Unit 3: AP Civil Rights and Liberties

Slander

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

• A legal term for a written defamation of character.

• A type of verbal agreement that is not legally binding.

• A form of public speaking that promotes positive reputation.

NOW

• National Organization of Women, founded in 1966, with Betty Friedan as its first president, aimed to enforce the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's mandate to end sex discrimination.

• A political party established in 1966 to promote women's rights and equal pay.

• A social movement that began in the 1980s focusing on women's reproductive rights.

• An organization that primarily addresses issues related to women's health and wellness.

Strict Scrutiny

• A standard of review used for economic regulations.

• A heightened standard of review used by the Supreme Court to determine the constitutional validity of a challenged practice. Applies mostly to race, religion, and handicapped.

• A legal principle that allows for the review of state laws only.

• A method for evaluating the effectiveness of government programs.

De Facto Segregation

• Segregation mandated by law.

• Segregation resulting from economic or social conditions or personal choice.

• Segregation based on race only.

• Segregation that is enforced by government policies.

Separate but Equal Doctrine

• A legal principle established in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that segregation is unconstitutional.

• The doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that African Americans could constitutionally be kept in separate but equal facilities.

• A policy that mandates the integration of public facilities regardless of race.

• A ruling that allows for the segregation of public schools based on race.

Due Process Clauses

• Amendment 5 and 14 require the government to follow necessary steps to deny a person life, liberty, and property.

• Due process is only applicable in criminal cases.

• The Due Process Clauses are found in the Constitution's Preamble.

• Due process allows the government to act without any legal restrictions.

Fundamental Liberties

• Rights granted by the government to its citizens.

• Freedoms from government that are so essential that all governments must follow them.

• Privileges that can be revoked by the government.

• Laws that protect the government from its citizens.

Civil Liberties

• Freedoms to think and act without government interference or fear of unfair legal treatment.

• Rights granted by the government to ensure public safety.

• Legal protections against discrimination in the workplace.

• The ability to express opinions without censorship.

Obscenity

• Any work that appeals to a prurient interest in sex by depicting sexual conduct in a patently offensive way and that lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

• A form of artistic expression that is protected under free speech laws.

• Any content that is considered inappropriate for children but has educational value.

• A legal term that refers to any work that is universally accepted as offensive.

Civil Rights

• Policies that promote economic growth and development.

• Policies or government actions that are designed to protect people against discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals.

• Policies that restrict individual freedoms in favor of national security.

• Policies aimed at increasing government surveillance of citizens.