AP Gov Documents

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

• Schools were encouraging students to participate in morning prayer

• SCOTUS rules that school-led prayer violates establishment clause

  • Students can still prayer on their own accord

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

• Wisconsin sues Amish families for not sending their children to school past 8th grade

• SCOTUS rules that Wisconsin law violates free exerciseclause of the 1st Amendment

Schenck v. United States (1919)

• Two citizens arrested for spreading anti-draft sentiment

• SCOTUS rules that speech that creates a “clear and present danger” is not protected by the free speech clause of the 1st Amendment

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

• Public school suspends two students for wearing black armbands that protested the Vietnam War

• SCOTUS rules that symbolic speech is protected by the First Amendment, and free speech is more important than “maintaining order”

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

• Nixon tries to prevent the NY Times from publishing the Pentagon Papers (revealed Johnson admin. lied to Congress about extent of US involvement in Asia) on the grounds that it threaten national security

• SCOTUS ruled that this violated 1st Amendment’s freedom of the press and established a “heavy presumption against prior restraint”

• Difference from Schenk:

  • Not about the consequences of publishing, but rather what can be published

  • Also, the Pentagon Papers did not directly threaten troops in Vietnam and therefore presented no danger

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

• Chicago handgun ban challenged

• Does the 14th Amendment’s due process and privileges and immunities clause extend 2nd amendment to the states?

  • SCOTUS says yes, but didn’t set the scope of the 2nd amendment, restriction still possible

• Extended 2nd Amendment rights to all levels of government

• Previously, certain Constitutional protections (see selective incorporation) were excluded from the states and not automatically guaranteed

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

• Gideon denied an attorney

• SCOTUS rules that 14th amend.’s due process clause extends Sixth Amendment’s right to legal counsel to the states

  • state courts were responsible for providing a lawyer to a defendant who could not afford one

• selective incorporation

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

• African-American families sue BOE due to segregated schools

• SCOTUS ruled that segregated education violated 14th amendment’s equal protection clause and was therefore unconstitutional

  • “separate but equal” is false

  • Overrules that aspect of Plessy and major blow to segregation, but it would take a few more cases for the system to be completely torn down

  • This case set the precedent needed to finally defeat segregation, though

Baker v. Carr (1961)

• Congressional districts in states, including Tennessee, decided by geography instead of population, often leading to rural districts have more say than city districts

• Baker leads a group to sue on the grounds of unequal districting which violated equal protection clause of 14th amendment

• The Court ruled that Tennessee had acted unconstitutionally by not redistricting since 1901; establishing both the "one-person, one-vote" principle - that districts should be proportionately represented - and that the Court had jurisdiction to review state redistricting issues.

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

• DOJ demands that North Carolina add another minority district (there was only one)

• A group of white voters led by Shaw sues on the grounds that this was unconstitutional racial gerrymandering that violated 14th amendment’s equal protection clause

• SCOTUS rules mostly in favor of Shaw

  • While redistricting does have to be weary of race and comply with Voting Rights Act of 1965, it cannot exceed what is reasonably needed to avoid racial imbalance

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

• Federalist directly sues Jefferson admin. over rejected judicial commission

• Affirms judicial review

  • SCOTUS (led by Marshall) rules that they do not have the power to decide this case as the law that granted them jurisdiction over this case was unconstitutional and therefore void.

  • First instance of the Court striking down legislature it deems unconstitutional

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Guaranteed the supremacy of federal laws over state laws and declared that Congress has implied powers not listed in the Constitution in order to fulfill their enumerated powers (necessary and proper).

Federal power

US v. Lopez (1995)

• Supreme Court case which stopped Congress from using the commerce clause to ban guns in schools (limiting Necessary and Proper)

• State power

Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963)

• MLK, 1963

• Criticized idea that civil rights protesters should wait for their demands to be met

• One has a “moral responsibility” to break unjust laws, no matter the consequences, to further the movement

• Nonviolent direct action creates the tension necessary to accomplish goals

Federalist No. 10

• James Madison

• Argues that a large, strong, representative government can control factionalism

• Instability stems from bickering rival parties which leads to the dictatorship of the majority

• Participatory democracies lead to this harmful majority rule, vulnerability to uneducated statemen as rulers

• Large Republics are more adept to handle large populations, regulate the views of the people with wise representatives

  • However, a pure elite democracy can lead to a selfish oligarchy, so a balanced number of representatives is needed

  • Therefore, the best form of government is a pluralist democracy in which there are many different views which prevent the absolute rule of a majority

Brutus No. 1

• Anti-federalist essay

• Argues against a strong, centralized government as it would not be able to adequately represent all citizens in such a large society

  • Pluralism in such a government would also be inefficient, indecisive due to many factions

• A large government would also eventually become tyrannical

Federalist No. 51

• Outlined Checks and Balances; Separation of Powers

• Important in keeping the government from becoming too powerful or under the absolute control of one faction

• A complex policy process (requiring majorities in two houses, approval from two other branches) as a whole is needed to prevent the dangers listed above

Federalist No. 70

• Strong executive is essential to a secure and safe republic

• Strong executive vested in one person is the most efficient; The court of public opinion fails with a larger executive since impeachment becomes harder if you don’t know who to blame

• Right of the executive to secrecy

Acronym for Articles and their Papers?

Legislative - Article 1, Federalist 51

Executive - Article 2, Federalist 70

Judicial - Article III, Federalist 78

Notice how numbers are in order for the papers