Unit 2: The United States Constitution Review Study Guide

rule of law

idea that all individuals, including political leaders, must follow the law

amendment

an addition, specifically referring to an addition to the US constitution

double-jeopardy

being tried twice for the same criminal incident

self-incrimination

giving information about oneself that is likely to implicate oneself in a crime

Elections are a form of limiting government

(republicanism, popular sovereignty, individual rights) (Article I, Section 4; Article II, Section 1)

Legislative, executive, and judicial powers

(Checks and balances and separation of powers) (Article 1, Section 7 & 8; Article II, Sections 2&3; Article III, Section 2)

Federal and state powers

Federalism and separation of powers (Article I, Section 4 & 10, Article IV, Sections 2,3,&4)

Mapp v Ohio

Evidence obtain in violation of the fourth amendment, which protects against “unreasonable searches and seizures,” may not be used in criminal prosecutions in state courts, as well as federal courts

Gideon v Wainwright

state courts are required under the sixth amendment of the constitution to provide counsel in criminal cases for defendants who are unable to afford their own attorneys

Miranda v Arizona

under the fifth amendment, suspects in a criminal action must be informed of their rights before making a confession

Texas v Johnson

The first amendment protects buring the american flag in protest and other forms of political expression and symbolic speech

Schenck vs US

speech and presents a danger to the community is not protected by the First Amendment

Engel v Vitale

under the first amendment’s freedom of religion requirements, a state may not require school children to recite a specific prayer at the beginning of each school day

Separation of church and state

these words do not appear in the Constitution, but stem from the ideas of James Madison and Thomas Jefferson calling for a “wall of separation” between church and state, meaning little or no connection between the two

Establishment clause

clause in the first amendment’ “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” and was meant to prevent the establishment of a national church. Beyond this ban on a national church, scholars and the court continue to debate the meaning of the clause. Some believe it merely prevent the government from favoring one religion over another, while others believe there should be a “wall of separation” between church and state

Separation of church and state

these words do not appear in the Constitution, but stem from the ideas of James Madison and Thomas Jefferson calling for a “wall of separation” between church and state, meaning little or no connection between the two

Blaine Amendment

name given to a collective state constitutional amendments that bar public funding of religious organizations

Article 5 of the Constitution outlines the process for amending the Constitution

Proposal by either 2/3 vote of each house of Congress or by a national convention requested by 2/3 of the state legislatures

Ratification by 3/4 of the states in their legislatures or in state conventions

14th amendment

all person born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the Jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States’ nor shall an state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws

15th amendent

the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition servitude-

16th amendment

the congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration

19th amendment

gives women the right to vote

18th amendment

banned alcohol (prohibition)

26th amendment

set the voting age to 18yrs

double-jeopardy

being tried twice for the same criminal incident

federalism

political system in which power is shared between a national centralized government and a collection of smaller state governments

popular sovereignty

independent power giving to the people

checks and balances

a system in which limits are placed on functions of government so no one part becomes too powerful

separation of powers

policy of dividing power among different branches of government in order to ensure no one branch has too much power r

republicanism

government in which representatives are chosen as leaders

Provisions for limiting the role of government include

republicanism, checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, popular sovereignty, and individual rights

The amendment process illustrates

federalism in that proposal in a national function and ratification is the state function. The amendment process ensures that the Constitution can be changed to meet the needs of the people. Yet the process is not so simple as to induce drastic, constant changes

13th amendment

Section 1: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction

Section 2: Congress shall have power to enforce this articles by appropriate legislation

14th amendment

section 1: all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subjects to this jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any States deprived any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws

15th amendment

section 1: the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of serivitude

section 2: the congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation

16th amendment

the congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes of incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration

18th amendment

section1:

after one year of the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within the importation, thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subjected to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited

19th amendment

the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation

21st amendment

section 1 18th article of amendment to the constitution of the United States is hereby repealed

22nd amendment

section 1: no person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice, and no person who has held the office of president, or acted as president, for more than 2 years of a term to which one other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once

24th amendment

Section 1: the right of the citizens of the United States to vote in primary or other election for president or vice president, for electors for president or vice president, or for senators or representative in congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax

section 2: the congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation

26th amendment

section 1: the right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age of older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age

section 2: the congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation

Limited government

a chief purpose of the Constitution is the guarantee the equal protection of individual rights from an abusive government. the Bill of rights was included with the intention of listing key rights that the government must respect and well as defend

Rule of law

individuals and minority political voice are protected from the tyranny of the majority ensuring that despite potentially destructive decisions by the majority the right of the minority cannot be infringed upon

Unalienable rights

are fundamental rights or natural rights guaranteed to people naturally instead of by the law

1st amendment-right to assembly-freedom of expression

1. gathered at a protest

2. speaking my mind at a city hall meeting

3. expressing my political opinion through my outfits

after that is done illustrate those scenarios/laws in the paper provided

individual rights include

due process protections of habeas corpus, presumption of innocence, impartial juries, speedy and public trais, right to counsel, trial by jury right against self incrimination, protection against double jeopardy, right of appeal, protections against unfair punishment, and right to jury trials in civil cases

due process

laws and legal proceedings must be fair. the constitution guarantees that the government cannot take away a person’s basic rights to “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”

In addition to safeguarding “procedural due process” the supreme court has used the

14th amendment to guarantee “equal protection of the law” to racial, religious, age, gender, and other groups. This “substantive due process” has had a significant impact on hiring and college admissions, school integration, workplace equity, voting rights, and other similar social and economic issues

the 5th amendment also contains a

due process clause and procedure for exercising the right of eminent domain

Our rights to limit the government and protect our interest

the rights to petition, assembly, free speech, and free press are fundamental to our governmental system; they are the rights the founders were most interested in protecting. these freedoes serve to check the power of government, and they allow:

• citizens to contact government officials to request a change in policy

• citizens to gather in peaceful public demonstrations for and against an issue

• citizen to publicly discuss and promote their diverse opinions

• the people’s representatives to debate controversial issues without fear of reprisal

• the free flow of information in the media

• the opportunity for negotiation and compromise

• the right to own guns for recreation and protection

The privileges and immunities clause of the 14th amendment declares that Americans have

dual citizenship in both the state they reside as well as the United States, namely the rights described in the first 8 amendments of the bill of rights constitute the privileges and immunities of being a federal citizen and cannot be violated by an individual state. Yet, those privileges and immunities had to be individually applied to states through court decision, a process known as incorporation

US supreme court rulings -

over a series of court rulings from the 1920s thr the 1960s a majority of the rights outlined in the Bill of Rights have been applied to the states. this has become known as the incorporation doctrine, and is based on US supreme court interpretations of the 14th amendment