We the People Unit 5: Lesson 23 How does the Constitution protect freedom of expression?

Freedom of expression First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances” Abridging: Limiting/reducing Assemble: To gather together to discuss beliefs/ideas/feelings Redress of grievances: The correction of complaints Freedom of expression: The freedom of speech, press, assembly, and petition

Benefits of freedom of expression 1. Individual development and human dignity 2. Advancement of knowledge 3. Maintenance of representative democracy 4. Peaceful social change Malala Yosufzai

Limiting speech? Proposition: Freedom of speech should be unlimited in all cases. What I say is merely words, and nothing I say should be considered wrong.

HOMEWORK What rights, responsibilities, and concerns are involved in freedom of expression? In what sorts of places or scenarios might freedom of expression be more or less restricted?

We the People Unit 5: Lesson 24 How does the Constitution protect freedom of religion?

Freedom of religion First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” Establishment clause: Congress may not establish an official religion or favor one religion over others Free exercise clause: Congress may not stop you from holding any or no religious beliefs, and may not unreasonably limit your religious practice

HOMEWORK California pays for prison chaplains, meaning that taxes pay for a religious leader’s salary. But without the chaplain, prisoners may not fully be able to exercise their faith. Who is right? Use vocab terms to explain why.

We the People Unit 5: Lesson 25 How has the right to vote expanded since the Constitution was adopted?

Voting rights Before the Civil War: strict limits on suffrage. Suffrage: The right to vote “Civil War Amendments”: 13th, 14th, & 15th Amendments Thirteenth Amendment: Amendment that abolished slavery Fourteenth Amendment: Amendment that says— no one, whether a citizen or not, will have life, liberty or property taken away without due process of law; everyone must be treated fairly by gov’t; a citizen is defined as anyone born or naturalized in the U.S. Fifteenth Amendment: Amendment that says no man may have voting rights denied based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”

Limits on voting rights Some Southern states still found ways to deny voting rights: Literacy test: A test, required before voting, that proves a person is able to read and write Grandfather clause: A law that says a person may vote only if his grandfather had the right to vote Poll tax: A fee a person must pay in order to vote

Fighting for suffrage Civil Rights Movement: A social movement in the 1950’s-1960’s in which people organized, made speeches, marched, & boycotted to try to gain equality for African-Americans & other minorities Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964): Amendment that says the right to vote cannot be withheld because a person cannot pass a literacy test or pay a poll tax Initially applied to national elections; later applied to states, too Voting Rights Act (1965): Congressional law further protecting the right to vote for all; it said all states had to obey the Constitution

Women’s suffrage & others’ Nineteenth Amendment (1920): Amendment which officially gave women the right to vote Indian Citizenship Act (1924): Congressional law that recognized American Indians as full citizens w/ voting rights Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971): Amendment that lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.

Who may vote? All states— allow only citizens to vote require voters to live in the state for some period of time require citizens to register (enroll one’s name on a list in order to vote), except N. Dakota

HOMEWORK Many states require voters to show ID before voting. They say it proves U.S./state citizenship. Opponents feel it is a way of denying suffrage to poorer voters who may lack ID. Do you feel this is fair? Why or why not?

We the People Unit 5: Lesson 26 How does the Constitutions safeguard the right to equal protection under the law?

Still fighting for equality… Equal protection clause: Section 1 of the 14th Amendment which states, “no State shall…deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” Jim Crow laws: Laws common in the South from the 1870’s-1950’s that required separate facilities and schools, and limited voting rights for African-Americans Separate but equal: The argument that Jim Crow laws were not unconstitutional, since the separate facilities were “equal” to those provided for whites.

Two famous court cases regarding the equal protection clause Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): Ruled that “separate but equal” facilities were constitutional Allowed states to practice segregation Segregation: separation of the races Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954): Ruled that separating schools is inherently unequal Ended school segregation

Ending unfair treatment Citizens marched, demonstrated, and held boycotts Boycott—to refuse to buy from or deal with companies that support unfair practices Rosa Parks Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil Rights Act of 1964: Congressional law that ended segregation in public places such as restaurants and hotels; also said employers could not discriminate against people because of race, national origin, religion, or gender

HOMEWORK Is every American treated equally under the law today? Can you think of any areas of life where people are still discriminated against or treated unequally?

We the People Unit 5: Lesson 27 How does the Constitution protect the right to due process of law?

Due process of law Due process: The right to be treated fairly by all levels of gov’t Procedures—methods used to conduct hearings and to apply and enforce the law—must be fair Content of laws must be fair, too

5th & 14th Amendments Due process can be found in the 5th and 14th Amendments: Fifth Amendment: Amendment that says, “No Person shall…be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” and applied only to the national gov’t Fourteenth Amendment says, “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”

Conflicts w/ due process Due process involves two, sometimes conflicting, jobs: 1. Protecting the rights of those accused of a crime 2. Protecting everyone else from people convicted of crimes

HOMEWORK Many people believe that we guarantee freedom to those accused or convicted of crimes at the expense of the victims. Do you feel this is true? Why or why not?