Nhac Nguyen

Period 2B

Unit 5: Civil Liberties/ Civil Rights

A. Development of civil liberties and civil rights by judicial interpretation:

Civil Liberties: specific individual rights which are constitutionally protected against
infringement by government.

The Bill of Rights: the amendments in the Constitution in which was created to protect the
people and balance out the powers of the government.

Civil rights/equal rights: the right of every personto equal protection under the laws and equal
access to societys opportunities and public facilities.

The conception of equality: Equal opportunity and equal results.

Affirmative Action: a term that refers to programs designed to ensure that women, minorities,
and other traditionally disadvantaged groups have full and equal opportunities in employment,
education, and other areas of life.

If the government can control what people know and say, it can manipulate their opinions and
thereby deprive them of the right to govern themselves- a core value of democracy. Therefore,
government should by broadly prohibited from restricting free expression

Symbolic Speech: action for the purpose of expressing political opinion (flag- burning).

Imminent Lawless Action: a legal test that says government cannot lawfully suppress advocacy
that promotes lawless action unless advocacy is aimed at producing, and is likely to produce,
imminent lawless action.
1) Severe limit on government power to restrict expression
2) In effect, Americans are free to say almost anything they want on political issues
3) This protection includes hate speech, but does not however extend to hate crimes.

The constitutional right of free expression is not a legal license to avoid responsibility for the
consequences of what is said or written:
a. Libel: publication of material falsely damages a persons reputation.
b. Slander: spoken words that falsely damage a persons reputation.

Obscenity is a form of expression that is not protected by the First Amendment and thus can be

prohibited by law. It cannot be interpreted nationally, therefore, is decided within the

community.

Lemon Test- details the requirement for legislation concerning religion

1) The government's action must have a secular legislative purpose;
2) The government's action must not have the primary effect of either advancing or
inhibiting religion;
3) The government's action must not result in an "excessive government entanglement"
with religion.

Free Exercise Clause: A First Amendment provision that prohibits the government from
interfering with practice of religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion.

B. Substantive rights and liberties:

Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Espionage Act; Established the Clear and
Present Danger (A test defining the limits of free speech in the context of national security.
According to the test, government cannot abridge political expression unless it presents a clear
and present danger to the nations security.)

Court ruled that any system of prior restraints on the press is unconstitutional unless the
government can clearly justify the restriction (Prior restraint: government prohibition of speech
or publication before the fact )

The Sedition Act of 1798 was the first attempt by the United States government to restrict free
expression.

The objective of policies (equality of result) intended to reduce or eliminate the effects of
discrimination so that members of traditionally disadvantaged groups will have the same
benefits of society as do members of advantaged groups.

Establishment Clause is the First Amendment provision stating that government may not favor
one religion over another or favor religion over no religion, and prohibiting Congress from
passing laws respecting the establishment of religion (Wall of separation).

C. Impact of the 14th Amendment on rights/liberties:

Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment (1973) which is the 14th amendment,
guaranteeing equal rights for all American individuals.

Reasonable- basis test: a test applied by the courts to law that treat individuals unequally. Such
law may be deemed constitutional if its purpose is held to be reasonably related to a
legitimate government interest.

Selective Incorporation: The absorption of certain provisions of the Bill of Rights (for example,
freedom of speech) into the Fourteenth Amendment so that these rights are protected from
infringement by the states.

Strict- scrutiny test: a test applied by courts to laws that attempt a racial or ethnic classification.

Suspect classifications: legal classifications, such as race and national origin that have invidious
discrimination as their purpose and therefore are unconstitutional.

Intermediate scrutiny test: a test applied by courts to laws that attempt a gender classification.
In effect, substantially related to the objective's achievement

The Fourteenth Amendment includes a clause that forbids states from depriving any person of
life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Selective Incorporation: incorporation into 14th A. of certain provisions of Bill of Rights so

right can be protected by federal courts from infringement by states.

Freedom of expression: the right of individual Americans to hold and communicate their views,
the foundation of which is the First Amendment rights of freedom of conscience, speech, press,
assembly, and petition.

Civil Rights Act (1964): African Americans and other minorities gained equal access to public
facilities. Job discrimination was abolished.

It vows to protect the minority such as women, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, African
Americans, and the disabled.

Voting Rights Act of 1965: ended racial barriers to voting (literacy tests, grandfather clause...)

19th Amendment encouraged women's leadership in civil rights movements. (Equal Pay Act)

Title IX of the Education Amendment 1972: prohibits sex discrimination in education.

The 15th Amendment extended voting rights to Arican Americans.

Indian Bill of Rights 1968: gives Native Americans on reservations and guarantees similar
rights as those given to other Americans.

Age Discrimination Act of 1975 and Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967: Prohibits
discrimination against older workers in hiring jobs in which age is not clearly a crucial factor in
job performance; mandatory age requirements eliminated by law.

Disabilities Act 1990: grants the disabled the same employment and other protections enjoyed
by other disadvantaged groups.
Philosophical Considerations

1)

What is freedom? What aspects of our constitution protect freedom?

Freedom is the rights given to us as an individual, such as the right to express ourselves. Our
freedom is listed within the constitution, which contains the Bill of Rights, guaranteeing that
our freedom is protected under the government. However, our freedom is limited to an extent.
We may not abuse our power to attack or harm others. Our privileges must not violate laws that
protect others' freedom as well. Because the Bill of Rights is very vague, government can
somehow manage to be bias if needed, therefore, our freedom cannot be absolutely guaranteed.

2)

How do we balance security with freedom?

We can enjoy our freedom of rights only when it doesnt affect others. Abusing our freedom to
take away others' rights is violating security, and is a crime. When that happens, our freedom
will be taken away as a punishment. We balance security with freedom by placing limits and
restrictions on when our freedoms can be expressed. For example our freedoms are denied
when they impose upon the freedoms of others. Another time our freedoms are limited are when
they present a danger for our country or those around us.