Civil Rights and Liberties

civil rights

the rights of individuals to receive equal treatment under the law, ensuring freedom from discrimination based on characteristics such as race, gender, or disability. WHAT GOVERNMENT MUST PROTECT.

civil liberties

basic freedoms guaranteed to individuals, such as freedom of speech, religion, and privacy, protected from government interference. WHAT GOVERNMENT CANT DO.

origins of civil rights and liberties

bill of rights and amendments to the U.S. Constitution

AL literacy test

used to disenfranchise black voters. grandfather clause meant that if your grandfather voted before the civil war, you didn’t have to take it.

court ruled grandfather clauses unconstitutional in 1915, but this was not able to be enforced because

the court lacks enforcement power, and states control times places and manners of elections.

civil war amendments

13th, 14th, 15th.

new voting groups

15th, 19th, 24th, 26th

9th amendment is said to be related to what concept

right to privacy

Dred Scott v. Stanford (1857)

A landmark Supreme Court case that ruled African Americans were not citizens and had no standing to sue in federal court, effectively denying them basic rights.

Missouri Compromise (1820)

A legislative agreement that regulated the extension of slavery in the United States by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state.

Fugitive Slave Law (1850)

A law that required the return of escaped slaves to their owners, even if they were found in free states.

Civil War start

1861

electoral laws to limit voting

white primary, poll tax, literacy test, grandfather clause.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

court upholds segregation

the New Deal

more even treatment of the black community, government assistance, black administrators.

beginning of realignment

Roosevelt Democrats, 1948 Dixiecrats, Truman (1948) Civil Rights Bill.

Smith v. Allwright (1944)

white primary

Sweatt v. Painter (1950)

separate but equal could be constitutional

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

separate facilities are inherently unequal.

1960s shift

strategy shifted from litigation to mass protest (sit ins, walks/marches, non-violent actions or protests).

Birmingham demonstration (1963)

A key event in the Civil Rights Movement, where nonviolent protests against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama, faced violent resistance, leading to national attention and support for civil rights.

Kennedy assassination

November 1963; LBJ becomes president

1964 Civil Rights Act

Legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and aimed to end segregation in public places. result of partisan shift in congress.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Legislation aimed at eliminating barriers to voting for African Americans, particularly in the South, ensuring federal oversight of voter registration and elections in areas with a history of discrimination. allowed the justice department to step in in the south, federal officers registered voters.

Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

got rid of section 4 of the VRA (coverage formula), impacting section 5 as well.

de facto segregation of schools in the 1970s

refers to the practice of racial separation in public schools that occurred not by law but through social and economic factors, often resulting from residential patterns and discrimination.

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard/UNC (2023)

A legal case challenging the affirmative action policies of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, arguing that these policies discriminate against Asian American applicants.

busing

a method used to transport students to schools outside their local districts to promote racial integration.

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

A landmark Supreme Court case that invalidated laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual activity, ruling that such laws violated the right to privacy. overturned Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)

Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)

A Supreme Court case that upheld a Georgia sodomy law, ruling that the Constitution did not confer a right to engage in homosexual conduct.

United States v. Winsdor (2013)

A Supreme Court case that struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), ruling that it violated the principles of equal protection and due process under the law for same-sex couples.

gay rights and military service

outright ban until 1993, don’t ask don’t tell 1993-2010. DADT repealed in 2011, open service legalized.

14th Amendment (1868)

An amendment to the United States Constitution that grants citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. and ensures equal protection under the law.

incorporation

The legal doctrine that extends the protections of the Bill of Rights to the states through the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

A landmark Supreme Court case that upheld the conviction of Charles Schenck for distributing anti-draft leaflets, establishing the "clear and present danger" standard for limiting free speech.

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

A Supreme Court case that ruled flag burning is protected free speech under the First Amendment, striking down Texas law prohibiting it.

Roth v. United States (1957)

A Supreme Court case that established obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment, setting the standard that material is obscene if it appeals to prurient interests and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

freedom of the press

national security, essential for functioning democracy

Near v. Minnesota (1931)

A landmark Supreme Court case that held prior restraint on publication violates the First Amendment, establishing that freedom of the press is a fundamental right.

NYT vs. United States (1971)

A significant Supreme Court case that reinforced the principle of freedom of the press by ruling that the government could not prevent publication of the Pentagon Papers, as it would constitute prior restraint. national security measures - heavy burden on the government.

establishment and exercise clauses

Parts of the First Amendment that prohibit Congress from establishing a religion and protect individuals' rights to practice their religion freely.

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

A Supreme Court case that established the "Lemon test" to determine if a law violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, focusing on government involvement with religion. private schools could be reimbursed for teacher pay with public funds even if religius institutions, as long as for secular purpose.

Board of Education Kiryas Joel v. Grumet (1994)

neutrality test - drawing of school districts can’t aid religion.

A Supreme Court case that addressed the separation of church and state by ruling that a New York law allowing a school district for Hasidic Jewish children violated the Establishment Clause, as it resulted in government endorsement of religion.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

school prayer unconstitutional

Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940)

A Supreme Court case that ruled that the free exercise of religion is protected under the First Amendment and that a Connecticut law requiring a permit for religious solicitation violated this right.

Employment Division Oregon v. Smith (1990)

general laws must be upheld, even if they infringe upon religion.

Miranda v. Arizona (1996)

A landmark Supreme Court case that established the requirement for police to inform suspects of their rights to remain silent and to an attorney during interrogations. confession after interrogation - 5th amendment protection against self incrimination.

Eighth Amendment

Prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, and excessive bail.

Furman v. Georgia (1972)

temporarily outlawed the death penalty under the 8th amendment.

Gregg v. Georgia (1976)

reinstated the death penalty (overturned Furman)

Roper v. Simmons (2005)

ruled that executing minors is unconstitutional under the 8th Amendment.

Atkins v. Virginia (2002)

ruled that executing individuals with intellectual disabilities is unconstitutional under the 8th Amendment.

Baze v. Rees (2008)

ruled that the lethal injection method of execution did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the 8th Amendment.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

challenged a CT law from 1879 banning contraception. dealt with privacy

Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)

upheld the right to have an abortion while allowing states to impose certain restrictions. undue burden test.

all decisions related to abortion and contraception are (sort of) related to which amendments

9th amendment

other amendments relating to privacy rights

4th, 5th, 14th

5th amendment

related to privacy of personal information.

protects against self-incrimination and guarantees due process of law.

4th amendment

protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, ensuring the right to privacy in personal property.

14th amendment

due process; incorporation

2nd amendment issues

amendment is vague - is this right only for state militias?

DC v. Heller (2008)

DC’s ban on handguns was ruled unconstitutional. incorporation of the 2nd amendment.