AP Gov Unit 3 Vocab

Civil Liberties

Personal freedoms protected from arbitrary governmental interference or deprivations by constitutional guarantee.

Bill of Rights

A document listing 10 amendments to the constitution guaranteeing specific liberties and rights to protect from government infringement.

Establishment clause

A clause in the first amendment preventing the federal government from establishing a national religion; now interpreted to include all governments and any discrimination against religion

Free exercise clause

A clause in the first amendment preventing governments from stopping religious practices

Clear and present danger

If an individual’s free speech poses an obvious threat, then they can be convicted for their speech. If not, then their free speech is protected.

Prior restraint

The right to stop spoken or printed expression in advance (government does not have)

Libel

False defamatory statements about someone in print

Ex post facto law

A law that creates new punishments or punishes existing crimes more severely committed before the law’s enactment; banned by the U.S. constitution.

Bill of attainder

Legislative acts that declare someone guilty of a crime and offer a punishment without trial or conviction (prevented in the Constitution).

Writ of Habeas Corpus

A court order that requires a person held in custody to appear before the court/judge in order to determine if the imprisonment of said person is justified.

Due Process clause

Prevents the deprivation of life, liberty, or property by federal or state government without due process (informing the person and giving them a chance to make their case)

Selective incorporation

The Supreme Court using the 14th amendment Due Process clause to selectively apply some Bill of Rights liberties and protections to state governments one at a time through case decisions.

Miranda rights

During interrogation by law enforcement, one has the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney or a free attorney if they cannot afford one. Police must read these rights to a suspect before interrogating them.

Civil rights

Protections one has from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, etc.

Thirteenth Amendment

Freed all slaves after the civil war

Fourteenth Amendment

Ensured due process, birthright citizenship, and equal privileges and immunities across states.

Equal protection clause

Prohibited state governments from denying persons within their jurisdiction equal protection of the laws; has been used to advance civil rights and get rid of discrimination

Fifteenth amendment

Prevented the denial of voting rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude

Separate but equal

The Supreme Court’s decision that if facilities separated people by race but the two facilities were equal, it was still constitutional under the equal protection clause.

Affirmative action

Institutional efforts to diversify by race, gender, or otherwise.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Prevents discrimination on the basis of national origin, religion, color, race, and sex, including in employment and ending segregation.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Got rid of barriers to voting, including literacy tests and poll taxes, and allowed the federal government to oversee areas with historic voting discrimination.

Nineteenth amendment

Prohibited states from denying a citizen the right to vote based on their sex

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

Guaranteed that women have the same educational opportunities as men in programs receiving federal government funding.