American Government
Chapter 19 Notes
Civil Liberties: First
Amendment Freedoms
Section 1
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The Unalienable Rights
A Commitment to Freedom
Personal freedom is deeply rooted in
America’s history
Constitution and Bill of Rights reinforce
personal freedom
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Fight for civil liberties and civil rights
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Protections against the government
Right to participate in Government
Limited Government
Difference between democracy and
dictatorship is the extent of power over
personal freedom
Rights are Relative, not Absolute
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Right to do as they please… so long as you do not
infringe on the rights of others
When Rights Conflict
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Fight of freedom of press versus the right to a fair
trial
To Whom are Rights Guaranteed?
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Extends to all persons, and even aliens
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non-citizen individuals
However, aliens do have some restrictions such
travel
Federalism and Individual Rights
The Bill of Rights
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The first ten amendments were intended to restrict
the new national governments power
The Modifying Effect of the 14th Amendment
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States cannot deny basic rights because of the Due
Process Clause of the 14th Amendment
No state can deny any person any right that is
“basic or essential to the American concept of
ordered liberty.”
Process of Incorporation
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Merged, or combined, the bill of rights in the 14th
amendment
The 9th Amendment
Many rights are not explicitly stated in
the Constitution
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“The enumeration in the Constitution, of
certain rights, shall not be construed to
deny or disparage others retained by the
people.” 9th Amendment
Section 2
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Freedom of Religion
Freedom of Expression
Religion has always played a large and
important role in American life
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1st and 14th amendments prohibit the
establishment of religion (Establishment
Clause) and interference by the
government in the “free exercise” of religion
Separation of Church and State
States that there needs to be “a wall of
separation between church and the state
(Government)”
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Originally defined by Thomas Jefferson
Government has encouraged churches through
no taxation, taking oath of office in the name
of God, coins, and nation’s anthem
However, parochial schools are religious
schools, and they are not under the rules of
DESE
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Example, Catholic High School
Religion and Education
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In Everson v. Board of Education, law
requiring the public to pay for buses (even
parochial buses) was against the
establishment clause
Released Time
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Allowed public schools to release students during
school hours to attend religious classes on school
grounds
Considered illegal by the Supreme Court
Religion and Education (Con’t)
Prayers and the Bible
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Continually the Supreme Court has held that the
requirement of prayer to be unconstitutional
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Including before a public school graduation or football
game
Student Religious Groups
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Students are allowed to create religious groups at
schools, as long as they are supported similar to
other student groups at the school
Evolution
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Cannot forbid the teaching of evolution
Religion and Education (Con’t)
Aid to Parochial Schools
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Whether or not states should provide funding for
private religious school districts
The Lemon Test
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Purpose of the aid is clearly secular, not religious
Its primary effect neither enhances or inhibits
religion
It avoids an excessive entanglement of government
with religion
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However, not completely clear cut from Supreme Court
Other Establishment Clause
Cases
Seasonal Displays
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Supreme Court has held that public
organizations can put up Christmas
decorations, as long as they show other
religious symbols as well
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ACLU continually attacks this issue
Chaplains
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Legislative meetings can begin with prayer
because:
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tradition
Legislators are not like school children and are
not “susceptible to religious indoctrination or
peer pressure”
The Free Exercise Clause
Guarantees to each person the right to
believe whatever he or she chooses to
believe in matters of religion
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However, one cannot violate criminal laws,
offend public morals, or otherwise threaten
the safety of the community
Limits on Free Exercise
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Multiple cases involving the restriction of
individual freedom
The Free Exercise Clause (Con’t)
Free Exercise Upheld
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The government is limited on restricting
individual freedoms
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Amish only go to school till 8th grade
Jehovah witnesses have the right to not salute
the U.S. flag
Section 3
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Freedom of Speech and Press
The Free Exchange of Ideas
1st and 14th amendments provide
certain fundamental rights
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Each person a right of free expression in all
means of communication
Guarantee to all person a full, wide ranging
discussion of public affairs
The Free Exchange of Ideas
(Con’t)
America’s governmental system depends
on the ability of the people to make
sound, reasoned judgments and
decisions
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Used to protect unpopular views
However there are restrictions, especially
concerning libel and slander
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false and malicious use of printed words
false and malicious use of spoken words
Seditious Speech
Sedition is the crime of attempting to
overthrow the government by force or to
disrupt its lawful activities by violent acts
Seditious speech is the advocating or
urging, of such conduct
The Alien and Sedition Acts
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Ability to deport undesirable aliens in 1798
However eventually found unconstitutional
Seditious Speech (Con’t)
The Sedition Act of 1917
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Ability of the government to charge
individuals who tried to interfere with the
war effort
Established Clear and Present Danger
The Smith Act of 1940
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A crime for anyone to advocate the violent
overthrow of the government of the United
States
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Parts of the act are still used today
Obscenity
Can be considered obscene if:
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The average person find that the work
tends to excite lust
Depicts or describes a form of promiscuity
The work taken as a whole, lacks serious
literary, artistic, political, or scientific value
Prior Restraint
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Punishment of words said or written
after they are made
Basically used as a form of censorship
The Media
Confidentiality
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In theory, reporters are to give up their sources, if
requested by the courts
However, some states have passed shield laws
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Allow reporters to maintain their confidentiality
Motion Pictures
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No longer do towns have “censorship” committees
Most individuals use the industry’s own rating
system
The Media (Con’t)
Radio and Television
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Most often the form of communication with
the highest amount of restrictions
The FCC is the government agency in
charge of regulating the decency of radio
and television
Symbolic Speech
Expression by conduct… communicating
ideas through facial expressions, body
language, or by carrying a sign or
wearing an arm band
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Example: Picketing
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patrolling of a business site by workers who are
on strike
Symbolic Speech (Con’t)
Other Symbolic Speech Cases
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Acts of dissent can be punished if:
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the object of the protest is within the
constitutional powers of the government
whatever restriction is placed on expression is no
greater than necessary in the circumstance
government’s real interest in the matter is not to
squelch dissent
Flag Burning
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Courts found it to be constitutional
Commercial Speech
Advertising for businesses is sometimes
protected
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Example:
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Cigarette and drinking commercials during
college basketball games
Section 4
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Freedom of Assembly and Petition
The Constitution’s Guarantees
The Constitution protects the right of
people to assemble peacefully
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Gather with one another
Time-Place-Manner Regulation
The government is allowed to put
reasonable regulation on the right to
assemble
The government’s regulations must also
be content neutral
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Cannot regulate assemblies on the basis of
what might be said there
Public Property
Most assemblies, or demonstrations, take
place on public property
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Thus many times, demonstrations are restricted to
specific parts of public property, and must give
advanced notice
In order to help maintain order and control
Gregory V. Chicago
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As long as demonstrators act peacefully, they could
not be punished for disorderly conduct
Recent Cases
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Mostly dealing with abortion and groups trying to
dissuade women from having or receiving advice on
abortions
Private Property
The rights of assembly and petition do
not give people a right to trespass on
private property, even if they wish to
express political views
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That includes shops or malls
Public Property
Most assemblies, or demonstrations, take
place on public property
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Thus many times, demonstrations are restricted to
specific parts of public property, and must give
advanced notice
In order to help maintain order and control
Gregory V. Chicago
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As long as demonstrators act peacefully, they could
not be punished for disorderly conduct
Recent Cases
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Mostly dealing with abortion and groups trying to
dissuade women from having or receiving advice on
abortions
Private Property
The rights of assembly and petition do
not give people a right to trespass on
private property, even if they wish to
express political views
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That includes shops or malls
Freedom of Associations
Those rights to associate with others to
promote political, economic, and other social
causes
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Also known as right of association
Example: Boy Scouts of America V. Dale, 2001
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The Boy Scouts kicked out a professed homosexual
child
The Courts held that the Boy Scouts had the right
to do it, because if they accepted the boy, then
they would be contradicting what the organization
professes to believe
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Their charter opposed homosexuality