American Government

PS 1010, American Government 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit II Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. Discuss the Bill of Rights and how these rights are protected on the federal and state levels. 2. Explain how the freedom of expression has evolved over the years. 3. Determine if a law relating to religion is valid under the religious establishment law and/or the free-

exercise clause. 4. Interpret how the Second Amendment to the Constitution applies to one’s own life. 5. Discuss how the Bill of Rights protects an individual’s right to privacy and to due process of the law. 6. Explain how Supreme Court decisions have influenced minority groups’ struggles for equal rights. 7. Assess the effects landmark legislation has had on equal rights struggles. 8. Appraise the status of equal rights in today’s society.

Reading Assignment Chapter 4: Civil Liberties: Protecting Individual Rights Chapter 5: Equal Rights: Struggling toward Fairness

Unit Lesson The first item of business for James Madison when the new government met for the first time under the Constitution was to put forth the first ten amendments that would become known as the “Bill of Rights.” Over the decades, the meanings of these amendments and who they apply to have been stretched and modified according to the needs of society. Thomas Jefferson said, “A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth.” A person’s civil liberties are those individual rights, such as speech, that are protected from infringement of the government by the U.S. Constitution. While these rights are protected, the protection is not unlimited. Even though the courts have broadened these rights and helped protect them, they have also put limits on a person’s rights. In other words, the person’s rights are not limited unless they infringe upon the rights of others. The Bill of Rights includes such things as freedom of speech, assembly, and religion unless the safety and rights of others are infringed upon. Citizens also have protection from unreasonable search and seizure and arrest without probable cause as well as protection from self-incrimination. A person cannot be tried twice for the same crime (if innocence is ruled in the first trial), and you cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property without a fair and proper trial. No matter what your economic status is, you have the right to counsel and can confront witnesses in a speedy and open trial. There must be reasonable bail set or fines levied, and if found guilty, you are protected against any cruel and unusual punishment. Throughout the years, the Court has ruled on various cases explaining, expanding, or protecting many of the rights afforded to us within the Bill of Rights. The Supreme Court in Gitlow v New York (1925) would use the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause to protect the First Amendment right of free speech. Within the next decade, the Court would go on to also expand protection to the rights of press, religion, and assembly.

UNIT II STUDY GUIDE

Civil Liberties and Equal Rights

PS 1010, American Government 2

Even though the Supreme Court has expanded protection of our First Amendment rights and freedoms, the Court has also put limits on these freedoms. In Schenck v. United States (1919), the Court upheld the Espionage Act of 1917 allowing that the federal government could limit free speech in the interest of national security. Oliver Wendell Holmes in his opinion for the Court famously stated, “Not even the First Amendment would permit a person to falsely yell "Fire!’ in a crowded theater and create a panic that could kill or injure innocent people.” This case would create the clear-and-present-danger test for when the government could legally limit free speech. Patterson (2013) tells us that since WWII “Americans’ rights of free expression have been defined largely in the context of national security concerns” (p. 88). Bradley Manning, a PFC in the Army, was arrested in May 2010 for giving classified military information to an organization known as Wikileaks for release on the internet. If convicted, he could receive life in prison. Some forms of “hate speech” have been protected if such speech falls in line with the imminent lawless action test. “Symbolic speech,” such as the burning of the American flag, has also been protected except in the case of draft card burning because that dealt with the military’s manpower needs. The Court noted in the Johnson flag burning case, “that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.” While the Court did not believe that protection of criminal rights was as important as our right to free expression, they did rule in 1932 (Powell v. Alabama) that no matter the ability to pay, a defendant in a capital punishment case must be provided legal counsel. They would not visit criminal rights again until the 1960s when they would overturn the conviction of Dollree Mapp in Mapp v. Ohio (1961). The Court concluded here “evidence acquired through an unconstitutional search cannot be used to obtain a conviction in state courts” (otherwise known as poison fruit). The First Amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” These are known respectively as the establishment clause and the free- exercise clause. The Court has ruled many times that the establishment clause means that the government cannot favor any one religion over another or support religion over no religion. Over the years, this has resulted in no prayer in school, no religious displays on public property, and no teaching of Creationism or Intelligent Design in public schools. The Court has ruled that public money can go to religious schools for secular textbooks, and tax-supported school vouchers can be used to attend a private or religious school. The free-exercise clause holds that an individual can have any religious belief he or she chooses, but the Court has ruled that an individual cannot act on those beliefs if they violate a valid law (such as the prohibition on polygamy). Just because individuals have civil liberties as stated in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, it does not mean that they will be given civil or equal rights under the law. Civil and equal rights “refer to the right of every person to equal protection under the laws and equal access to society’s opportunities and public facilities” (Patterson, 2013, p. 116). The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War, states that “no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection under the law.” With the Pessy v. Ferguson (1896) Supreme Court ruling of “separate-but-equal,” the door would be slammed on the equal rights of African Americans for decades to come. The Plessy ruling would not begin to unravel until 1949. In 1954, the Court began to reverse the Plessy ruling further with its ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The Court ruled using the Fourteenth Amendment saying “racial segregation of public schools generates [among black children] a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone….Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” It would still be years before the South would be forced to integrate schools by busing of children out of their neighborhoods (sometimes spending hours on buses to and from) to achieve desegregated schools. In order to get around this court order, many white families would move to the suburbs since busing across school districts was prohibited. Click here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs) to view the speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 would bring our nation’s biggest leap in equal protection for minorities. There was much resistance to this Act with many establishments still refusing to serve black customers. The Supreme Court would use the commerce clause to force compliance in cases such as Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S. (1964) and Katzenbach v. McClung (1964).

PS 1010, American Government 3

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 would also outlaw the literacy tests used to keep many blacks from voting. It would also give federal agents the power to register voters. This Act has been renewed several times with the latest renewal keeping it in effect until 2030. Inspired by the black civil rights movement, other minorities would begin to demand their equal rights as well. These groups included women (who were seen as the property of their husbands) and Hispanics (especially migrant farm workers who were worked long hours for little pay and were forced to live in shacks, and refused schooling). Native Americans whose numbers had been decimated also began to demand their equal rights under the law. Native Americans were not given United States citizenship until 1924. Affirmative action was an executive order issued in 1961 by President Kennedy. This order was supposed to “ensure that applicants are employed…without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.” While it had many good intentions in attempting to eliminate “de facto discrimination”, it has been in the Supreme Court many times due to its sometimes reverse discrimination outcomes. The latest case to be heard by the Supreme Court is Fisher v. University of Texas. The Court system has attempted over the last 50 years or more to remedy many of the injustices towards minority groups. There are still many fights to be fought on the fronts of gay and lesbian rights as well as age discrimination and the disabled. Many countries and people look at America and shake their heads over the discrimination that goes on because they see us as a country that has “idealized equality.” I say that America is still made up of humans who are, and always will be flawed, and that all we can do is keep trying to create a place of equality for all. Click here to view an interactive lesson on civil liberties in the United States. (http://media.pearsoncmg.com/pcp/pls/pls_mycoursetools/fufillment/mct_1256689785_csu/american_govern ment/lesson_03/topic_02_interactive/contentplayer.html) Click here to view an interactive lesson on contemporary civil rights debates. (http://media.pearsoncmg.com/pcp/pls/pls_mycoursetools/fufillment/mct_1256689785_csu/american_govern ment/lesson_04/topic_03_interactive/contentplayer.html)

Reference Patterson, T. (2013). The American democracy (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc.

Suggested Reading Click here to view a PDF of the Chapter 4 presentation. Click here to view a PDF of the Chapter 5 presentation. American Government: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights www.ushistory.org/gov/10.asp “Civil Rights” vs. “Civil Liberties” http://civilrights.findlaw.com/civil-rights-overview/civil-rights-vs-civil-liberties.html Times Topics: Stonewall Rebellion http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/s/stonewall_rebellion/index.html