GOV Unit 0

1st amendment

Freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, and petition

2nd amendment

Right to bear arms

3rd Amendment

Gov can't force you to quarter (house and feed) soldiers

4th Amendment

No unreasonable search and seizure

5th Amendment

Protects against double jeopardy and self-incrimination

6th Amendment

Defendants get a speedy and public trial and a lawyer

7th Amendment

Guarantees the right to a jury trial in civil lawsuits

8th Amendment

Prohibits excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment

9th Amendment

You have the rights listed here but they're not your only rights

10th Amendment

Powers not given to the federal government belong to the states and the people

Brutus 1

an Anti-Federalist Paper arguing that the Constitution gave too much power and flexibility to the central gov and that democracy couldn't work in such a large country.

Federalist 10

said that actually a large republic was the best way to control factions.

Federalist 51

said it would be okay because we'd have separation of powers and checks and balances, ideas that came from the Enlightenment thinker Montesquieu.

Federalist 70

argued for a strong unitary executive to defend democracy from threats.

Federalist 78

argued for judicial independence through lifetime appointment of judges.

3/5 compromise

said that enslaved persons counted as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of determining representation.

Great Compromise

between big states and small states (the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan) and it introduced the system we have today, which is that Congress is bicameral

Supremacy clause

the Constitution is the supreme law of the land

13th Amendment

Banned slavery

14th amendment

that states can't deprive citizens of due process and the equal protection of the law.

15th Amendment

gave African Americans voting rights but Jim Crow laws and segregation prevented this until the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.

Civil Rights Act

1964

Voting Rights Act

1965

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

SCOTUS can invalidate unconstitutional laws = judicial review

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

fed gov can form a national bank = expanded federal power

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

very bad decision. Held that slaves are not citizens

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

very bad decision. Held that racial segregation is okay

Schenck v. US (1919)

gov can limit free speech if it poses a clear and present danger

Korematsu v. US (1944)

very bad decision. Held that the internment (imprisonment) of Japanese Americans in camps during WWII was okay.

Brown v. Board (1954)

SCOTUS finally realizes that segregation is wrong!

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

if they search your stuff without a warrant, the evidence they obtained that way is excluded from your trial.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

states draw their own voting district maps but courts can intervene

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

prayer in schools violates freedom of religion, specifically the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

you have a right to a lawyer even if you can't afford one

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

cops tell you your rights ("You have the right to remain silent...")

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

students can wear armbands to protest Vietnam War.

Students have free speech if it doesn't interfere with education.

New York Times v. US (1971)

government can't tell the press not to print something before they print it, they have to wait until it's printed and then complain (prior restraint = bad)

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

Amish people don't have to send their kids to public school because this would violate freedom of religion, specifically the Free Exercise clause

Roe v. Wade (1973)

abortion is legal (overturned by the Dobbs decision in 2022)

US v. Nixon (1974)

Nixon Watergate scandal, presidential immunity doesn't protect him from subpoenas. Rule of law!! Checks and balances!

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

you can burn a flag because it's symbolic speech

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional

US v. Lopez (1995)

federal government has had too much power over the states

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

guns

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

more guns

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

corporations can spend lots and lots of $$$ on political

candidates because corporations are people too

Federalism

The federal government and the state governments share power.

Referendum

When a state asks all citizens to vote on a decision

Magna Carta

England limited the power of kings in 1215

A republic

That means representatives of the people

took part in decision-making.

Direct Democracy

everyone could participate in decision-making.

Rule of Law

no one is above the law.

Mayflower Compact

The pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower in 1620 signed .... before landing in America. The majority rules.

Popular Sovereignty

The consent of the governed. The people are the highest power in the land.