APG Required Documents and Cases

1st Amendment

5 Freedoms: Speech, Press, Religion, Petition, and Assembly

2nd Amendment

Right to bear arms

3rd Amendment

Soldiers cannot be housed in homes in times of peace

4th Amendment

Prohibits unreasonable search and seizures

5th Amendment

Guarantees the right to a GRAND JURY, forbids DOUBLE JEOPARDY, protects against SELF-INCRIMINATION, requires DUE PROCESS of LAW, requires the government to compensate citizens when it takes private property for public use (EMINENT DOMAIN)

6th Amendment

Right to a fair, speedy trial

7th Amendment

Right to a jury trial in civil suits involving $20.00 or more.

8th Amendment

Bans cruel and unusual punishments

9th Amendment

People have rights other than those mentioned in the Constitution

10th Amendment

Any power not given to the Federal Government by the Constitution is a power of either the State or the People

11th Amendment

Citizens of a state or foreign country may not sue another state in federal court

12th Amendment

The Electoral College will vote separately for President and Vice President; Ends the runner-up system of the electoral college

13th Amendment

Slavery is outlawed in the United States as well as involuntary servitude

14th Amendment

States shall not deprive person of life, liberty, or property without due process.

Citzenship to former slaves.

15th Amendment

Citizens are guaranteed the right to vote regardless of race, color, or status of former servitude

16th Amendment

Congress has the right to set up an income tax.

17th Amendment

Allowed for the direct election of United States Senators

18th Amendment

"Prohibition" banned the selling and manufacturing of alcohol

19th Amendment

Gave women the right to vote

20th Amendment

The President is inaugurated in January. Congress begins to meet in January.

21st Amendment

Repealed the 18th amendment

22nd Amendment

President can't serve longer than 2 terms

23rd Amendment

Included voters of the District of Columbia in the Presidential electorate

24th Amendment

Abolished poll tax; prohibits both Congress and the states from collecting a poll tax or other types of tax

25th Amendment

Defines who succeeds the President if the President dies; The chain of succession for filling in the presidential seat in case of death/incapacitation.

26th Amendment

18 year olds given the right to vote

27th Amendment

Prohibits any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of the Congress from taking effect until after the next general election

Fed 10

Addressed the threat of faction and how the U.S. government's Republican and Federalist (State and Federal) design is designed properly manage faction

Brutus 1

Anti-federalist paper that criticized the strong national government under the Constitution

Federalist 51

Justified the need for a strong national government under the Constitution through an explanation of checks and balances

Federalist 78

Explained the Supreme Court and the reasoning behind their role and life term in particular

Federalist 70

Explained the role of the president and the need for an "energetic executive"; Also critiqued arguments that proposed having multiple executives

Tinker v. Des Moines

Dealt with the free speech clause of the 1st amendment. Two students wore black armbands to school in protest of the Vietnam War. The school had made a rule that punished those who refused to take off the arm band with suspension. The Supreme Court held that the students have a right to symbolic speech under the 1st amendment and that the rule prohibiting the armbands was unconstitutional.

Schenck v. United States

A Case dealing with the free speech clause of the 1st amendment. A socialist individual was distributing literature speaking out against the government and its participation in the First World War. The pamphlets called for individual to avoid the draft. The court determined that speech such as this created a "clear or present danger" is not protected.

Engel v. Vitale

Dealt with the establishment clause of the 1st amendment. In the state of New York, a law was passed that made a voluntary recitation of a prayer occur at the beginning of the school day. The Supreme Court held that this law was unconstitutional arguing that it breached the wall between church and state.

Brown v. Board of Education

Dealt with the 14th amendment. Students in Kansas were denied entry to certain public schools based upon race. The Supreme Court held that separate but equal is not Constitutional, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson and allowing for the desegregation of public schools.

Wisconsin v. Yoder

Dealt with the free exercise clause of the 1st amendment. Out of adherence to their religious beliefs, a group of Amish families disobeyed a state law requiring their children to attend school until they were 16. The Supreme Court held that the law requiring this of the Amish was unconstitutional, stating that the free exercise clause protects this practice by the Amish

McDonald v. Chicago

Dealt with the second amendment. A city law was passed that made it extremely difficult to acquire a gun under the increased regulations and oversight from the city government. The Supreme Court held that the law was unconstitutional and incorporated individual gun ownership to the states.

Roe v. Wade

Dealt with the implied liberty, right to privacy. A women was seeking to get an abortion. The state ordinance in Texas at the time outlawed the act. The Supreme Court held that a women's right to privacy allows for her to have an abortion.

Gideon v. Wainwright

Incorporated the right to counsel under the 6th amendment. A man was arrested for an alleged robbery. He could not afford a lawyer and was not provided one by the government. The state argued that its laws do not require their government to provide a lawyer. The Supreme Court held that the law was unconstitutional and that an individual must have a counsel even if he cannot afford one in felony cases such as this.

Marbury v. Madison

Established the Supreme Court's power of Judicial Review. An appointee to the federal court system sued the secretary of state for having refused to deliver his commission and officially give him the position. In the end the appointee did not get his position because the law he used to sue the secretary, the Judiciary Act of 1789, was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

McCulloch v. Maryland

Dealt with the Necessary and Proper Clause and the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution. In this case, a state sued the National Bank over refusing to pay state taxes and also argued that the Bank was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court held that the Bank was constitutional under Article 1, Section 8. Additionally, the court determined that the Bank did not have to pay the tax as it was part of the federal government and exempt from state regulation.

Baker v. Carr

Dealt with malapportionment within legislative districts. An individual sued the state of Tennessee arguing that his district was underrepresented and therefore violated his 14th amendment right to equal protection. The Court held in favor of the individual, allowing courts to adjudicate over issues related to districting at the state level. Ultimately, the decision led to the concept of one person, one vote.

NYT v. U.S.

Dealt with the conflict between national security and the free speech/press clause of the 1st amendment. The media began publishing classified information about the Vietnam War. The government sued arguing that this violated the Espionage Act, a law prohibiting free speech/press that threatened national security. The Court held that the publishing of the classified material was protected under the 1st amendment. They stated that the government cannot use prior restraint, or any restraint, to limit free press unless there is a "heavy burden" justifying the limiting of free speech/press.

U.S. v. Lopez

Dealt with states rights and the Commerce Clause of Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution. In this case, a student was punished under a federal law punishing guns in school zones. The student fought the conviction arguing that the federal government could not constitutionally enforce a law over state school systems. The government argued that it had this right under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. The Supreme Court held in favor of the student, stating that the law was too far reaching and an extreme interpretation of the Commerce Clause. This ultimately was a win for states' rights proponents (Devolution).

Shaw v. Reno

Dealt with racial gerrymandering. In the state of North Carolina, districts were made on racial lines. This was done to ensure that two districts would have African American representatives. Residents of the state sued arguing that the Constitution was "color blind" and that this redistricting violated their 14th amendment right to equal protection under the law. The Supreme Court held that the residents' 14th amendment rights were violated and that racial gerrymandering was unconstitutional.

Citizens United v. FEC

Dealt with the campaign process and created the Super-PAC. In this case, a PAC produced a film critiquing a candidate right before a primary election. Under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), the Federal Elections Committee determined that this film could not be showed. The PAC sued. The Supreme Court held in favor of the PAC, arguing that political speech in the form of campaign financing was protected and could not be limited. This made major portions of the BCRA unconstitutional, allowing for the creation of Super-PACS to support candidates financially during a campaign.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

Written by MLK Jr. while he was incarcerated; said that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"

The Articles of Confederation

America's first plan of government that was, by an large, ineffective; Only 1 branch at the federal level; states retained most of their sovereignty

Article 1 of the Constitution

Portion of the Constitution that addresses the powers and limitations of the Legislative Branch

Article 2 of the Constitution

Portion of the Constitution that addresses the powers, roles, and limitations of the executive branch

Article 3 of the Constitution

Portion of the Constitution that addresses the Judicial Branch

Article 4 of the Constitution

Portion of the Constitution that addresses the states, how they interact, and their government

Article 5 of the Constitution

Portion of the Constitution that addresses the amendment process

Article 6 of the Constitution

Portion of the Constitution that addresses the Supremacy of the Constitution

Article 7 of the Constitution

Portion of the Constitution that addresses the ratification process for the Constitution itself

Declaration of Independence

An act of the Second Continental Congress, adopted on July 4, 1776, which declared that the Thirteen Colonies in North America were "Free and Independent States" and that "all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved." It was influence heavily by the Enlightenment, specifically the work of John Locke