Barron's AP Government and Politics Unit 3

affirmative action

Programs for minorities supported by government as a means of providing equality under the law.

civil liberties

Those rights of the people that are protected by the Bill of Rights.

civil rights

The application of equal protection under the law to individuals.

clear and present danger doctrine

Established in Schenck v United States (1919), it gives the government the right to censor free speech if, during national emergencies such as war, it can be proven that the result of that speech will significantly endanger national security.

de facto segregation

Segregation of schools and other public facilities through circumstance, with no law supporting it.

de jure segregation

Segregation by law, made illegal by Brown v. Board of Education.

Due Process Clause

Clause found in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution that guarantees a person's rights are protected through procedural processes.

Equal Protection Clause

Phrase found in the Fourteenth Amendment that furthers the legal concept of civil rights. Originally intended to protect freed former slaves, the clause was later expanded by court interpretation to protect other minority groups.

Establishment Clause

Component of the First Amendment to the Constitution that defines the right of citizens to practice religion without governmental interference and states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion".

Exclusionary Rule

Rule that resulted from the Mapp v. Ohio decision determining that police may obtain only evidence that can be had through a legitimate search warrant. Other evidence found at the scene of the crime is not admissible, or is excluded, in the trial.

Free Exercise Clause

Phrase found in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that guarantees an individual the right to practice the religion of his or her choice by making it illegal for Congress to pass laws that restrict this right.

Miranda rights

Rights directing police to inform the accused upon arrest if the constitutional right to remain silent, that anything said could be used in court, that they have the right to consult with a lawyer at any time during the process, that a lawyer will be provided f the accused cannot afford one, that the accused understands these rights, and that the accused has the right to refuse to answer any questions at any time and request a lawyer at any point.

nationalization of the Bill of Rights

A judicial doctrine of the Fourteenth Amendment also known as selective incorporation that applied the Bill of Rights to the states in matters such as segregation.

selective incorporation

The process by which provisions of the Bill of Rights are brought within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment and so applied to state and local governments.

Letter from Birmingham Jail (Martin Luther King Jr.)

An open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King Jr. The letter defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism. It says that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and to take direct action rather than waiting, potentially forever, for justice to come through the courts.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Established the legality of access to public accommodations, theaters, hotels, and other public facilities.

Title IX of the Education Act of 1972

Prohibited gender discrimination in federally subsidized education programs.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Prohibited states from passing their own restrictive voting laws without "pre clearance" from the Department of Justice. It also led to the passage of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment, which outlawed poll taxes in federal elections.

Schneck v. United States (1919)

Schneck continued to print, distribute material, and speak against U.S. efforts in World War I. He was tried and convicted for violating the Espionage Act. The issue was: Did the government have the right to censor material in time of national emergency? In an unanimous decision, Justice Holmes ruled for the majority that Schneck did not have the right to print, speak, and distribute material against U.S. efforts in World War I because a "clear and present danger" existed.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Brown was forced to attend segregated schools the state claimed were "separate but equal". The constitutional issue was whether the state violated Brown's equal protection as established in the Fourteenth Amendment. In a unanimous decision, the Court found that race-based segregation violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and ordered schools to be integrated.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Students in a public high school refused to recite a nondenominational (not connected to any religion) prayer that started with the words "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon thee". The issue was whether the establishment clause of the First Amendment was violated by New York State because it made the recitation of this prayer mandatory? The majority decision ruled that the prayer was unconstitutional and violated the establishment clause.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Earl Gideon was refused the right to have an attorney after he robbed a pool hall. He was subsequently put on trial and had to defend himself. The constitutional issue was Gideon being denied his Sixth Amendment right to have an attorney represent him. In an unanimous decision the court established that the accused has the right to an attorney even if he or she cannot afford one.

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)

Students were suspended after being warned not to wear black armbands as a symbol of protest against the Vietnam War. The constitutional issue: Were the students' First Amendment free-speech rights violated by the school district for protesting using symbolic speech? This decision established that students' rights are "not shed at the schoolhouse gates" and defined the students' wearing a black armband in silent protest of the Vietnam War as "a legitimate form of symbolic speech".

New York Times Company v. United States (1971)

The New York Times printed the Pentagon Papers, a secret study of the Vietnam War, and the U.S. government attempted to halt its publication, claiming it would hurt the national security of the United States. The constitutional issue was whether the New York Times was protected by the First Amendment's free-press clause even in the case where the government declares the material essential to national security. The Supreme Court ruled that the government did not have the right to prevent the New York Times from printing information about the history of the country's involvement in the Vietnam War.

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

The state of Wisconsin had a law that mandated school attendance for everybody past the eighth grade. Amish students refused to attend high school after finishing the eighth grade. The constitutional issue was whether the state law violated the free exercise clause of the First Amendment? In an unanimous decision the Supreme Court ruled that a state could not force Amish students to attend school past the eighth grade because it violated the free exercise clause.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Petitioner "Roe" wanted to terminate her pregnancy by having an abortion. Texas law prohibited abortions except in a case where a mother's life is in danger. The constitutional issue was: Did a right to privacy established in a prior Supreme Court case and protected by the Constitution's Fourth Amendment give Roe the right to an abortion? The majority decision used the concept of being "secure in their persons" - the Supreme Court ruled that abortions are constitutionally protected. It set up a trimester system allowing unrestricted abortions in the first trimester but regulated abortions during the second trimester and allowed the states to ban abortion during the third trimester unless the mother's or baby's life was endangered.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

The City of Chicago maintained its gun-control laws after the Supreme Court ruled in Heller that the Second Amendment gave an individual the right to bear arms. The constitutional issue was whether Chicago had violated the Fourteenth Amendment's due-process clause. The court's decision upholding an individual's right to bear arms cleared up the uncertainty left in the wake of District of Colombia v. Heller as to the scope of gun rights in regard to the states.

Prior Restraint

the actions of a governmental body that result in the censorship of written material (pentagon case)

Procedural due process

A series of steps established by the 5th, 6th, and 7th amendments that protect the rights of the accused at every step of an investigation.

separate but equal

The judicial precedent established in the Plessy v Ferguson decision that enabled states to interpret the equal protection provision of the 14th Amendment as a means of establishing segregation