AP Gov Unit 3 Vocab

Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action

Policies intended to address workplace and educational disparities related to race, ethnic origin, gender, disability, and age; Supreme Court debate has focused on whether affirmative action is protected by the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution

Civil Rights

Protect individuals from discrimination based on characteristics such as race, national origin, religion, and sex; these rights are guaranteed to all persons under the due process and equal protection clauses of the US Constitution, as well as acts of Congress 

Civil Liberties

Constitutionally established guarantees and freedoms that protect citizens, opinions, and property against arbitrary government inference

Bill of Rights

Consists of the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which enumerate the liberties and rights of individuals, and is specifically designed to protect individual liberties and rights; application of the Bill of Rights is continuously interpreted by the courts

Judicial Review

The Supreme Court’s power to determine the constitutionality of a congressional law, executive action, or state law or state court decision

Selective Incorporation (incorporation doctrine)

Doctrine that imposed limitations on state regulation of civil liberties by extending select protections of the Bill of Rights to the states through the due process clause of the 14th amendment 

Establishment Clause

Prohibits the establishment of an official religion by the government

Free Exercise Clause

Guarantees freedom of conscience and prohibits the government from interfering in religious belief

Symbolic Speech

Nonverbal action that communicates an idea or belief

Clear and Present Danger

a risk or threat to safety or other public interests that is serious and imminent. especially : one that justifies limitation of a right (as freedom of speech or press) by the legislative or executive branch of government.

Due Process Clause

State that the government may not infringe on a person’s right to life liberty, or property without due process of law

Miranda Rights (Miranda v Arizona)

Requires accused persons to be informed of some procedural protections found in the 5th and 6th amendment prior to interrogation

Patriot Act

Congressional legislation enacted in the wake of 9/11 designed to expand surveillance abilities of law enforcement, facilitate interagency communication, and increase penalties of acts of terrorism

Exclusionary Rule

Stipulates that evidence illegally seized by law enforcement officers in violation of the suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights (including the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures) cannot be used against that suspect in criminal prosecution

Equal Protection Clause

A governmental body may not deny people equal protection of its governing laws

National Organization of Women (NOW)

A feminist organization which lobbies for gender equality 

Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972

Prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Prohibits discrimination in public places, provides for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and makes employment discrimination illegal 

Civil Rights Movement

A nonviolent social movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 to abolish legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the US

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Prohibits racial discrimination in voting

Letter from Birmingham Jail

A letter by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr stating people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and take direct action instead of waiting for social and racial justice through the court system; “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”

Women’s Rights Movement

A nonviolent social movement and campaign during the 1960s and 1970s to address gender equality and discrimination with a focus on equal employment and pay, reproductive rights, and discrimination in employment and education

LGBTQ Rights

Political and social rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender individuals; gains have been made for same sex activities and behaviors, same sex-marriage, and discrimination in employment; opposition to transgender and gender identity continues

Pro-Life Movement

An anti-abotion movement based on moral and religious grounds supporting legal resitrictions and prohibitions on aboitions with many believing life begins at conception 

Pro-Choice Movement

A movement supporting the view that women should have the legal right to an elective abortion based on a recognized right to privacy

Separate but Equal Doctrine

State laws and Supreme Court decisions restricting African American access to the same restaurants, hotels, schools etc., as the majority while population

Majority-Minority Districting

Drawing an electoral district in which the majority of constituents are racial or ethnic minorities

Substantive Due Process

Used by the Supreme Court to examine whether government laws and actions are arbitrary infringements of individual rights

Unenumerated Rights

Recognized constitutionally protected rights that are not explicitly listed in the Bill of Rights; include the right to privacy

Right to Privacy

A recognized constitutionally protected right not explicitly named in the Constitution; interpreted by the Supreme Court to be granted by the Due Process clause in Griswold v. Connecticut

Time, Place, Manner Regulations

Regulations that impose restrictions such as limits on the time of day an event can be held, limits on where an event can be held, and limits on the noise levels at an event

Jim Crow

The Jim Crow South was the era during which local and state laws enforced the legal segregation of white and black citizens from the 1870s into the 1960s. Under the Jim Crow system, “whites only” and “colored” signs proliferated across the South at water fountains, restrooms, bus waiting areas, movie theaters, swimming pools, and public schools.

1st Amendment

Government power to make law and an individual’s right to religious freedom through the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause; freedom of speech; freedom of the press

2nd Amendment

right to bear arms

4th Amendment

The right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures

5th Amendment

Due process clause in the Fifth Amendment applies to the national government

6th Amendment

The right to legal counsel, speedy and public trial, and an impartial jury

8th Amendment

Cruel and unusual punishment; Supreme Court interpretations of the 8th Amendment have applied to death penalty status

9th Amendment

States that individuals have protected rights beyond those listed in the first 8 amendments; some argue it provides support for the existence of unenumerated rights

14th Amendment

Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause as applied to the states; granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the US, including formerly enslaved people

15th Amendment

Any male can vote regardless of race

19th Amendment

gives women the right to vote

24th Amendment

elimination of poll taxes

Obscenity

Speech that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time and society

Defamation

Language that harms the reputation of another

Libel

Written communication of defamation 

USA Freedom Act

Congressional legislation intended to limit bulk collection of telecommunication metadata on the US citizens by American intelligence agencies and end secret laws of FISA courts

Engel v Vitale

School sponsorship of religious activities violates the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment

Wisconsin v Yoder

Compelling Amish students to attend school past the eight grade violates the Free Exercise Clause of the 1st Amendment

Mapp v Ohio

The 1961 Supreme Court decision ruling that the 4th Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures must be extended to the states

Tinker v Des Moines

A prohibition against public schools wearing black armbands in school to protest the Vietnam War violated the students’ freedom of speech protections in the 1st Amendment

Schenck v US

Speech creating a “clear and present danger” was not protected by the 1st Amendment and could be limited

Brown v Board of Education

Declared that race-based school segregation violates the 14th amendment’s equal protection clause; overturned Plessy v. Ferguson

Brown II

The Court ordered that schools undertake desegregation with “all deliberate speed.” from Brown v. Board

Roe v Wade

The Supreme Court held that the application of substantive due process further extended the privacy right to abortion

Griswold v Connecticut

The Supreme Court interpreted the Due Process clause to protect the right of privacy from government infringement

Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health

Overturned Roe v. Wade, holding that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, leaving decisions about the regulation of abortion to legislators 

Regents of Univ. of Cal v. Bakke

A 1978 Supreme Court decision holding that a state university may weigh race or ethnic backgrounds as one element in admissions but may not set aside places for members of a particular racial group

Gideon v Wainwright

In this case, the 6th Amendment’s right to an attorney extends procedural due process protections to felony defendants in state courts

NY Times v US

This case bolstered the freedom of the press protections of the 1st Amendment, establishing a “heavy presumption against prior restraint” even in cases involving national security

McDonald v Chicago

The 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense is applicable to the states