[Ap Gov] Documents, Court Cases, Admendments

this is a combination of other peoples cards and not made by me

1st Amendment

Protects the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.

2nd Amendment

Protects the right to keep and bear arms.

3rd Amendment

Prohibits the quartering of soldiers in private homes without consent.

4th Amendment

Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures without probable cause.

5th Amendment

Provides the right to due process, forbids double jeopardy, and protects against self-incrimination.

6th Amendment

Guarantees the rights to a fair trial, including the right to a lawyer, an impartial jury, and the right to confront witnesses.

7th Amendment

Guarantees the right to a jury trial in civil cases.

8th Amendment

Prohibits excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment.

9th Amendment

Clarifies that the enumeration of certain rights in the Constitution does not deny or disparage other rights retained by the people.

10th Amendment

Reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to the states or the people.

11th Amendment

Limits lawsuits against states in federal courts.

12th Amendment

Revised the presidential election process, providing for separate Electoral College votes for President and Vice President.

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States.

14th Amendment

Grants citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States and prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

Prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

16th Amendment

Allows Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states.

17th Amendment

Established the direct election of U.S. Senators by popular vote, rather than by state legislatures.

18th Amendment

Prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol in the United States, instituting Prohibition.

19th Amendment

Granted women the right to vote in the United States.

20th Amendment

Established the terms of the President and Congress, also known as the "Lame Duck Amendment." It shortened the time between election and taking office.

21st Amendment

Repealed the 18th Amendment, ending Prohibition.

22nd Amendment

Limited the President to two terms in office.

23rd Amendment

Granted Washington, D.C. electoral votes in presidential elections.

24th Amendment

Abolished poll taxes in federal elections.

25th Amendment

Established procedures for presidential succession and disability.

26th Amendment

Granted the right to vote to citizens who are 18 years of age or older.

27th Amendment

Limits congressional pay increases until after the next election.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

The establishment of judicial review: the ability to declare legislation unconstitutional. (Connection: Judiciary Act 1801 that conflicted with Constitution —> Supremacy Clause)

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

A landmark case that affirmed the supremacy of federal laws over state laws and the implied powers of Congress, allowing them to create a national bank. Created the necessary proper clause (elastic clause).

Schenck v. U.S (1919)

Established the clear and present danger testfor restricting free speech during wartime. It determined that speech creating a clear and immediate danger, such as inciting draft resistance, is not protected.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

Reversing Plessy this was the desergeration of schools ended seperate but equal within schools. (Remember the Doll Test Experiment)

Baker v. Carr (1961)

Unequal representation in congressional districts because they hadn’t redistricted in 10 years, so SCOTUS established the principle of "one person, one vote".

Engel v. Vital (1962)

Supreme Court case that ruled school-sponsored prayer unconstitutional, violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because praying was the promotion of a religion in a public school.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

A Supreme Court case that ruled that the Sixth Amendment's right to counsel is applicable to state courts via the Fourteenth Amendment, ensuring defendants have the right to an attorney even if they cannot afford one.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

The armband case, which addressed students' rights to free speech within public schools. The Supreme Court ruled that students do not lose their First Amendment rights to speech at school as long as their speech does not disrupt the educational process. (The Tinker Test)

NewYork Times v. U.S (1971)

A Supreme Court case that upheld the First Amendment right of freedom of the press, ruling that the government could not prevent the __________ from publishing the Pentagon Papers, as it did not pose a clear and present danger to national security.

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

A Supreme Court case that held that the Amish community's right to practice their religion outweighed the state's interest in compulsory education, allowing Amish children to be exempt from attending school beyond the eighth grade because this did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

A landmark Supreme Court case that recognized a woman's constitutional right to have an abortion under the right to privacy, establishing guidelines that balanced state interests against personal liberties.

First Trimester: Women have the choice of an abortion. Second Trimester: Depends on the State of the pregnancy. Third Trimester: States can deny an abortion.

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

In a Supreme Court case that struck down a North Carolina congressional district map for their racial gerrymandering, SCOTUS ruled that redistricting based on race must be held to strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Racial gerrymandering: the intentional manipulation of electoral district boundaries to favor or disadvantage a particular racial or ethnic group

strict scrutiny (the highest standard of judicial review used by courts to evaluate the constitutionality of laws or government actions.)

U.S v. Lopez (1995)

A Supreme Court case that ruled the Gun-Free School Zones Act exceeded Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause, marking a limit on federal power over state regulations.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

A landmark Supreme Court case that held that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms applies to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, thereby incorporating the right against state infringement. (selective incorporation)

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

A Supreme Court case that ruled that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts cannot be limited under the First Amendment since money is speech, thereby allowing for increased spending in elections.

Brutus 1

• ANTI-FEDERALIST

• Big Country + 1 govn’t = Tyranny

• Demanded the Bill of Rights be added to the Constitution

• Worried the fed govn’t would tax states so much they can’t self govern and led to tyranny

• Republic with state rights

• Afraid the elastic clause gave too much power to fed govn’t

  • If fed govn’t took power from the states, they would never give it back

• Believed in a small confederation = more state sovereignty therefore people have more rights

• If the republic was too large, people would lose confidence, control, and trust in the govn’t

Federalist 51

• SEPARATION OF POWERS - LEGISTATIVE BRANCH

• Bc men aren’t angels, there is a need for a govn’t to limit their ambitions

• Separation of Powers

  • 3 branches can counteract ambition and each branch will guard their own power and keep others in check

  • No branch can completely control the others

• Congress = most power/important bc it has 2 chambers which check each other

• “You must first enable the govn’t to control the governed and in the next place, oblige it to control itself”

Federalist 70

• SEPARATION OF POWERS - EXECUTIVE BRANCH

• Must have a unitary executive (to avoid arguments) who is strong and energetic

  • Energy is the definition of a good govn’t

• Congress needs to be slow to act while the executive needs to act fast and 1 person is faster than a group

• Accountability is easier for 1 person

• Energy is essential for protection against foreign attacks, steady administration of the law, protection of property and therefore secure liberty

Federalist 78

• SEPARATION OF POWERS - JUDICIARY BRANCH

• Lays foundation for McCullogh v. Maryland

  • Discusses the principle of judicial review

• “Judiciary is the least dangerous branch” because they can’t make laws, declare wars, or enforce their own rulings

• Defense of life terms for judges based on good behavior to keep the branch separate and insulated

• Must remain independent from legislative branch so they can declare laws unconstitutional

• Allows the judiciary branch to put the constitution above all else

Letter from a Birmingham Jail 1963

• Written by MLK when he was arrested for protesting

• Addressed white clergy who condemned him

• Points to the injustices in Birmingham, Alabama surrounding bombings, police brutality, and mistreatment

• Civil disobedience is both Christian and American

• He feels the laws they are breaking (segregation laws) are unjust therefore feels a moral obligation not to follow them

  • Similar to the Declaration of Independence

• States that critic Civil Rights Movement who urge patience that change will occur naturally

  • Black Community has waited 340 yrs for their constitutional and god given rights

• Demands that the ideals of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution via 14th Amendment (Equal Protection Clause) finally applies to every person

Declaration of Independence

• Social Contract

• Lists the grievances of the kings actions

• Passed by 12/13 colonies

• Written by Thomas Jefferson

• Inspired by the Enlightenment

• Lays foundation for popular sovereignty (govn’t exists to serve the people who elect representation)

• “All men are created equal and endowed by their creator with unelianble rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”

Grievances in the Declaration of Independence

• KING = TYRANNY with absolute power

• Blocked legistation

• Kept army in US and allowed the quartering of soliders

• Imposed taxes without consent

• No trial by jury

Articles of Confederation

• First Constitution

• Names us the United States of America

• Asserts states sovereignty (supremacy)

• Established a confederation (league of friendship)

• State legislation had the power to raise an army and impose taxes

• Fed govn’t could declare war, conduct foreign policy

  • Congress needed 9/13 states to declare war

• No state was allowed to grant nobility titles

• Established equal treatment of people

• Establishes extradition

• No judiciary or executive branches

ARTICLE 1 of the Constitution of the United States

• Legislative Branch

• HOR- 25yrs old, 2 yr term

• Senate- 30yrs old, 6 yrs term

• States how a bill becomes a law

  • Bill must be passed by majority and signed by POTUS

• Congress can overturn POTUS veto with 2/3 vote in each chamber

• Pocket Veto happens at the end of every 2 years

• Powers of HOR

  • Start revenue bills

  • Impeachment Trials

• Powers of Senate

  • Approve all nominations

  • Ratify treaties

  • Trial for impeachment

• Powers of Both

  • Pass laws

  • Declare war

  • Regulate commerce

  • Create courts

  • All necessary and proper powers

ARTICLE 2 of the Constitution of the United States

• Executive Branch- 35yrs old, natural born citizen

• Powers

  • Commander in Chief of Military

  • Make treaties and nominations with the advise and consent of the Senate

  • Chief Diplomat

  • Can suggest legistation

ARTICLE 3 of the Constitution of the United States

• Judiciary Branch

• Set a life term with good behavior

• Salary can’t change

• SCOTUS

  • Appellate and Original Jurisdiction

  • Handles State v. State, Fed v. State, Fed v. Foreign

ARTICLE 4 of the Constitution of the United States

• Full Faith in Credit

  • Honor other states’ licenses and public acts

• Extradition of fugitives among states.

  • States must return criminals to the state where they committed the crime, if the states asks

• Privileges and Immunities

  • Treat all residents from every state the same

ARTICLE 5 of the Constitution of the United States

• 2/3 vote in each chamber is needed to ratify

• ¾ of senate legistatures

• National Convention

Federalist 10

• Written by James Madison

• “Liberty is to faction what air is to fire”

• Factions are the biggest threat to a republic

• To destroy factions, you must destroy liberties or give everyone the same opinion

  • UNATTAINABLE

• A large republic would check the power of factions by balancing them against each other