Final Exam Terms

Positive Liberty

The possession of the capacity to act upon one’s free will/freedom to do something

Sig: allow you to do things in a democracy/participate in governmental decision

Negative Liberty

freedom from interference by other people. It is primarily concerned with freedom from external restraint

Sig: government is limited in their ability to control your freedom

Supremacy Clause

provision declaring that the Constitution and all national laws and treaties are the supreme law of the land

Equal Protection Clause

clause in the 14th Amendment that requires the states to treat all citizens alike with regard to application of the laws

Due Process Clause

in the 14th Amendment that restricts state governments from denying their citizens their life, liberty, or property without legal safeguards; all the legal rights you have

14th Amendment

Every person born or naturalized in the united states is a citizen, due process clause,

Sig. limits the government’s ability to deny citizenship to slaves

Civil Rights Act of 1964

legislation outlawing racial segregation in schools and public places and authorizing the attorney general to sue individual school districts that failed to desegregate

Full Faith and Credit Clause

addresses the duty that states within the United States must respect the "public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.“ State courts must respect laws and judgements of courts from other states

Selective Incorporation

process through which the Supreme Court applies fundamental rights in the Bill of Rights to the states on a case-by-case basis

Sig. decimates power of the states. Was there to control the old confederacy.

Social Contract Theory

right to rule ultimately lay not with kings, but with ordinary people who gave kings power

says that people live together in society in accordance with an agreement that establishes moral and political rules of behavior

State of Nature

the condition in which questions what humans would be like without any government or society and consider why we let ourselves be governed.

Sig: if left to their own devices, people could not survive and shows the necessity of government

Penumbras

Zones of privacy found in the constitution between several amendments

Sig: courts have expanded the ideas of these fundamental liberties to connect with the idea of privacy and how much you have

Thomas Hobbes

an English philosopher who is a social contract theorist and is best known for his 1651 book Leviathan

Sig: he believes the purpose of the government is to protect you and that there are no rights given at birth

Delegated Powers

Powers typically granted from Congress to the president and executive branch

Sig: can expand power of the presidency and can give Congress a check on usually the president

Suspect Classification

a class of individuals that have been historically subject to discrimination

Sig: extremely protected class because they are the most discriminated against

John Locke

English philosopher who advocated the idea of a “social contract” in which government powers are derived from the consent of the governed and in which the government serves the people also said people have natural rights to live, liberty and property

Judicial Restraint

The idea that a judge rules on original interpretation, not actively looking to change or create a right or law and they will defer to the legislative body

Sig: they’re not going to make any change and are just gonna defer any changes back to the legislative body

Judicial Activism

A judge that looks at the law and applies it to today’s standards, they make transformative decisions

Sig: expand the rights of the people into areas that arguably judges shouldn’t be in

Electoral College

A group of electors who choose the president and vice president of the US

Sig: the people don’t actually elect the president/made to limit the power of the common person

Federalism

a type of government where the power is divided between the state and national government

Sig: divides the power

Necessary and Proper Clause

language in Article I, Section 8, granting Congress the powers necessary to carry out its enumerated powers

Sig: gives the government power to do things outside of any power given to them 

Expressed Powers

powers only the national government may exercise, listed in the constitution

Sig: clearly defines the role of what the government can do, but in that sense limits it to exactly what is said

Enforcement Clause

grants Congress the authority to adopt appropriate legislation to enforce other parts of the constitution

Sig: Allowed Congress to pass legislation to enforce laws, going beyond their powers (ex: Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Civil Rights Act of 1964)

Federalist 70

Argues for a strong executive leader under the Constitution

Vesting Clause

Established an executive office to be occupied by an individual and constitutionally acknowledges the power of the branches

Sig: vests executive power into one person/tells you there’s a single president

Federalist 78

Deals with the judicial branch and emphasizes the importance of judicial review and an independent judiciary

Heart of Atlanta v US

A motel operator refused to serve an African American customer

The Supreme Court upheld the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination in schools, places of work, voting sites, public accommodations, and public area

Griswold v Connecticut

Planned Parenthood advocate Estelle Griswold and a birth control clinic owner were arrested after violating Connecticut's law banning drugs and  instruments in furthering contraception 

Sig: Established that there is an implied right to privacy in the U.S. Constitution

Dobbs v Jackson Health

The court’s decision to overrule Roe v Wade and planned Parenthood v Casey and returned power to individual states to regulate any aspect of abortion not protected by federal law

Marbury v Madison

congress didn't have power to modify constitution because supremacy clause puts constitution before laws; established principle of judicial review

Tinker v Des Moines

Armbands represent pure speech that is entirely separate from the actions or conduct of those participating in it. The Court also held that the students did not lose their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech when they stepped onto school property.

Brown v Board of Education

unanimously held that the racial segregation of children in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment

Sig: Overruled Plessy v. Ferguson "separate but equal" doctrine and would eventually lead to the desegregation of schools across the South

Obergefell v Hodges

the Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Sig: courts have the same rights as heterosexual couples, to marry and states cannot deny homosexuals marriage

Bostock v Clayton County

Court held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against discrimination because they are gay or transgender

Mcdonald v Chicago

Chicago's ban violated his 2nd Amendment Right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self defense.

The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment extends the Second Amendment's right to keep and bear arms to the states, at least for traditional, lawful purposes such as self-defense.

Schenck v US

Charles Schenck distributed leaflets saying to disobey the draft and he was charged with conspiracy and convicted under the Espionage Act

Clear & Present Danger Doctrine: The First Amendment does not protect speech that approaches creating a clear and present danger of a significant evil that Congress has power to prevent.

Brandenburg v Ohio

the Supreme Court established that speech advocating illegal conduct is protected under the First Amendment unless the speech is likely to incite “imminent lawless action.”

Sig: Established a two pronged test to evaluate speech acts: (1) speech can be prohibited if it is "directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action" and (2) it is "likely to incite or produce such action."

Shelby County v Holder

Held that it is unconstitutional to use the courage formula in section 4(b) of the voting rights act to determine with jurisdictions are subject to the preclearance requirement of section 5 of the voting rights act

Strict Scrutiny

Any legislation involving race, ethnicity, religion or legal aliens

A form of judicial review that courts use to determine the constitutionality of certain laws

Separation of Powers

a design of government that distributes powers across institutions in order to avoid making one branch too powerful on its own

Checks and Balances

a design of government in which each branch has powers that can prevent the other branches from making policy

Judicial Review

the ability of the Court to declare a Legislative or Executive act in violation of the Constitution, is not found within the text of the Constitution itself.

The Court established this doctrine in the case of Marbury v. Madison (1803)