Civil Rights, Voting Rights, and Exam Review Flashcards

Distinction Between Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

• Conceptual Distinction:
  • Civil Liberties: Define explicit limitations on government action and power. They act as negative prohibitions that prevent government interference, such as prohibitions against restricting freedom of the press.
  • Civil Rights: Require active intervention, typically carried out by federal authorities and agencies, to guarantee that all individuals are treated equally under the law.
• Origins and Legal Foundations:
  • Civil liberties guarantees date back to the founding of the United States and are explicitly located within the original text of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
  • Civil rights are a modern legal development. Core civil rights protections are anchored in both the Fifth Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment.
  • Systematic enforcement of civil rights protections by the Supreme Court began in the $1950\text{s}$ and $1960\text{s}$.
  • Key statutory foundations enacted by Congress include:
    • The Civil Rights Act of $1964$
    • The Voting Rights Act of $1965$
    • The Fair Housing Act
  • Subsequent Supreme Court rulings continually interpret these congressional statutes in light of the language in the Fourteenth Amendment, specifically the Equal Protection Clause.

Evolution of Voting Rights and Suffrage Amendments

• Historical Context of Franchise Expansion:
  • At the initial ratification of the US Constitution, the franchise (the right to vote) was severely restricted. The vast majority of the population counted for legislative representation had no voice in federal government governance.
  • Over the past two centuries, franchise expansion occurred incrementally through constitutional amendments and federal judicial decisions.
• The Fifteenth Amendment:
  • Represented the first major structural expansion of suffrage, enacted post-Civil War during the Reconstruction era.
  • Prohibits the denial or abridgment of voting rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
  • Extended voting protections exclusively to Black men over the age of $21\text{ years}$, leaving women of all races without federal voting protections.
  • Legal Distinction: The language does not grant an affirmative right to vote, but rather prohibits state and federal governments from discriminating on specified grounds once the right to vote is provided.
• Women's Suffrage and the Nineteenth Amendment:
  • Seneca Falls Convention ($1848$): Held in New York, where activists adopted the Declaration of Sentiments, demanding complete political rights for women, specifically including the right to vote.
  • Legal Challenges — Minor Case ($1875$):
    • Brought under the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause, arguing that citizenship automatically guaranteed voting rights.
    • The Supreme Court ruled unanimously ($9 \text{ to } 0$) against the plaintiff.
    • Ruling established that while women are citizens under the Constitution, citizenship does not automatically confer a right to vote because no fundamental right to vote is explicitly located in the text of the Constitution.
  • Nineteenth Amendment Ratification:
    • Prohibits the United States or any state from denying or abridging the right to vote on account of sex.
    • Explicitly grants Congress the power to enforce the article by appropriate legislation.
• The Twenty-Fourth Amendment and Poll Taxes:
  • Prohibited states from requiring poll taxes to vote in federal elections.
  • The text of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment did not explicitly extend to state and local elections.
  • In $1966$, the Supreme Court applied the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to invalidate all poll taxes across federal, state, and local elections as unconstitutional.
• The Twenty-Sixth Amendment:
  • Lowered the legal voting age from $21$ to $18\text{ years}$ of age.
  • Enacted as a reaction to events during the Vietnam War; proponents argued that individuals old enough at age $18$ to fight and die in military service should have a voice in selecting the federal officials sending them to war.
  • Ratified by the necessary $\frac{3}{5}$ of states required for constitutional amendments.
  • Prohibits state and federal denial of voting rights to citizens aged $18\text{ years}$ and older on account of age.
• Modern Supreme Court Interpretation of Voting Rights:
  • The Supreme Court does not view voting as an inherent, standalone right explicitly established in the original text of the Constitution.
  • Once a state or federal government establishes and provides for the right to vote, the court treats it as a fundamental right. Any subsequent restrictions or discriminatory barriers are subject to strict scrutiny under judicial review.

State-Level Voting Restrictions and Felon Disenfranchisement

• Constitutional Basis for Felon Disenfranchisement:
  • Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment explicitly permits states to restrict voting rights for participation in rebellion or other crimes.
  • Because states hold primary responsibility for administering and running elections, the constitutional authority to implement felony disenfranchisement lies with state governments rather than the federal government.
• Variation in State Policies:
  • Texas Category: Individuals with felony convictions can vote, but only after fully completing their sentence, including serving prison time, probation, and parole.
  • Florida Category (along with Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, Arizona): Imposes a permanent lifetime ban on voting for individuals convicted of a felony.
    • Florida Referendum Circumvention: Approximately $5\text{ years}$ ago, a statewide ballot referendum was approved by a majority of voters to restore voting rights to felons who completed their sentences. State officials subsequently enacted additional constitutional restrictions to solidify existing voting restrictions.
  • Dark Blue Category: Individuals serving prison sentences cannot vote, but voting rights are restored automatically upon release from prison, regardless of ongoing parole or probation status.
  • Maine Category: Imposes no voting restrictions; individuals maintain the right to vote even while actively incarcerated in prison.
• Legal Precedent — Richardson v. Ramirez ($1972$):
  • Challenged a California law that permanently banned voting rights for individuals convicted of a felony, even after completing their prison sentences.
  • The Supreme Court ruled that permanent disenfranchisement does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because Section 2 explicitly creates exceptions for participation in crime.
  • Established that state governments maintain broad authority to decide how, when, or if to restore voting rights to individuals convicted of felonies.

Exam Format, Requirements, and Makeup Policies

• Exam Breakdown:
  • Short Answer Section:
    • Weight: $40\%$ of total grade ($10\text{ points}$ per question).
    • Structure: Contains $4$ short answer questions.
    • Expected Length: One in-depth paragraph per question ($3 \text{ to } 4\text{ sentences}$ that directly address the prompt).
  • Multiple Choice Section:
    • Weight: $60\%$ of total grade.
    • Structure: Contains $15$ multiple choice questions.
  • Time Allocation: $50\text{ minutes}$ total exam time available (designed to be completed within $30\text{ minutes}$).
• Required Materials:
  • Must bring a writing utensil (blue pen, black pen, or pencil).
  • No Blue Books or Scantrons are required.
• Makeup Exam Policy:
  • No individual makeup exams are administered immediately following a missed test.
  • A single makeup opportunity is built into the course schedule on the final day of classes: Wednesday, December 2nd.
  • Students may miss up to $1$ exam. A score of $0$ will be posted on Canvas and calculated into midterm grades until replaced without penalty on December 2nd.

Comprehensive Study Guide: Core Conceptual Questions

• Scientific Study of Politics:
  • Explain what it means to study political science scientifically.
  • Identify key characteristics of scientific knowledge: non-normative inquiry, falsification, theoretical frameworks, and hypothesis testing.
• Federalism vs. Unitary Systems:
  • Contrast the US federal system with centralized unitary governments (e.g., France, the United Kingdom).
  • Differentiate between the historical model of Dual Federalism and the contemporary system of Cooperative Federalism in practice.
• Constitutional Origins and Structure:
  • Examine the Articles of Confederation: core provisions, structural flaws, and reasons for replacement by the US Constitution.
  • Delineate the scope of Articles I through VII of the US Constitution:
    • Article I: Legislative Branch (Congress)
    • Article II: Executive Branch (Presidency)
    • Article III: Judicial Branch (Judiciary)
• Bill of Rights and Selective Incorporation:
  • Summarize core protections contained within each amendment of the Bill of Rights (e.g., Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful search, seizure, and invasion of privacy).
  • Define selective incorporation: the legal process by which provisions of the Bill of Rights are applied to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.
  • Identify landmark Supreme Court cases incorporating rights (such as freedom of speech and religion), as well as specific Bill of Rights provisions that remain unincorporated.
• Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, and Statutory Evolution:
  • Distinguish clearly between civil liberties and civil rights with concrete examples.
  • Explain the role of the Fourteenth Amendment in expanding protections in the $21\text{st}$ century.
  • Analyze major civil rights acts of the $1960\text{s}$: Civil Rights Act of $1964$, Voting Rights Act of $1965$, and Fair Housing Act.
  • Evaluate key Supreme Court rulings that modified or expanded these acts (e.g., Brown v. Board of Education, which banned racial segregation in public schools and eliminated the separate but equal doctrine).

Key Terminology and Legal Principles

• Falsifiability: The characteristic of scientific inquiry requiring that a theoretical proposition or hypothesis can logically and empirically be proven false.
• Political Culture Dimensions:
  • Political Identity: How individuals categorize themselves politically based on group belonging or social characteristics.
  • Political Interest: The specific objective goals, preferences, or benefits an individual or group seeks to advance.
  • Political Ideology: A cohesive, structured set of beliefs regarding the role and proper scope of government.
• Democracy Models:
  • Minimalist View: Defines democracy strictly by procedural rules, institutional procedures, and competitive elections.
  • Substantive View: Defines democracy by outcomes, including guaranteed civil liberties, political equality, and real participation.
• Constitutional Structures:
  • Codified vs. Uncodified: A codified constitution is compiled into a single unified written text (e.g., the US Constitution), whereas an uncodified constitution consists of multiple statutes, judicial precedents, and legal conventions.
  • Entrenched vs. Unentrenched: Entrenched constitutions require explicit, difficult legal procedures for amendment (e.g., the US Constitution).
• Judicial Review Models:
  • A Priori Review: Constitutional review of legislation performed before its official enactment.
  • A Posteriori Review: Constitutional review of laws conducted after they have been formally enacted and applied (the model used in the United States).
• Speech and Expression Types:
  • Libel vs. Slander: Unlawful defamation; libel refers to written defamatory statements, while slander refers to spoken defamatory words.
  • Speech Plus: Expressive communication combined with physical conduct or action, such as assembling, protesting, petitioning, or symbolic actions.
• Constitutional Clauses and Legal Protections:
  • Habeas Corpus: Constitutional guarantee protecting individuals against unlawful, arbitrary detention without legal cause.
  • Supremacy Clause: Establishes that federal laws, federal treaties, and the US Constitution take legal precedence over conflicting state laws.
  • Full Faith and Credit Clause: Requires states to recognize and respect the public acts, court records, and judicial proceedings of other states.
  • Equal Protection Clause: Fourteenth Amendment provision prohibiting state governments from denying equal protection of the laws to any person within their jurisdiction.
• Burdens of Proof / Judicial Standards of Review:
  • Rational Basis Standard: The lowest level of judicial review; government regulation is constitutional if it is reasonably related to a legitimate state interest.
  • Intermediate Scrutiny: Applied to gender and sex discrimination claims; government must prove policy is substantially related to an important government objective.
  • Strict Scrutiny: The highest standard of review; applied to racial classifications and infringements on fundamental rights. Government must demonstrate a compelling interest using the most narrowly tailored means.

Student Questions and Quiz Information

• Availability of Review Quizzes:
  • Quizzes completed on Canvas remain accessible indefinitely.
  • Students can re-enter completed quizzes to review feedback, examine correct answers, and retake practice quizzes an unlimited number of times.
  • Lectures remain open for continuous review.
  • Exact questions and variations from the online quizzes will appear directly on the upcoming exam.