Bill of Rights - Unit 4 Flashcards
(147 cards)
0
Q
Who were Federalists
A
for constitution
1
Q
Describe the ratification process
A
-F.F. create system
-9/13 states needed to accept constitution (debate)
…state conventions
2
Q
Describe federalists
A
- well organized
- key supporters
- Federalists Papers
3
Q
How were the Federalists well organized?
A
Newspapers
4
Q
Who were some key supporters of the Federalists?
A
Washington & Franklin
5
Q
Describe the Federalist Papers
A
- series of essays explaining the meaning/virtues of Constitution
- newspapers
- authors = Hamilton/Madison/John Jay
6
Q
According to the Federalists, what was needed to solve the nation’s problems?
A
a strong national govt.
7
Q
According to Federalists, how would the national govt. be strengthened?
A
- stronger military
- pay off national debt
- solve economic wars/depression in states
- balance power (everywhere)
8
Q
Why was a stronger military needed?
A
To allow the drafting of troops to fight off the British & Spanish still lingering in America
9
Q
According to Federalists, How would the national debt be paid off?
A
By collecting taxes
10
Q
How would the economic wars/depression in states be solved according to Federalists?
A
by regulating commerce/trade
11
Q
according to Federalists, how did power need to be balanced & through the use of what?
A
national & states govts = federalism
three branches = checks & balances system
12
Q
According to Federalists, who will run the govt.?
A
The people
13
Q
What areas do Federalists support?
A
support urban areas = business men/city people
14
Q
Who are anti-Federalists?
A
Against constitution
15
Q
Describe anti-Federalists?
A
- abuse power to tax
- believe govt. will be too far away
16
Q
Describe how the govt. will be too far away (according to the anti-Federalists)
A
- travel/communication would be difficult
- people only trust their state govts
- national govt. will be too powerful
- terms of office are too long
- no protection of individual/state rights
- President = King
- country too large (geographically) for national govt to work
- rural support
17
Q
How would travel/communication be difficult (according to the anti-Federalists)
A
national govt. will not hear the people’s voice
18
Q
Describe the anti-Federalists view that terms of office are too long
A
no term limits - reflected as many times
19
Q
Describe the anti-Federalists view that there are no protection of individual/state rights
A
Believed a Bill of Rights was needed
20
Q
What was the anti-Federalists view that the president was a king
A
He would have too much power
21
Q
What was the Anti-Federalists view that country too large (geographically) for national govt to work?
A
There are too many divergent opinions
22
Q
What does rural support mean?
A
In support of the farmers
23
Q
What is the sign. in the Ratification process/the Feds vs. Anti-Feds?
A
- Anti-Feds force/convince Feds that a Bill of Rights needs to be added (Congress creates a Bill of Rights)
- debate in states was heated
- importance of Federalist Papers
24
Who was the author of the Bill of Rights?
James Madison
25
What are the Bill of Rights?
1st 10 amendments to Constitution
26
Describe the debate in the states
votes were close but eventually all 13 states ratified Constitution
27
Describe the importance of the Federalist Papers
impact: they're are best interpretation of the Constitution
| therefore, they guide the Supreme Court (judicial branch)
28
Define Living Constitution
ability to adapt & survive over time
29
What are the 2 ways the constitution lives?
1. Amendment process
| 2. Interpreting the constitution
30
What is an amendment?
a change/addition to the Constitution
31
What are the 2 steps in the amendment process?
1. Propose
| 2. ratify
32
Describe the 2 ways to propose an amendment
- Congress can do this with a 2/3 vote OR
| - can be a National convention... 2/3 vote of state reps.
33
Describe the 2 ways to ratify an amendment
- 3/4 vote of state legislatures OR
| - special state conventions... need 3/4 vote
34
List the 4 main points of significance
1. Difficult process
2. Only have been a small # of amendments
3. Process uses federalism
4. President has no say in process
35
Why did FF make the process difficult?
- wanted it to be for the most important issues
| - wanted it to have overwhelming support
36
How many amendments are there currently?
27 (1st ten are Bill of Rights)
37
Describe how the amendment process uses federalism
both National & State govts are involved in Amendment Process
38
Describe what is meant by the president has no power in the amendment process
The president cannot veto amendments
39
describe the Interpretation of Constitution
most significant way for Constitution to adapt
40
What are the 2 themes of the interpretation of the constitution?
Federalism & Rights
41
What is federalism?
National vs. State
42
Describe the evidence of the national govt. in federalism
- "Necessary & Proper" Clause
- Congress (national govt.) can make specific laws to carry out their vague powers
- increases power of national govt.
43
What does the Necessary & Proper Clause lead to?
the creation of "implied powers"
44
Describe implied powers
- broad (loose) constructionist
| - favors an interpretation of Constitution that favors national govt.
45
Name an example of a broad constructionalist
Alexander Hamilton
46
What is the federalism evidence for states?
The 10th Amendment
47
Describe the 10th amendment
all powers not given in Constitution to national govt. are reserved for states
48
What does the 10th amendment lead to?
- strict constructionists
- have limited interpretation of Constitution
- therefore more power for state govts
49
What are 2 rights that are often interpreted?
Expression & criminal procedures
50
Where are the rights to expression found?
1st amendment
51
Where are criminal procedure rights found?
4th/5th/6th amendments
52
What is the significance in the interpretation of the constitution for keeping the constitution alive?
The judicial branch does the interpreting
53
Who is the highest authority in the judicial branch?
The Supreme Court
54
What does the Supreme Court set?
a precedent
55
Describe the setting of the precedent by the Supreme Court
lower courts must follow rulings (by Supreme Court) on similar/previous cases
56
What are the Bill of Rights?
The 1st 10 amendments
57
Who is the author of the bill of rights?
James Madison
58
How many amendments were originally proposed for the bill of the rights & how many made it?
12 were proposed, only 10 were ratified
59
What is the 2nd amendment?
right to bear arms (guns)
| ex. gun control
60
What is the 8th Amendment?
- prohibits excessive bail
- also prohibits "cruel & unusual punishment"
(ex. death penalty)
61
Define bail
sum of money paid to get out of jail until your trial
62
Name the 5 parts of the 1st amendment
1. Freedom of speech
2. Freedom of press
3. Freedom of religion
4. Freedom of assembly
5. Right to petition
63
What is the 1st amendment also known as the right to?
Expression
64
Describe freedom of religion
1. No official religion
2. Practice religion as you please
(with some limitations)
ex. no human sacrifice
65
Does separation of church & state come from the constitution?
No
66
What are the limits on freedom of speech
1. Treason
| 2. Slander
67
What is treason?
endangering the govt. by giving secrets to the enemy
68
Is treason punishable by death?
Yes
69
Define slander
lying about another person which harms their reputation or lying that causes injury
70
What is the limit for freedom of press?
Libel
71
Define libel
printing lies about another person which harms their reputation or printing lies that causes injury
72
Define freedom of assembly
Right to gather peacefully or join organizations
73
Define petition
request that usually questions govt.
74
What is the sign. Of the 1st amendment?
FF intent was to protect political speech
75
What is political speech aka?
Preferred speech
76
Bc the FF intent in the 1st amendment was to protect political speech...
courts are wary to limit people's ability to question govt. & have political debate
77
Describe the background on Schenck v. United States (1919)
World War I
Govt. has passed Espionage Acts
Basically prohibiting criticism of govt. & the draft laws in particular
Charles T. Schenck printed 15,000 antidraft leaflets & passed them out to drafted men
Referred to draft as "slavery" & claimed it violated 13th Amendment
Also claimed draft was to help businessmen by keeping war going
Schenck claimed everything he did was protected by 1st Amendment
78
Define compelling state interest
Reason for the govt. to limit our rights
79
What was the Supreme Court ruling on the Schenck v. United States case?
During wartime, govt. can restrict expression that creates "a clear & present danger" for country/govt.
**Therefore, Schenck was guilty
****RESTRICT
80
What is meant by the phrase "interested & overbearing majority"?
- refers to the majority and their opinion, even if it is not the best choice for everyone as a whole.
- word "interested" implies group of people are making their opinion known because it benefits them, and this is one cause of mob rule
- word "overbearing" simply means group of people are larger party & therefore the more powerful one which is forcing their opinions on the govt.
81
How does the author define a faction?
-a group of citizens, no matter what the size of the group is, who are united together by something that benefits all of them, even if it infringes on the rights of other citizens and/or the community
82
What are the 2 ways to remove the causes of faction?
1. by taking away the rights of all the citizens that make it up, therefore taking away all spirit and passion of the faction.
2. by forcing all its inhabitants to have the same opinion and think the same way. Then, there wouldn't be any difficulty in dealing with opinions that don't benefit the country as a whole
83
Why isn't it possible for govt. to stop the 2 causes of faction? Explain answer.
- not possible for govt. to stop 2 causes of faction bc taking away the rights of citizens = unconstitutional
- not fair to those citizens, & judicial branch would never allow it through the checks and balances system
- Furthermore, the 2nd method of removing a faction would not work bc you simply can't tamper w/ peoples' minds and force them to think a certain way.
- So all in all, removing factions altogether will not work, but it is possible to control their effects. In this way, people are still allowed to have their opinion, whether majority or minority, but there is not total chaos in govt.
84
How is a minority faction defeated?
- minority faction is defeated by a majority faction.
- majority faction will outvote a minority faction, and therefore the majority wins. After the vote, if the minority loses, then they would likely just fizzle out.
85
According to Madison, what's another name for representative democracy?
According to Madison, "republic" is another name for representative democracy
86
What is the job of representatives? Explain this quote you choose to answer in this question.
- job of representatives = to represent people & expand their views
- Madison supports this in the following: "...to refine and enlarge the public views by passing them through the medium of a chosen body of citizens, whose wisdom may best discern the true interest of their country and whose patriotism and love of justice will be least likely to sacrifice it to temporary or partial considerations."
- Basically, he's saying that the reps are to revise and expand on the people's views then give them to Congress who will analyze the situation and determine the best interest of the country bc Congress will be least likely to make decisions based off of what seems the best in that moment
87
How does the size of America help solve the problem of majority faction? Be sure to explain your answer.
- size of America helps solve the problem of majority faction in that America is so large that there isn't just one majority ruling everything.
- due to the fact that there are so many diff. people w/ so many different ideas and interests that it disperses the opinion of a large majority through the creation of many minorities.
- In small society, there isn't as many people w/ diverse opinions, so there is generally 1 obvious majority making it up.
- Furthermore, large size & # of diverse opinions works to benefit America's rep. democracy bc it brings many diff. & new ideas to the national govt. & therefore encourages change & further advancement/development
88
if creating a clear & present danger...
...rights will not be protected
89
Describe the background on Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)
Brandenburg was a KKK member
90
What was KKK?
encouraged violent political opposition to Civil Rights Laws
91
What was the S.C. Ruling on the Brandenburg v. Ohio case?
Content neutral
92
Define content neutral
principle that speech cannot be restricted bc of its message alone
93
What is the compelling state interest resulting from Brandenburg v. Ohio case / content neutral?
Speech can be banned if it creates "imminent, lawless action"
94
Does the S.C. Ruling from Brandenburg v. Ohio expand or restrict rights? [content neutral, imminent lawless action, etc.]
Expand
95
Describe background on Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
- John & Mary Beth Tinker wore black armbands in protest to Vietnam War
- (public) school had banned them & threatened suspension if students wore them
- Wore them anyway & got suspended but yet there were other forms of controversial speech/protest like campaign buttons that were acceptable
96
What was the S.C. Ruling on the Tinker v. Des Moines ?
Symbolic speech is protected under 1st amendment
97
Define symbolic speech
Ideas represented non-verbally
98
Did the S.C. Ruling expand or restrict in the Tinker v. Des Moines case?
Expand
99
Describe background on New York Times v. United States (1971)
- Pentagon Papers were printed & given to NY Times to print
- Exposed that the govt. was lying to the American people about the Vietnam War
- Govt. stopped NY Times from printing but then they were given to Washington Post & govt. couldn't stop them from being printed again
- Prior restraint: order that news be censored ahead of publication
- Less than 2 weeks, case went to S.C.
100
define prior restraint
censoring or requiring approval for what the press may print before such material is actually published
101
What was the S.C. Ruling on prior restraint?
- is unconstitutional, except in cases of extreme national security
- National security = too vague, so govt. must have solid reasoning & specific evidence
102
Did the S.C. Ruling restrict or expand in the NY Times v. U.S. case?
Expand
103
Describe the background on the Island Trees School District v. Pico case
- Books that were already in the library were removed by school board bc people complained that books were offensive & just plain filthy
- Students protested saying that some parts offended those specific groups but that doesn't decrease the educational value of the books as a whole
104
Describe the S.C. Ruling on the Island Trees School District v. Pico case
-Is right to read protected by 1st Amendment?
Yes
-Is there a CSI for the school district? (Is there a reason for them to restrict what students read?)
No bc libraries are "voluntary" places of inquiry
However school districts do have complete control over the curriculum
EXPAND
105
Describe background Bethel v. Fraser case
- Matthew Fraser gave speech which contained much sexual innuendo (had been warned not to give it but did anyway)
- Gave speech & was suspended for 2 days & prohibited from speaking at graduation
- Claimed it violated freedom of speech
106
Describe the S.C. Ruling on Bethel v. Fraser
-Schools may limit speech that is "lewd & obscene"
-Court had to define obscene:
appeals solely to the audience's sexual interest
-Artistic expression is protected
-Schools must teach by example the shared values of a civilized social order
LIMIT
107
Describe S.C. ruling on Morse v. Frederick case
Ruled against student bc he was promoting illegal activity (drug use) & schools have to promote legal activity
Keep in mind... SCHOOL setting
LIMIT
108
Describe background for Morse v. Frederick case
Frederick gets in trouble for putting up a banner during a school sponsored field trip that promoted Marijuana use
Principal told him to take it down but he refused bc he didn't cause a disturbance & he can't be forced based on the content of his expression
Lower court ruled in favor of student
109
Describe the sign. Of expression
```
expanding rights
-expanded the interpretation of speech
-ex. symbolic speech & right to read
restricted rights
-specific situations
-ex. School setting
-ex. War time
```
110
What is the 4th amendment aka
"Privacy Amendment"
111
What does the 4th amendment ban?
bans "unreasonable searches & seizures"
112
How does the 4th amendment ban "unreasonable searches & seizures"
govt. needs to obtain search warrant
113
Define search warrant
legal document that allows law enforcement to seek & obtain evidence from a suspect's property
114
How is a search warrant obtained?
In order to get search warrant, law enforcement needs probable cause
115
Define probable cause
belief supported by facts/circumstances that would lead a reasonable person to believe a person may be found guilty
116
Who are search warrants issued by?
a judge
117
Describe the background on Mapp v Ohio
- deals with 4th amendment
- Police searched her house looking for a bombing suspect but instead found pornographic material
- They did not have a search warrant
- She appealed her conviction on grounds of 1st amendment but it was actually the 4th amendment being broken
118
Define exclusionary rule
evidence gained from a search in violation of 4th amendment cannot be introduced as evidence in court
119
What can happen in exclusionary rule?
therefore, person can be set free if evidence is found to be illegal & trial will be restarted
120
Describe s.c. Ruling on Mapp v Ohio
- The 4th amendment applies to the states
| - Ruled in favor of Matt
121
Describe s.c. Ruling on U.S. v Katz
"citizens have a reasonable expectation of privacy"
122
Describe background on New Jersey v TLO
- 4th amendment case
- 2 girls discovered smoking in bathroom by teacher
- Teacher took them to vice principal but TLO denied
- searched her purse & found cigarettes & also packet of rolling papers
- Searched deeper & found marijuana & lots of money
- Took her to police station where she admitted to selling drugs
- She appealed conviction saying her purse was illegally searched
123
Describe S.C. Ruling on New Jersey v TLO
-school students have less protection under 4th Amendment
...CSI -
-schools must create a safe learning environment
124
Name 5 parts of 5th amendment
1. Must be indicted before out on trial
2. Protects against double jeopardy
3. Cannot be forced to testify against oneself
4. Guaranteed due process of law
5. Limits eminent domain
125
Define indicted
formally accused of crime by grand jury or by the govt. prosecutor
126
Define double jeopardy
you can only be put on trial for the same crime once
127
What is testifying against oneself called?
Self-incrimination
128
What can & cant the govt. do with the accused in a trial?
- the prosecution (govt.) cannot call an accused to the stand to testify
- can, however, cross examine if defense brings accused to stand
129
Describe the guaranteed due process of law
- govt. must follow procedures established by law & guaranteed by Constitution
- "rules of the game"
130
Define eminent domain
right of the govt. to take private property for public use
131
How does the constitution limit eminent domain?
Govt. must pay a fair market value
132
Describe background on Miranda v Arizona
- Miranda was identified as the kidnapper & rapist & confessed to his crime
- However, S.C. overturned his conviction bc he was not clearly read his rights
133
Describe S.C. Ruling on Miranda v Arizona
-created the Miranda warnings
| right to remain silent, right to attorney, etc.
134
Describe background on Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
- Hamdi was captured by American military in Afghanistan. & accused of being a terrorist but was actually an American citizen
- Was imprisoned without access to lawyer so he was denied his 5th amendment rights
- Govt. says he's an "enemy combatant"
- Therefore don't have to follow all rights on constitution
- Prisoners of War released when war is over but war on terror never ends so it's pretty much prison forever
135
Describe S.C. Ruling on Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
1. Can President declare people to be "enemy combatants" without other branches involved?
Since Congress had authorized the use of force in Afghanistan, it was ok
2. Did Hamdi have the right to have his case heard?
U.S. Citizens, even those that are enemy combatants, do have the right to a trial
136
Describe the 6th Amendment
Right to speedy trial
Right to a jury trial with an impartial jury
Right to hear all witnesses
Lawyer provided at govt. expense
137
Describe background on Gideon v. Wainwright
Gideon accused of stealing
| Claims he's too poor to have a lawyer but the state of Florida denies him one
138
Describe S.C. Ruling on Gideon v. Wainwright
-14th Amendment
"equal protection of the laws" for everyone
-no discrimination
-ex. being poor (like Gideon)
-14th Amendment makes the Bill of Rights apply to the states
-Gideon found not guilty
139
Describe background on McCllough v. Maryland (1819)
National bank created & states oppose it claiming it is unconstitutional
States begin to tax national bank (in essence taxing national govt.)
140
Describe S.C. Ruling on McCllough v. Maryland (1819)
1. National bank is constitutional
"necessary & proper clause" as evidence
2. States CANNOT TAX the national govt.
141
Describe background on Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
Ogden was told by the state of NY that he has a monopoly on the river (he's the only one that can transport)
Gibbons has been given power to do same thing by national govt.
142
Describe S.C. Ruling on Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
Ruled in favor of national govt. (Gibbons) - they have the power to regulate interstate trade
143
Describe background on Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918)
National govt. wants to regulate child labor
144
Describe S.C. Ruling on Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918)
No - power of states
| Evidence = 10th Amendment
145
Describe background on U.S. v. Lopez (1995)
Congress passed gun-free school zone
146
Describe S.C. Ruling on U.S. v. Lopez
Said congress went too far & did not have that power
| Overruled them & gave that power to the states
