AP government - unit 3 test

The 2nd amendment: controversy and McDonald v. Chicago Case (2010)

The 2nd amendment was quite controversial since people didn’t know if the Constitution could protect our right to bear arms under ALL circumstances or as a part of a well-regulated militia. For now, individual rights have been upheld, and states or local governments have been allowed to make their own gun laws.

The McDonald V. Chicago Case was a court case where McDonald had wanted to purchase a handgun for self-defense, but government regulations didn’t allow him to do so. The main issue about this case was whether Chicago’s law had violated the rights of Otis McDonald or not. Ex. Did he even commit a crime?

The decision that was made for this case was 5-4 and it had ruled that the city of Chicago and all ciyies could not impede on the citizen right to bear arms.

Freedom of Religion and the Establishment Clause

freedom of religion - every American has the right to the free exercise of religion (ex., the government can’t prevent you from practicing your religion)

This right wasn’t absolute, ex. You cannot deny medical treatment to children, harm others, or engage in polygamy

The Establishment Clause - prevents the government from establishing a state religion so no school prayer, government displays of religion, or bans on the teaching of evolution,, aka religiously motivated bans 

NY Times V. US (1971)

Context: Daniel Ellsberg had leaked the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret report and history of the US’s role in Vietnam, to the NY Times. The government had sued him and Antony Russo (two whistleblowers), saying that it was a violation of the Espionage act of 1917 and that the government had the right to prior restraint

Decision: 6-3 ruling in favor of the newspaper. Therefore, the government had a strong argument for using prior restraint. The case was very popular and established the right of the press to criticize and challenge the government’s perspective.

Dr. MLK Jr’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”

MLK was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, for his role in marches and sit-ins to protest against segregation.

-He wrote his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” which urged Americans to protest nonviolently in order to achieve their goals

Big Idea: When should we accept protests? When are they justified, and what does it mean to incite violence?

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

John and Mary Beth Tinker were suspended from school for wearing Black, anti-war armbands as a form of protest during the Vietnam War. (against it)

The Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment had protected students in public schools as long as their speech didn’t cause substantial disruption.

Employment Division v. Smith (1990)

This states that states could deny unemployment benefits to someone fired for using peyote even if it was a part of a religious ritual, so if a state has a law prohibiting a drug, religious reasons couldn’t be used to justify its usage. This was also a good example of the limits of religious freedom and how no freedoms were absolute.

Brown V. Board of Edu. (1954)

20 families from Topeka, Kansas filed a lawsuit against the city’s Board of Edu for enforcing school segregation. The issue was whether the 14th Amendment’s “Equal Protection clause” applies to school segregation, meaning: did it violate the idea that individuals should be treated equally in similar circumstances. 

Decision: 9-0, the Supreme Court had shut down segregation nationwide b/c separation is inherently unequal. This didn’t end segregation immediately, but it was a big step towards it. The federal government had sent the National Guard to integrate schools and to implement busing programs.