Unit 2: Chapter 4 Bill of Rights

14th Amendment

1) Citizenship for African Americans, 2) Repeal of 3/5 Compromise, 3) Denial of former confederate officials from holding national or state office, 4) Repudiate (reject) confederate debts

proportion

1. The relationship of one thing to another in size, amount, etc. 2. Size or weight relationships among structures or among elements in a single structure.

indictment

A formal charge by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that a named person has committed a crime.

grand jury

A group of citizens that decides whether there is sufficient evidence to accuse someone of a crime.

Bail

A sum of money used as a security deposit to ensure that an accused person returns for his or her trial

search warrant

A written authorization from a court specifying the area to be searched and what the police are searching for.

Libel

A written defamation of a person's character, reputation, business, or property rights.

13th Amendment (1865)

Abolition of slavery w/o compensation for slave-owners

In what ways does the Fifth Amendment protect the rights of the accused?

Amendment VI In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury. You have the right to remain silent. Any thing you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.

How was the promise of the Civil War amendments fulfilled in the mid-twentieth century?

There were new amendments that gave more rights to African Americans.

How do the Ninth and Tenth Amendments limit the power of the government?

They limit the powers of the government in many ways. ... This limits the governments power because it protects the powers of the state against the national government, so they can't take away or deny their rights.

Why do you think the Framers of the Constitution addressed the legal treatment of the accused in so many amendments?

They were really concerned with the government using criminal procedures to put people in jail for political purposes. They wanted to ensure that this would not be possible. Under English rule, it was more possible for the government to convict people without fair trials.

double jeopardy

Being tried twice for the same crime

Civil Liberties

Constitutional freedoms guaranteed to all citizens

How do you account for the fact that even though the 15th Amendment guaranteed suffrage to African Americans, many were not allowed to vote?

Even though African American men began voting in the South after 1867, the majority of Northern states continued to deny them this basic right. In the North, the Republican's once-huge voter majority over the Democratic Party was declining. Radical Republican leaders feared that they might lose control of Congress to the Democrats. One solution to this problem called for including the black man's vote in all Northern states. Republicans assumed the new black voters would vote Republican just as their brothers were doing in the South. By increasing its voters in the North and South, the Republican Party could then maintain its stronghold in Congress. The Republicans, however, faced an incredible dilemma. The idea of blacks voting was not popular in the North. In fact, several Northern states had recently voted against black male suffrage.

poll taxes (and literacy tests)

How Southern states got around the 15th Amendment, guaranteeing African-Americans the right to vote.

What rights are listed in the First Amendment?

It guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. ... It guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely.

Why was the first amendment added to the Constitution immediately?

It protects the right to peaceful protest and to petition the government. The amendment was adopted in 1791 along with nine other amendments that make up the Bill of Rights - a written document protecting civil liberties under U.S. law.

John Peter Zenger

Journalist who questioned the policies of the governor of New York in the 1700's. He was jailed; he sued, and this court case was the basis for our freedom of speech and press. He was found not guilty.

Whose voting rights did the twentieth century amendments specifically address?

People of color and women gained the right to vote.

eminent domain

Power of a government to take private property for public use.

Why are your first amendment rights limited?

Protect the rights of other Americans and the government

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Students in an Iowa school were suspended for wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam war. Ruled that this suspension was unconstitutional, and that public school students do not "shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse door."

petition

a formal request for government action; a process by which candidates who are not affiliated with one of the two major parties can get on the ballot for the general election in most states

Due Process

fair treatment through the normal judicial system, especially as a citizen's entitlement.

15th Amendment

gave African American men the right to vote Citizens cannot be denied the right to vote because of race, color , or precious condition of servitude

censorship

restriction on access to ideas and information Control of what people read or write or see or hear; efforts to prohibit free expression of ideas.

Slander

the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation.