Chapter 4 Vocabulary
1. Civil liberties
2. Censorship
3. Petition
4. Slander
5. Libel
6. Search warrant
7. Indictment
8. Grand jury
9. Double jeopardy
10. Due process
11. Eminent domain
12. Bail
13. suffrage
14. Poll tax
15. discrimination
16. Segregation
17. Civil rights
18. affirmative action
19. racial profiling
1st Amendment
Major purpose of the 1st
Amendment is to protect
our civil liberties- our
freedom and think and act
as we want without
government interference.
1st Amendment
1. Speech
- Slander- spoken
untruths that harm a
persons reputation.
- must be stating as fact
not as opinion.
Censorship- banning
of material based on
content
We do not allow
censorship in the
United States- we do
put ratings on material.
2. Press
- Libel- written untruths that harm a
persons reputation.
Is this freedom
of the press or
libel?
3. Religion
Establishment
clause- guarantees
a separation of
church and state
4. Petition- a
formal
request for
government
action.
5. Assembly-Right
to assemble for
any reason as
long as it is
peaceful.
What you can’t do
1. Say or do something that incites a riot.
2. Say something that directly leads to a
crime.
Patriot Act
After the terrorist attack of September 11- Congress
passed this law to make it easier for the
government to follow leads. Allows government to
search data and private information much easier
then before
What is more important
to you, your safety or
your freedoms?
2nd Amendment
Is this what they meant?
3rd Amendment
Do not have to house soldiers during
peacetime.
4th Amendment
Protection from illegal search and seizure.
Must get permission or a warrant from a
judge- probable cause
5th Amendment
Indictment- double
jeopardy-self
incrimination- due
process- eminent
domain
Eminent Domain
The government can take private
property for public use like roads.
6th Amendment
Lawyer, Informed of charges, speedy and
public trial, trial in same area, hear and
question witnesses- call witnesses
Legal Terms to Know
Perjury- lying under oath.
Subpoena- a court order requiring you to
appear.
Grand jury- determines if there is enough
evidence against you that you could have
committed the crime- if so they issue an
indictment.
Indictment- a formal charge
7th Amendment
Right to a jury trial in civil suits over $20.
A civil suit is where one person sues
another person.
8th Amendment
The right to bail (money paid to
get you out of jail until your
trial is complete), protection
from cruel and unusual
punishment.
9th Amendment
Protects rights not mentioned. (Privacy)
10th Amendment
Protection from the national government
becoming too strong.
Amending the U.S.
Constitution 11-27
th
11
Amendment (1795)
•Limits suits brought against
states
•Citizens of one state cannot
bring a lawsuit against
another state
th
12
Amendment (1804)
•Electoral College must vote
for President and V.P.
separately
•No more 1st and 2nd place
winners
th
13
Amendment (1865)
•Bans slavery and forced labor
•NOT the same as the
Emancipation Proclamation!
th
14
Amendment (1968)
•Declared all former slaves to
be U.S. citizens
•Guaranteed equal rights to
ALL citizens
th
15
Amendment (1870)
•Granted suffrage to all men
regardless of race
•Amendments 13-15 are
known as the Civil War
Amendments.
Amendment vocabulary
Poll tax- a tax that was charged to people
who wanted to vote- established in the
south to stop freed slaves from voting
Suffrage- the right to vote.
Civil Rights Movement
Discrimination- unfair treatment based on a
prejudice against a certain group.
Segregation- social separation of the races.
Civil rights- the rights of full citizenship and
equality under the law.
Affirmative Action- government program
started to give advantages to women and
minorities to make up for past
discrimination.
th
16
Amendment (1895)
•Gives the authority for the
federal gov’t to collect income
taxes
th
17
Amendment (1913)
•The people, instead of state
legislators, elect their
Senators
th
18
Amendment (1919)
•Prohibition was
established—banning the
sale, consumption, and
production of alcohol
th
19
Amendment (1920)
•Granted women suffrage, or
the right to vote
th
20
Amendment (1933)
•Set new date for Congress to
rd
begin its term (Jan. 3 ) and
for the inauguration of the
th
President and V.P. (Jan. 20 )
st
21
Amendment (1933)
•Repealed, or got rid of, the
prohibition of alcohol
nd
22
Amendment (1951)
•Limits president to only
serving 2 terms
rd
23
Amendment (1961)
•Gave residents of
Washington D.C. votes in the
Electoral College
th
24
Amendment (1964)
•Prohibits poll taxes so that
even the poor can vote
th
25
Amendment (1967)
•Defines the succession
of the president
New President
X
X
th
26
Amendment (1971)
•Lowered the voting age to 18
th
27
Amendment (1992)
•Members of
Congress cannot get
pay raises until the
beginning of a new
term
•Took 74,003 days to
pass!