Unit 3 - Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

Required Cases

• Engel v Vitale

  • New York established a school prayer at the beginning of the day but it was optional and it didn't promote any specific religion, children could opt out of it if parents signed a form

  • Court ruled in favor of Engel 

  • Violation of the Establishment Clause 

  • Establishment Clause says that Congress can't make laws about religion 

• Wisconsin v Yoder

  • An Amish family wants to take their children out after completing the 8th grade because going to high school goes against their Amish religious beliefs 

  • Violated Wisconsin law that says children must go to school until 16 

  • An Amish family was fined 5 per child

  • Amish family took it upon the Supreme Court 

  • An Amish family said that their free exercise of religion was being broken

  • Yoder won because the court said that the state can't violate their first amendment right 

• Schenck v US

  • 1917 - Congress passed the Espionage Act to outlaw any hindrances to military recruitment 

  • Schenk didn’t like the military draft, he wrote to young men telling them to resist the military draft

  • He go arrested for breaking the espionage act

  • Supreme Court ruled against him saying that this First Amendment right wasn't violated 

• Tinker v Des Moines

  • The Tinker family wanted to wear arm bands to show their support for the Vietnam War Christmas treaty, the school then made a policy that said if they see anyone with a symbolic arm band they will be suspended, the Tinker family got suspended and the school got sued.

  • Clause: Free Speech Clause 

  • Decision: Tinkers won because they didn't cause any disruption to the school, and students were able to learn.

• New York Times v US

  • This case is about the freedom of the press

  • NYT claimed that Nixon's invocation of prior restraint violated their first amendment right 

  • The Nixon administration argued that those documents threatened national security 

  • Court agreed with NYT claiming that Nixon's restraining order was unconstitutional 

• McDonald v Chicago

  • McDonald argued that Chicago's  restrictive gun laws infringed on the people's right to own guns 

  • City of Chicago argued that the restrictive gun laws were necessary to uphold public order and safety

  • Court ruled that the gun laws were a violation of the 2nd Amendment 

• Gideon v Wainwright

  • Gideon committed a crime and then was convicted in Florida 

  • He couldn't afford a lawyer and the state refused to give him one 

  • Florida has a law that states that a lawyer would only be provided in capital cases, and Gideon didn't qualify for representation provided by the state.

  • Case based on the 6th amendment 

  • The court ruled in Gideon's favor 

• Roe v Wade (not required for AP test anymore)

• Brown v Board of Education

Big Ideas and Concepts

• Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

  • Individual rights protected by law from government interference

  • They’re outlined in the Bill of Rights 

• Liberty and Order

  • Protecting and ensuring individual rights and freedoms, while protecting the general public and maintaining social stability and public safety 

• Due Process/Rights of the Accused

  • A process that ensures fair treatment through the judicial system 

  • Rooted in the 5th and 14th amendment 

• 1st Amendment

  • Religion

    • Establishment Clause

    • Free Exercise Clause

  • Speech

    • Time, Place, and Manner Restrictions

  • Press

    • Prior Restraint

• 1st Amendment 

  • Protects the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.

• 2nd Amendment 

  • Protects the right to keep and bear arms

• 3rd amendment 

  • Protects citizens from having soldiers quartered in their homes

• 4th amendment 

  • Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures of personal property and effects

• 5th amendment 

  • Deals with the rights of citizens when they are accused of crimes

• 6th amendment 

  • Explains how the process will go when a person is accused of a crime, and explains the protection to which they are entitled

• 7th amendment 

  • Guarantees the right to a trial by jury 

• 8th amendment 

  • Protects against cruel and unusual punishment and excessive bail

• 9th amendment 

  • If there are other rights not mentioned in the first ten amendments,s their exclusion from the list does not mean such rights are not protected 

• 10th amendment

  • Any powers not granted to the federal government belong exclusively to the states.

• 14th Amendment

  • Selective Incorporation

  • Due Process Clause

  • Equal Protection Clause

• Black Civil Rights Movement

• Women’s Liberation/Civil Rights Movement

• The movement sought to address inequalities faced by women in various aspects of society, including employment, education, and reproductive rights.