AP GOV UNIT 3

 How does the Constitution limit government power?

Through separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, and the Bill of Rights

How can individuals and groups protect civil liberties and civil rights?

 Voting, protesting, litigation, advocacy, joining interest groups, and social movements

Why have Supreme Court decisions changed over time?

Shifts in Court membership, social values, political pressures, and historical context

What is the Bill of Rights?

The first 10 amendments protecting individual liberties

What are civil liberties?

Constitutional protections from government interference.

Why is the Bill of Rights constantly reinterpreted?

Courts must apply it to new issues and technologies.

Establishment Clause meaning?

Government cannot endorse or support religion.

Free Exercise Clause meaning?

Individuals can practice religion freely.

Engel v. Vitale (1962) ruling?

School‑sponsored prayer violates Establishment Clause.

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) ruling?

Amish students cannot be forced to attend school past 8th grade.

What is symbolic speech?

Nonverbal expression protected by the First Amendment.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) ruling?

Students can wear armbands; symbolic speech protected in schools.

What speech can be limited?

 Defamation, obscenity, time/place/manner, and “clear and present danger.”

Schenck v. United States (1919) ruling?

Speech can be restricted if it creates a “clear and present danger.”

New York Times Co. v. U.S. (1971) ruling?

 Prior restraint is almost always unconstitutional.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010) ruling?

 Second Amendment applies to states via selective incorporation.

What does the Eighth Amendment prohibit?

 Cruel and unusual punishment.

What modern issues involve balancing freedom and safety?

Gun regulation and digital surveillance.

What is selective incorporation?

Applying the Bill of Rights to states through the 14th Amendment.

 What is the Miranda rule?

 Police must inform suspects of their rights.

What is the public safety exception?

Police can question without Miranda warnings if safety is at risk.

Key rights of the accused?

Counsel, speedy/public trial, impartial jury, no unreasonable searches.

 Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) ruling?

States must provide attorneys to poor defendants.

What is the exclusionary rule?

lllegally obtained evidence cannot be used in court.

How did Roe v. Wade (1973) interpret privacy?

Extended privacy to abortion decisions.

What does the Equal Protection Clause do?

 Requires states to treat people equally under the law.

Key civil rights document by MLK?

 Letter from Birmingham Jail.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ruling?

Segregated schools violate equal protection.

 Major civil rights laws?

 Civil Rights Act (1964), Voting Rights Act (1965), Title IX (1972).

What was “separate but equal”?

 Doctrine allowing segregation until overturned by Brown.

 How has the Court sometimes favored majority rights?

By limiting majority‑minority districting.

What is the main constitutional debate?

Whether the Constitution is colorblind or allows race‑conscious policies.

What is the main idea of Letter from Birmingham Jail?

Injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere; civil disobedience is justified.

 What is the message of Frederick Douglass’s “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

The holiday celebrates freedom that enslaved people were denied.

Tinker v. Des Moines

 Students have symbolic speech rights.