AP US Government & Politics - Unit 3 Vocab

Affirmative Action

Policies intended to address workplace and educational disparities related to race, ethnic origin, gender, disability, and age; Supreme Court debate has focused on whether affirmative action is protected by the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

Civil Rights

Protect individuals from discrimination based on characteristics such as race, national origin, religion, and sex; these rights are guaranteed to tall persons under the due process and equal protection clauses of the US Constitution, as well as acts of Congress.

Civil Liberties

Constitutionally established guarantees and freedoms that protect citizens, opinions, and property against arbitrary government interference.

Bill of Rights

Consists of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, which enumerate the liberties and rights of individuals, and is specifically designed to protect individual liberties and rights; application of the Bill of Rights is continuously interpreted by the courts.

Judicial Review

The power of the courts to determine whether acts by Congress, the president, or any laws are constitutional.

Selective Incorporation

Doctrine that imposed limitations on state regulation of civil liberties by extending select protections of the Bill of Rights to the states through the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.

Establishment Clause

Prohibits the establishment of an official religion by the government.

Free Exercise Clause

Guarantees freedom of conscience and prohibits the government from interfering in religious belief.

Symbolic Speech

Nonverbal action that communicates an idea or belief.

Clear and Present Danger

Speech that can be limited when it is shown to present a danger to public safety.

Due Process Clause

States that the government may not infringe on a person's right to life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Miranda Rights

Requires accused persons to be informed of some procedural protections found in the 5th and 6th Amendments prior to interrogation.

Patriot Act

Congressional legislation enacted in the wake of 9/11 designed to expand surveillance abilities of law enforcement, facilitate interagency communication, and increase penalties of acts of terrorism.

Exclusionary Rule

Stipulates that evidence illegally seized by law enforcement officers in violation of the suspect's 4th amendment rights cannot be used against that suspect in criminal prosecution.

Equal Protection Clause

The clause in the 14th Amendment that prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination.

National Organization of Women

A feminist organization which lobbies for gender equality.

Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972

Prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Prohibits discrimination in public places, provides for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and makes employment discrimination illegal.

Civil Rights Movement

A nonviolent social movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 to abolish legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United States.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Prohibits racial discrimination in voting.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

A letter by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stating people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and take direct action instead of waiting for social and racial justice through the court system.

Women's Rights Movement

A nonviolent social movement and campaign during the 1960s and 1970s to address gender equality and discrimination with a focus on equal employment and pay, reproductive rights, and discrimination in employment and education.

LGBTQ Rights

Political and social rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender individuals; gains have been made for same-sex activities and behaviors, same-sex marriage, and discrimination in employment; opposition to transgender and gender identity continues.

Pro-Life Movement

An anti-abortion movement based on moral and religious grounds supporting legal restrictions and prohibitions on abortions with many believing life begins at conception.

Pro-Choice Movement

A movement supporting the view that women should have the legal right to an elective abortion based on a recognized right to privacy.

Separate but Equal Doctrine

State laws and Supreme Court decisions restricting African American access to the same restaurants, hotels, schools, etc., as the majority white population.

Majority-minority districting

Drawing an electoral district in which the majority of constituents are racial or ethnic minorities.

Substantive Due Process

Used by the Supreme Court to examine whether government laws and actions are arbitrary infringements of individual rights.

Unenumerated Rights

Recognized constitutionally protected rights that are not explicitly listed in the Bill of Rights; include the right to privacy.

Right to Privacy

A recognized constitutionally protected right not explicitly named in the Constitution; interpreted by the Supreme Court to be granted by the Due Process clause in Griswold v. Connecticut.

Time, place, manner regulations

Regulations that impose restrictions such as limits on the time of day an event can be held, limits on where an event can be held, and limits on the noise levels at an event.

Jim Crow

Jim Crow laws were created by white southerners to enforce racial segregation across the South from the 1870s through the 1960s.

1st Amendment

Government power to make law and an individual's right to religious freedom through the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause; freedom of speech, freedom of the press.

2nd Amendment

Right to bear arms.

4th Amendment

The right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

5th Amendment

Due Process Clause in the 5th Amendment applies to the national government. It gives everyone the right to a grand jury.

6th Amendment

The right to legal counsel, speedy and public trial, and an impartial jury.

8th Amendment

Cruel and unusual punishment; Supreme Court interpretations of the 8th Amendment have applied to death penalty statutes.

9th Amendment

States that individuals have protected rights beyond those listed in the first 8 amendments; some argue it provides support for the existence of unenumerated rights.

14th Amendment

Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause as applied to the states; granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the US, including formerly enslaved people.

15th Amendment

Gave African American men the right to vote.

19th Amendment

Gave women the right to vote.

24th Amendment

Prohibits Congress from imposing poll taxes.

Obscenity

Speech that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time and society.

Defamation

Language that harms the reputation of another.

Libel

Written communication of defamation.

USA Freedom Act

Congressional legislation intended to limit bulk collection of telecommunication metadata on US citizens by American intelligence agencies and end secret laws of FISA courts.

Engel v. Vitale

School sponsorship of religious activities violates the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment.

Wisconsin v. Yoder

Compelling Amish students to attend school past the 8th grade violates the Free Exercise Clause of the 1st Amendment.

Mapp v. Ohio

The 1961 Supreme Court decision ruled that the 4th Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures must be extended to the states.

Tinker v. Des Moines

A prohibition against public school students wearing black armbands in school to protest the Vietnam War violated the students' freedom of speech protections in the 1st Amendment.

Schenck v. US

Speech creating a "clear and present danger" was not protected by the 1st Amendment and could be limited.

Brown v. Board of Education

Declared that race-based school segregation violates the 14th amendment's equal protection clause; overturned Plessy v. Ferguson.

Brown II

The Supreme Court directed future desegregation cases to lower federal courts, emphasizing the need to proceed "with all deliberate speed."

Roe v. Wade

The Supreme Court held that the application of substantive due process further extended the privacy right to abortion.

Griswold v. Connecticut

The Supreme Court interpreted the due process clause to protect the rights of privacy from government infringement.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health

Overturned Roe v. Wade, holding that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, leaving decisions about the regulation of abortion to legislatures.

Regents of University of California v. Bakke

A 1978 Supreme Court decision holding that a state university may weigh race or ethnic backgrounds as one element in admissions but may not set aside places for members of particular racial groups.

Gideon v. Wainwright

In this case, the 6th Amendment's right to an attorney extends procedural due process protections to felony defendants in state courts.

New York Times v. US

This case bolstered the freedom of the press protections of the 1st Amendment, establishing a "heavy presumption against prior restraint" even in cases involving national security.

McDonald v. Chicago

The 2nd amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense is applicable to the states.