Civil Liberties and Civil Rights: every key term you need (+ practice quiz)

More AP US Government guides

• Foundations of American Democracy
• Interactions Among Branches of Government
• American Political Ideologies and Beliefs
• Political Participation

Civil Liberties

Constitutional protections against government power, such as freedoms of speech, religion, and press found in the Bill of Rights.

Civil Rights

Protections against discrimination guaranteeing equal treatment under the law, rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution, guaranteeing fundamental individual liberties and limiting government power.

Selective Incorporation

The process by which the Supreme Court applies most Bill of Rights protections to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.

Establishment Clause

First Amendment provision prohibiting government from establishing an official religion or favoring one religion over another.

Free Exercise Clause

First Amendment provision protecting the right to practice one's religion freely, subject to some limits for compelling state interests.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Upheld limits on speech that presents a 'clear and present danger,' such as speech interfering with the WWI draft.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Ruled that students wearing armbands to protest the Vietnam War was protected symbolic speech; students don't shed rights 'at the schoolhouse gate.'

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

Ruled against prior restraint, allowing publication of the Pentagon Papers and strengthening freedom of the press.

Second Amendment

Protects the right to keep and bear arms; District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) affirmed an individual right to own firearms.

Fourth Amendment

Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures and generally requires a warrant based on probable cause.

Fifth Amendment

Guarantees due process, protection against self-incrimination and double jeopardy, and a grand jury for serious crimes.

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Required police to inform suspects of their rights (to remain silent and to an attorney) before custodial interrogation.

Sixth Amendment

Guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, and legal counsel in criminal prosecutions.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Ruled that states must provide an attorney to defendants who cannot afford one, incorporating the Sixth Amendment right to counsel.

Eighth Amendment

Prohibits excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment.

Due Process Clause

Found in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments; guarantees fair legal procedures and protects fundamental rights from government infringement.

Equal Protection Clause

Fourteenth Amendment guarantee that states must treat people equally under the law; basis for many civil rights rulings.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Ruled that state-mandated racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional, overturning 'separate but equal.'

Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963)

Martin Luther King Jr.'s defense of nonviolent civil disobedience against unjust laws, part of the required AP documents.

Fourteenth Amendment

Grants citizenship, guarantees due process and equal protection, and is the vehicle for applying the Bill of Rights to the states.

Clear and Present Danger vs. Prior Restraint

Clear and present danger allows limiting dangerous speech (Schenck); prior restraint is government censorship before publication, generally forbidden (NYT v. US).