American government study guide chapter 5

Chapter5) Civil Liberties and the Bill of Rights
-Freedom from government
-Civil Liberty shows the ‘gradual expansion’, but not always constant expansion in the case of threat to the nation (War, Insecurity, 9/11->we need restriction of freedom)
-Protection of unpopular minorities against the tyranny of the majority
-Court sometimes cannot protect minority, they tend to follow American general society’s thought. & Elected branches which want popular position rely on courts to do dirty work. (Burn the Flag case)

ⓐ The Bill of Rights, 1791 ⓑ The Fourteenth Amendment, Civil War Era
-equal protection in any gender
-“No state can deny fundamental notion of the Constitution” ⓒSelective incorporation (Bill of Rights + Fourteenth Amendment)->a gradual process of incorporation
-At first, Supreme Court was wary of (be afraid of) applying the Bill of Rights to the states
-Starting in the 1920s, tentative steps to incorporate things like free speech
-Justice Cardozo called this process “selective incorporation”
Brown v. Board of Education: major victories about civil rights movement
Equal rights Amendment
Civil Rights Act of 1964
-in NY Times AD, Southern officials (civil rights activist) in Alabama are mistreated, so it begins!
-Thus, the Court said we don’t want to make limitation of speech! It’s up to you guys!
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, 2009

1. Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965
-Griswold disagree with the Connecticut state law which tells people about contraception. He thinks that telling people about contraception(kind of privacy) is unconstitutional.
-Strict constructivism: constitution said nothing about it ->follows Connecticut state law/ If you want to argue ‘right to privacy’, amend the Constitution!
-Living document: State law is against the sprit of Constitution that every people has privacy/We can interpret the “right to privacy” in Constitution”
2. 1973, another case about right to privacy in “abortion” ->research more!
3. Bowers v. Hardwick, 1986 (about violation of sodomy law : constitutional)
*sodomy: sexual behavior which don’t lead to pregnancy, sodomy law is manly applied by gay.
-Gay man in Atlanta said ‘sodomy law’ in Atlanta is violated the ‘right to privacy’.
-The courts decided that sodomy law is constitutional
4. Lawvence v. Texas (about violation of sodomy law : unconstitutional)
- Court finally follows the public opinion 17 years later ->Every sodomy law was gone!

-freedom of speech is in the 1st amendment
-but, Libel and slanders are not protected!
Limits of freedom of speech_ Libel (written) and Slander (speech)
-can hurt other people’s reputation
Larry Flynt and Jerry Falwell _ check the material
Protect of freedom of speech_ Sullivan Rule, 1964
-protects citizens freedom of speech!/ it allows the criticism of public figure (in politics, people who are seeking office or holding office)

-In general, if the countries have high income or GDP, they tend to have lower religious rate, but America is unusually religious.
-The problem is that : American are RELIGIOUS but, Constitution is DRY, SECULAR!
Separation of church and state/ Free exercise clause and the establishment clause
-the Constitution said, government should keep from being ‘entangled’ /there’s s no establishment/ protect ‘free exercise’
-but, they don’t directly said that government should be separated from religion
-The one thing the Constitution mentioned about religion is that you don’t need to be religions if you want to work as governor. (NO religions test to become a governor)
-however usually U.S. governor has religion (no atheist), because American feels good when you heard people go to church, and candidate who has religion appeals American citizen.
- It is tough to be a religious minority in America
-Pledge of Allegiance (1890~) public school teach my daughter the Pledge of Allegiance, and it is violation of constitution. (entangled)
->it is difficult case, so court just dismissed it. ( Micheal x live with his daughter)
Ceremonial deism ->it is okay
-Christmas tree on public property ->okay, be it shows festive season, and federal holiday
Baby Jesus on public property ->not okay, it violated the Constitution ‘entangled’
-Monument related to religion in public property -> if historical monument – OK -> if religious monument – Not OK
-Thus, Atheist argues that God is meaningful in the controversial monument Christian argues that God is meaningless in the controversial monument, they just said its historical convention.