AP US Government : Amendments and Legislation

Amendments

1st : Right to Speech (Shenck v US and Tinker v Des Moines), Assembly, Religion, Press (New York Times v USA), Petition

  • Establishment Clause

  • Free Exercise Clause

2nd : Right to Bear Arms

3rd : Protection against quartering of soldiers

4th : No unreasonable searches or seizures (without a warrant)

  • Exclusionary Rule

5th : Guarantees a grand jury when held for a capital crime ; no double-jeopardy ; Cannot deprive life, liberty, or property without due process of law (Gideon v Wainwright)

  • Due Process Clause

6th : Right to a speedy trial

7th : Rights to a jury trial in civil cases

8th : No excessive bails and fines ; No cruel and unusual punishment

9th : Rights not mentioned in Constitution is still given to people

10th : Powers not denied to states but not listed are given to states

13th : Abolished Slavery

14th : Anyone born in the US is a citizen of the USA

  • Equal Protections Clause

15th : Banned laws that prevented the right to vote on the basis of race

19th : Gave Women the right to vote

23rd : Gave D.C. Electoral votes

24th : Banned poll taxes

25th : Created a framework for President succession in such cases

26th : Set the voting age to 18

Legislation

  • Voting Rights Act of 1965 : encouraged states to increase minority representation in Congress

  • Northwest Ordinance (1787, 1789): created by the Articles of Confederation, provided guidelines for settling new territories and creating new states, reaffirmed in the Constitution in 1789

  • Pendleton Act (1883): got rid of the spoils system for government job selection, set up exam-based merit system for candidates

  • Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890): gave Congress the power to regulate and disassemble monopolies in the US, abused to break up labor unions

  • Hatch Act (1939): let government employees vote in elections but prevented them from participating in partisan politics

  • Freedom of Information Act (1966): let the public view government documents

  • Air Quality Act (1967) and Clean Air Acts (1960s-1990s): regulated environmental impacts by establishing standards for factories and cars

  • Federal Election Campaign Acts (1971, 1974): created the FEC and required contributions and expenditures to be disclosed, created limits on presidential election expenditures and contributions, created subsidies for presidential candidates

  • War Powers Act (1973): put limits on presidential power to use troops overseas, created time limit, gave Congress power to withdraw troops; all presidents have declared act unconstitutional since 1973

  • Budget and Impoundment Control Act (1974): created Congressional Budget Office and congressional budget committees, gave Congress authority to prevent president from refusing to fund congressional initiatives

  • Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Bill (1985): created budget reduction targets to balance the budget; failed to eliminate loopholes

  • No Child Left Behind Act (2001): states must adopt education accountability standards, requires annual progress testing, and sanctions schools that fail to meet the yearly progress goals

  • Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (1995): Congressional Budget Office must analyze impact of unfunded mandates on states, must have separate congressional vote on bills that impose them

  • Espionage Act (1917), Sedition Act (1918): greatly reduced rights of Americans during war and increased federal government’s power to control public activity; repealed by Congress in 1921

  • Immigration Act (1924): limited number of immigrants entering the US and set strict standards for entry

  • Voting Rights Act (1965): eliminated literacy tests, let federal officials register voters, prevented states from changing voting procedures without the government’s approval; let federal officials count ballots and make citizens vote

  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967): prevented age discrimination in jobs unless job is affected by age

  • Civil Rights Act or Fair Housing Act (1968): Title II prevented discrimination in public places based on race, color, national origin, or religion, Title VII banned employment discrimination based on gender

  • Title IX Education Act (1972): banded gender discrimination in federally funded education

  • Americans with Disabilities Act (1990): protected disabled Americans’ rights and required accommodations to public facilities; prohibited job discrimination if accommodation could be made, required access to facilities for the disabled, allowed non-paid leave of absence without fear of firing

  • National Voter Registration Act (1993): AKA The Motor Voter Act, allowed people to register to vote when receiving driver’s licenses

  • Patriot Act (2001): After 9/11, Congress permitted police authority to federal, state, and local governments to interdict, prosecute, and convict suspected terrorists; known as the USA-PATRIOT (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) Act

  • New Deal Legislation (1933-1939): expands role of government in society and the economy; created Social Security, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Securities and Exchange Commission; expanded role and size of government

  • Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (1996): Welfare Reform Act signaled change in national role with states, tried to increase role of personal responsibility in welfare recipients, shifted many responsibilities to state governments for welfare provision, ended federal entitlement status of welfare, replaced with block grants to states; recipients of grants had to work within 2 years and could not get benefits > 5 years

  • Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (2002): AKA McCain-Feingold Bill; banned soft money to national political parties and raised hard money limits to 2,000 dollars; SCOTUS struck down several parts of this law in Citizens United v. FEC, especially parts related to donations made by corporations

  • Gramm-Rudman Holdings : Set the budget deficit for every year until 1993

Unit 5 Legislation and Amendments

  • Voting Rights Act of 1965 : Banned Voting Discrimination

  • Civil Rights Act of 1964 : Banned Employment/Public Place Discrimination

  • 15th : Banned laws that prevented the right to vote on the basis of race

  • 19th : Gave Women the right to vote

  • 23rd : Gave D.C. Electoral votes

  • 24th : Banned poll taxes

  • 26th : Set the voting age to 18