AP gov: Unit 5: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Vocabulary

Civil Liberties

fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals that are protected by unreasonable government restriction

Amendment

change to the constitution

Ratification

Official adoption (to the constitution)

Bill of Rights

The first 10 amendments to the constitution that protects the individual rights of citizens

Establishment Clause

protects individuals from the government requiring citizens to join/support a religion

can’t establish a national religion

Free Exercise Clause

protects rights of individuals to exercise and express their religious beliefs

Clear and Present Danger

legal standard that speech posing an immediate and serious threat to national security is not protected by the first amendment

Prior Restraint

occurs when government censors or suppresses material before it is published

• used when the nation is at war or when speech would incite violence

Espionage Act (1917)

Symbolic Speech

images, signs, and symbols used as forms of political expression

Slander

spoken lies

Libel

Written lies

Restrictions on obscenity and pornography

words, images, or videos that depict sexual activity in an offensive manner that lack any artistic merit

Time, place, and manner

The government may impose reasonable restrictions on the time, place, or manner of protected speech

• imposing limits on noise level of speech, capping number of protesters who may occupy a given forum, or barring early morning demonstrations (these are examples)

Selective incorporation

the piecemeal process through which the SCOTUS had affirmed that almost all of the protections in the Bill of Rights also apply to state governments

Due Process Clause (14th amendment)

No person can deprive “life, liberty, or property without due process of the law”

warrant

Issued by a judge to allow a person to search a person or place (must be obtained before searching)

Probable cause

reasonable belief that a crime has been committed or that is evident/relevant to a criminal investigation

Exclusionary Rule

evidence obtained without a warrant is inadmissible in court

Procedural Due Process

court is required to follow established procedures

Grand jury

examines evidence and decides whether or not there is enough evidence to take the defendant to court

Miranda Rights

rights read to someone accused of a crime that tell them they have the right to remain silent and to have an attorney present during questioning

Bail

amount of money posted as security to allow the defendant to be freed while awaiting trial

Civil Rights

government’s protection of individuals from discrimination as members of particular groups

13th amendment

abolished and prohibits slavery

14th amendment

defines citizenship (anyone born in the us or naturalized is a citizen)

equal protection and due process clause

15th amendment

can’t discriminate by race when it comes to voting

Jim Crow Laws

enforced segregation across all aspects of daily life including transportation, entertainment, business, and education

De Jure segregation

legal segregation: separation by law of individuals based on race

enforced by government

ex: Jim Crow Laws

De facto segregation

segregation that exists by practice and customs

enforced by society

Social Movement

resistance to the decision in Brown v Board and the order to desegregate at “all deliberate speed” led African-American community leaders to take alternative actions to end segregation in schools, workplaces, and the community

Civil Disobedience

intentionally breaking a law to protest injustice

Civil Right Act of 1964

authorized the federal government to withhold grants from school districts that did not integrate their schools

outlawed racial segregation in schools and public places

Voting rights act of 1965

prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on race (banned literacy tests)

Affirmative Action

designed to address the consequences to individuals based on their characteristics, such as race or gender

Strict Scrutiny Standard

government has to show a “compelling interest” to justify unequal treatment (ex: Affirmative Action)

Rational Based Standard

differential treatment must be shown to be reasonable and not arbitrary

ex: air traffic controllers must retire by 56

Intermediate Scrutiny

falls in between the first two standards

ex: women don’t have to participate in a draft

19th amendment

gave women the right to vote

women’s suffrage

Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

for purpose of federal law: marriage meant a legal union between a man and a woman

reaffirmed power of states to make their own decisions about marriage laws

Espionage Act of 1917

banning/penalizing wartime activities that are dangerous and disloyal that intend to harm the US or to aid a foreign nation