In this unit students will look at the rights that people have fought for and the liberties they have received through constitutional interpretation. Students will examine the struggle for equal rights fought by minority groups, and women. They will also look at rights denied by sexual orientation, age, or disability. They will also look at fundamental American liberties by focusing on the Bill of Rights and its incorporation through the Fourteenth Amendment to the states. These rights and liberties are of utmost concern because many are still being revisited by the current Supreme Court.
Topics:
- Constitutional Amendments and the Bill of Rights
- First Amendment review relevant cases Supreme Court Cases
- Fourth through Eighth Amendments and review relevant Supreme Court Cases
- Due Process
- Free Exercise Clause
- Establishment Clause
- Exclusionary Clause
- Privacy Issue and Judicial decisions
- Selective Incorporation and the Fourteenth Amendment
- Women and Minority Groups and their battles for Civil Rights
- Landmark Supreme Court Cases
- Social Legislation
Essential Questions:
•Are civil liberties protected in times of crisis?
•What are the controversies surrounding the First Amendment?
•What are problems related to our Bill of Rights?
•Is Affirmative Action still needed today?
•What groups are still fighting for civil rights today?
POWERPOINTS:
Civil Rights
Civil Liberties
VOCABULARY:
Bill of Rights Civil liberties Clear and present danger test Direct incitement test Due process clause Due process rights Establishment clause Exclusionary rule | Free exercise clause Incorporation doctrine Libel Miranda rights Miranda v. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964) Prior restraint Right to privacy | Roe vs. Wade (1973) Selective incorporation Slander Substantive due process Symbolic speech |
Affirmative action Black Codes Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Civil Rights Civil Rights Cases (1883) De facto discrimination | De jure discrimination Equal Employment Equal protection clause Fifteenth Amendment Fourteenth Amendment Franchise Grandfather Clause | Jim Crow Laws Plessy v. Strict scrutiny Suffrage movement Suspect classification Thirteenth Amendment |