First Amendment Freedom of Religion
Engel v Vitale / Wisconsin v Yoder
Engel v Vitale (1962)
○ Group of Jewish families sued a NY school district for having a prayer in
the morning
○ Supreme Court ruled that prayer violated the establishment clause
Wisconsin v Yoder (1972)
○ An Amish family sued Wisconsin for requiring them to pay a fine for not
sending their children to school after the eighth grade
○ Supreme Court ruled in favor of the family saying that they were protected
under the First Amendment free exercise clause
What does the First Amendment Freedom of Religion do
○ Prevents the government from establishing a religion
○ Government cannot prevent an individual from practicing their
faith/religion
What does the Establishment Clause do?
○ Government cannot support an official religion
○ Government cannot force an individual to follow a religion
○ Promotes separation of church and state
What does the Free Exercise Clause say?
○ Government cannot interfere w/ an individual’s religion or its practices
■ Limitations include polygamy, drug use, etc.
What is the Lemon Test?
A test to determine if a law violates the establishment clause
What is the criteria to pass the Lemon Test?
■ Has a legitimate secular purpose
■ Does not advance or inhibit religion
■ Does not have “excessive entanglement” with religion
What are important cases of the First Amendment Freedom of Speech.
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) / Schenck v. United States (1919)
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)
○ Students were suspended for wearing black armbands in protest of the
Vietnam War
○ Supreme Court ruled that armbands were a form of symbolic speech
■ Protected under the first amendment
Schenck v. United States (1919)
○ During WWI, a man was arrested for handing out a flier that urged men to
resist the draft and not enlist
○ Arrested under the Espionage Act of 1917
■ Schenck argued that his arrest violated his freedom of Speech
○ Supreme Court ruled against Schenck, stating that speech inciting “clear
and present danger” was not protected by the first amendment
What does the First Amendment Freedom of Expression guarantee
Freedom to speech and nonverbal symbolic speech
What does the principle of Clear and Present Danger mean
Government can only restrict/ punish speech that incites lawless action
What is symbolic speech
=Nonverbal forms of speech (ie. signs, symbolic protest (burning the American flag)
What is hate speech
Written or spoken speech that degrades a group based on its characteristics
What is obscenity
Lewd o/ sexual publication that lack literary or artistic merit
Defamation definition
Damaging one’s reputation by making false statement
What is the Espionage Act (1917)
Banned opposition to US operation or supporting US enemies during wartime
What is an importnant case in the First Amendment Freedom of the Press?
New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
○ Government attempted to prevent the New York Times from publishing
the pentagon papers
○ Supreme Court ruled that the New York Times were protected by the First
Amendment Freedom of the Press
What is Freedom of the Press?
Right to publish/ disperse information or opinions without government
censorship
What is libel?
Damaging an individual’s reputation by printing false statements
What are the Pentagon Papers?
○ Top-secret document leaked to the New York Times
○ Discussed US military involvement in Vietnam
■ Proved President Lyndon B. Johnson lied to Congress and the
people about the extent of the Vietnam War