Study Guide for Unit 6:

Civil Liberties & Civil Rights

 

Chapter 4: Civil Liberties and Public Policy

 

Questions you should be able to answer:

1.       What is the relationship between the national government and the states in the protection of civil liberties? How was the issue of protecting civil liberties at the state level resolved?

2.    What would a literal interpretation of the First Amendment mean for the protection of civil liberties? What factors tend to prevent such a literal interpretation? Give examples to illustrate your answer.

3.    Compare the First Amendment freedoms in terms of the restrictions placed on their application. Do you agree with these restrictions? Support your position with examples of actual or hypothetical cases.

4.     How has religious freedom been interpreted by the Supreme Court? Be sure to include a discussion of the establishment clause and the free exercise clause.

5.    Identify the various types of speech. Categorize the different types of speech according to the extent to which they are protected by the Constitution. Give examples of court cases that have helped to establish these protections.

6.    What are the constitutional protections of persons accused of crimes, and where are they found? How has the Supreme Court interpreted and shaped these protections?

7.     What is meant by the “right to privacy”? Explain the controversies that have arisen over the right to privacy.

 

Terms you should be able to identify & describe:

civil liberties                        Bill of Rights

Fourteenth Amendment                  incorporation doctrine

establishment clause               free exercise clause

prior restraint                      libel

symbolic speech                    commercial speech

probable cause                     search warrant

exclusionary rule                   self-incrimination

plea bargaining                   

 

Chapter 5: Civil Rights and Public Policy

 

Questions you should be able to answer:

1.       What does the U.S. Constitution say about equality?

2.    What have been the different eras in the struggle for racial equality? What public policy achievements were made in each era?

3.    Explain how the right to vote has been extended in the United States to include both African Americans and women. How was the struggle for suffrage among these two groups similar and different?

4.     What policies have resulted from the struggle for equal rights for women? Explain the controversy over the issue of comparable worth.

5.    Who are the new groups under the civil rights umbrella and what issues are they concerned about? What equality issues might arise in the near future?

6.    What is meant by affirmative action? What are the pros and cons of affirmative action? How has the Supreme Court dealt with the issue of affirmative action?

 

Terms you should be able to identify & describe:

civil rights                          Civil Rights Act of 1964

suffrage                            poll taxes

Thirteenth Amendment             Fifteenth Amendment

24th Amendment                   19th Amendment

Voting Rights Act of 1965         Equal Rights Amendment

comparable worth                        affirmative action

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)