Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

What is the difference between civil liberties and civil rights

Civil rights are protections from discrimination. Civil liberties are individual freedoms that should not be infringed upon by the government such as freedom of speech.

What was the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

What was the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Banned any sort of racial discrimination in voting such as literacy tests. These became common in Southern states to prevent black people from voting.

What was Title IX

Banned sex-based discrimination in education programs that receive federal funding. best known for increasing gender equity in sports, requiring schools and colleges to offer equal athletic opportunities for male and female students.

What is the Establishment Clause

Bans the national government from establishing a national religion and favoring a religion over another. forms the basis of the separation of church and state.

What is the Free Exercise Clause

One can practice any religion they want to unless it harms other people.

What is the clear and present danger test

Speech may be restricted if it poses a “clear and present danger” of causing significant harm, such as inciting violence. Over time, this standard has changed, but it laid the foundation for limits on speech in certain contexts.

What is libel

What is slander

What is hate speech

Threatening speech targeted to a specific group. It could be based on race, religion, or other characteristics. Most of the time, it is protected under the first amendment.

What is prior restraint

A form of censorship by the federal government that allows them to stop something from being published or said. It is almost always unconstitutional.

What is the exclusionary rule

If evidence is obtained illegally, it cannot be used in court.

What is selective incorporation

Process by which the Supreme Court applies protections from the Bill of Rights to the states on a case by case basis slowly over time.

What is total incorporation

All protections in the Bill of Rights should automatically apply to the states through the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause. While this idea has been proposed, the Supreme Court has not adopted it and instead uses selective incorporation to apply rights on a case-by-case basis.

What is the due process clause

Found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. Essentially, it guarantees that the government cannot deprive a person of “life, liberty, or property” without fair legal procedures.

What was the Seneca Falls Convention

The first ever women’s rights convention. Women met to discuss how to obtain equal rights. It was held in Seneca Falls, NY and led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. It produced the Declaration of Sentiments which called for equal rights for women, including the right to vote.

What were the Stonewall Riots

A series of protests against the police raid of a gay bar. It pushed gay rights to a national agenda and is remembered as the first major protest in favor of LGBTQ+ rights.

What is civil disobedience

To not follow laws or rules that one deems unfair/unjust as a form of protest. It has been used by figures like Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi, and MLK.

What is the separate but equal doctrine

A legal principle that upheld racial segregation, asserting that as long as facilities for African Americans were equal in quality to those for White Americans, segregation was constitutionally allowed. This doctrine was established by the Supreme Court in the case Plessy v Ferguson (1896). This was later overturned by Brown v Board of Education (scroll down to the SCOTUS section of this guide to get info on that case if needed).

What is the Letter From Birmingham Jail about

Who wrote it

What is affirmative action

Policies and programs designed to address past discrimination and promote diversity in education, employment, and government. These policies may give preferences to underrepresented groups, such as racial minorities or women. Affirmative action has been upheld and challenged in various Supreme Court cases and remains a controversial topic.