Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

1. Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Government

2. Bill of Rights • First 10 amendments to Constitution • Applies only to the federal government

3. Selective Incorporation • Process of making the Bill of Rights work at the state level • The Supreme Court has applied the Bill of Rights to the states using court cases before the court (most of the time using the 14th Amendment due process clause)

4. Civil Liberties Protections, or safeguards, that citizens enjoy against the abusive power of the government

5. Bill of Rights

6. 1st Amendment Guarantees 5 freedoms Speech Press Religion Petition Assembly

7. 1st: Types of Speech • Pure Speech • Speech only • Speech-Plus • Words + Actions • Symbolic speech • Representations of ideas without words • Sit ins, armbands, flag burning, etc. • Unconstitutional when the mode of expression (not the ideas) are considered harmful.

8. 1st: Types of Speech • SELECTIVE INCORPORATION • Tinker v. Des Moines • Wearing black arm bands for protest is legal under freedom of (symbolic) speech • Texas v. Johnson • flag burning is protected under freedom of speech. (symbolic)

9. 1st: Unprotected Speech Defamation – not protected by the 1st- saying or printing things that could hurt a person’s reputation • Libel • Written statement that defames the character of another person • Slander • Oral (spoken) statement that defames the character of another person

10. Unprotected speech includes: Obscenity Pornography Fighting words (incite violence) Seditious speech (treason) 1st: Speech & Press

11. 1st: Exceptions to Freedom on Speech & Press • Clear and Present Danger Test • Prohibited speech only when it would result in imminent harmful consequences • Prior Restraint • censorship before publication (gag orders) • Shield Laws • None at federal level, up to states • Would protect reporters from revealing their source

12. 1st: Exceptions to Freedom on Speech & Press • SELECTIVE INCORPORATION • Schenck v. U.S. • encouraged people to avoid the draft and handed out anti-war leaflets…since in war, posed a threat to safety and therefore not allowed) • Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier • principal stopped a story before printed in the school newspaper

13. Establishment Clause “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;” Forbids Congress from establishing a national religion SELECTIVE INCORPORATION Engel v. Vitale No school prayer Wallace v. Jafree No moment of silence for prayer Lemon v. Kurtzman Rules for using tax money on private (religious) schools 1st: Religion

14. Free Exercise Clause Guarantees the right to practice a religion of their choice (if it does not violate law of country) Conscientious Objector Person who refuses to perform military service because of opposition to war based on religious beliefs 1st: Religion

15. 1st: Assembly & Petition • Must be lawful and nonviolent • It is usually the onlookers, not the protestors that cause the problems • The state can protect from assembly on private property • Extremist groups can't be punished if their words are not expressly linked to action

16. 2nd Amendment –Right to Bear Arms

17. Rights of the Accused

18. 4th Amendment: Prohibits Unreasonable Search & Seizure • Warrant required • Must have probable cause • Must describe place & person/things to be seized • Exclusionary Rule • Evidence illegally obtained can be excluded in court proceedings. • SELECTIVE INCORPORATION: • Mapp v. Ohio • Arrested Mapp for having obscene materials in home but warrant was looking for another suspect and his bomb-making materials. • Miranda v. Arizona • suspect testified without lawyer, claimed he did not know he had the right to remain silent.

19. 5th Amendment: Rights when Accused • Right to a grand jury • Indictment guarantees enough evidence to go to trial • Federal grand jury = 16-23 jurors and you need 12 votes for indictment • Double jeopardy • Can’t be tried for the same offense of law twice • Self incrimination • Can’t be forced to serve as witness against self • Miranda Rights • Miranda v. Arizona – must tell rights before questioning • Due process • Fair Procedures for all • Eminent domain • Private property can’t be taken w/o just cause

20. 6th Amendment: Rights when On Trial • Right to a speedy and public trial • Right to a petit jury trial (12 members) • Right to be informed of charges • Right to confront witnesses • Right to counsel (lawyer) • Gideon v. Wainwright (Florida man denied lawyer because he couldn’t afford one and the charges were state charges…challenged from jail and won)

21. 7th Jury Trial in Civil Cases Right to a trial jury for cases involving more than $20 8th Bail, Punishment No excessive bail, no cruel & unusual punishment Death Penalty is Legal if administered equally: Two Stage Trial: Stage 1: Decide Guilt Stage 2: Decided Punishment 7th & 8th Amendments

22. 9th Amendment:Right to Privacy Provides the basis for civil liberties not specifically mentioned in the Constitution

23. Due Process Clause No state can deprive a person of life, liberty or property without due process of law Substantive – substance of the law guarantees due process Procedural – actions of those involved guarantee due process (police, lawyers, judges) Fourteenth Amendment

24. Equal Protection Clause No state may deny any person equal protection of the law Discrimination Categories Race Gender Age Disability Sexual Orientation Fourteenth Amendment

25. Civil Rights • Obligations that government has to protect citizens from discrimination and to guarantee equal citizenship • positive acts of government that seek to make constitutional guarantees a reality for all people

26. So you think you can VOTE? A Brief History of America’s Voting Rights

27. The Early Years When the colonists came over from England, they brought many of the English political laws and customs with them.

28. The Early Years In most of the thirteen colonies, only adult white males that owned land (usually at least 50 acres) could vote.

29. The Early Years Many people believed that land owners were the only ones responsible enough to make political decisions!

30. The Early Years This left poor white men… women… American Indians… and Africans (free and slave) OUT of the voting process!

31. Thomas Jefferson George Washington Independence and the Vote Benjamin Franklin John Adams The Framers of the Constitution couldn’t agree on who should have the right to vote. They gave each state the power to decide what its own voting rights would be. Do you recognize anyone in the image?

32. Over time , states dropped the requirement that voters must own property. Some states acted faster than others. New York got rid of the property requirement in 1821. Rhode Island did not change until 1880!

33. The African American Vote The 15th Amendment was passed in 1870, five years after the end of the Civil War. The Amendment states, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied … on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.”

34. The 15th Amendment said that former slaves could not be turned away from the polls due to the color of their skin or the fact that they had been slaves. The African American Vote We will see that this rule wasn’t always followed…

35. The Women’s Vote Women gained voting rights after a long hard fight. Wyoming gave women the vote in 1869, but it took the work of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and many others to get the job done!

36. The Women’s Vote The 19th Amendment said, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied … on account of sex.” Women won the right to vote in August of 1920!

37. The American Indian Vote American Indians were not considered citizens of the United States until 1924. Before that, they were considered members of their own tribal governments.

38. The American Indian Vote In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act. This gave American Indians the rights and privileges of American citizenship. This includes voting, of course!

39. Residents of the District of Columbia did not get the right to vote in presidential elections until the 23rd Amendment was ratified in 1961. DC Voting Rights

40. Even after the Civil War, many people in the South did not want African Americans to have the same rights as white Americans. This included the right to vote or hold office. Voting is a Civil Right! Some states and counties passed laws that made voting almost impossible!

41. Limited opportunities to register to vote • Arrest and beatings by police • Threats of violence toward voter’s family and home • Personal information shared with groups like the KKK and employers • Unfair tests at the polls Barriers to the African American Vote States and individual counties used many different methods to prevent African Americans from voting.

42. This poll test asks voters to correctly guess the number of cotton balls in a jar before they are allowed to vote. ? ? ? Other tests asked voters to guess the number of bubbles in a bar of soap!

43. Theliteracy test was one type of poll test that was given in some locations. Voters were tested on their reading skills. Like with the other tests, white voters always passed while African American voters usually failed.

44. Voting Requirements in the South 1) Read a section of the Constitution out loud. 2) Tell what the section says in your own words. 3) Write out another section of the Constitution. 4) Answer eight questions on the Constitution. Voters who could not prove a 5th grade education had to: 1) Complete a 30 question test 2) Finish the test in 10 minutes! Many African Americans in these states lacked a quality education, and the tests were meant to exclude blacks from the voting process.

45. Alabama Literacy Test Louisiana Literacy Test Examples of Literacy Tests

47. The Poll Tax required voters to pay for the ability to vote. Most Southern African Americans were poor sharecroppers that were heavily in debt to landowners. $1.50 1932 = $23.00 Today

48. The Civil Rights Movement The marches, speeches, sit-ins, freedom rides and activities all added up to what we know as the Civil Rights Movement. Over time, more and more people demanded civil rights for all Americans.

49. Voting Laws Change Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. President Lyndon B. Johnson The 24th Amendment was added to the Constitution in 1964. It banned the use of poll taxes in elections. Can you name two people in this image?

50. Voting Laws Change The Voting Rights Act was signed by President Johnson in 1965. • This law: • protected the right to vote for all citizens • forced the states to obey the Constitution • reinforced the 15th Amendment.