chapter 5: civil liberties - us history semester 1 course

Chapter 5: Civil Liberties Chapter 5: Civil Liberties

The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims have been born of earnest struggle. If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters.

Frederick Douglass

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The Bill of RightsThe Bill of Rights

Colonists feared a tyrannical government.


The Bill of Rights and State Governments

The Bill of Rights and State Governments

While the Bill of Rights protected the people from the national government it did not protect the people from state governments.

1868: the Fourteenth Amendment Incorporation Theory


Freedom of ReligionFreedom of Religion

Separation of Church and State• Establishment Clause

1. Aid to church-related schools2. School vouchers3. School prayer—Engel v. Vitale4. Prayer outside the classroom5. The Ten Commandments6. Teaching evolution7. Religious speech


Free Exercise ClauseFree Exercise Clause

Guarantees the free exercise of religion; restrained when religious practices interfere with public policy.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act

Free Exercise in the Public Schools

© Joe Raedle/Newsmakers/Getty Images


Freedom of ExpressionFreedom of Expression

No Prior Restraint

Protection of Symbolic Speech

Protection of Commercial Speech

Permitted Restrictions on Expression• Clear and Present Danger• Modifications: Grave and Probable Danger Rule


Freedom of Expression (cont.)

Freedom of Expression (cont.)

Unprotected Speech• Obscenity• Pornography/Internet Pornography• Slander

Campus Speech

Hate Speech on the Internet


Freedom of the Press Freedom of the Press

Libel• Public figures must meet higher standards than

ordinary people to win a libel suit.


A Free Press Versus a Fair Trial

A Free Press Versus a Fair Trial

Gag orders: the right of a defendant to a fair trial supersedes the right of the public to “attend” the trial.

Films, Radio, and TVFilms, Radio, and TV

Freedom of the press is no longer limited to just the print media, though broadcast media do not receive the same protection as print media.


(Bill Swersey/Getty Images)


The Right to Assemble and Petition the Government

The Right to Assemble and Petition the Government

The Supreme Court has held that state and local governments cannot bar individuals from assembling. • Street gangs• Online assembly

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The Right To Keep and Bear Arms?

The Right To Keep and Bear Arms?


Click the icon to open the movieVideo Supplied by Motion Gallery


Questions Questions Why is gun ownership the most controversial

right described in the Bill of Rights?

Did the framers of the Constitution intend to make the meaning of the Second Amendment ambiguous? Why or why not?

How do Robert Levy’s views straddle those of the right and the left on gun control?

QuestionsQuestions

Does the Court decision on gun ownership extend or restrict civil liberties?

Two big-city mayors provide their views on the ruling. Would the mayor of a small town feel similarly?

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Privacy RightsPrivacy Rights

There is no explicit Constitutional right to privacy, but rather the right to privacy is an interpretation by the Supreme Court.

From the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments.

1965: Griswold v. Connecticut


Privacy Rights and Abortion

Privacy Rights and Abortion

Roe v. Wade

The controversy continues

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)


Privacy Rights and The Right to Die

Privacy Rights and The Right to Die

Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health (1997)

Physician–Assisted Suicide


Privacy Rights Versus Security Issues

Privacy Rights Versus Security Issues

Privacy rights have taken on particular importance since September 11, 2001.


The USA Patriot ActThe USA Patriot Act

(Courtesy of ACLU.org)


FBI Misusing Patriot ActFBI Misusing Patriot Act

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Questions Questions

Do you think the FBI has too much power? What is your opinion about privacy in this

country? Should more be done to protect our privacy?

Do you believe that giving up some privacy is a small price to pay to defend our country from the threat of terrorism?


Rights of the AccusedRights of the Accused

Fourth Amendment• No unreasonable or unwarranted search or seizure• No arrest except on probable cause

Fifth Amendment• No coerced confessions• No compulsory self-incrimination


Rights of the Accused (cont.)

Rights of the Accused (cont.)

Sixth Amendment• Legal counsel• Informed of charges• Speedy and public jury trial• Impartial jury by one’s peers

Eighth Amendment• Reasonable bail• No cruel or unusual punishment


The Bill of Rights and the Accused (cont.)

The Bill of Rights and the Accused (cont.)

Video Recording of Interrogations• In the future, such a procedure might satisfy Fifth

Amendment requirements. The Exclusionary Rule

• This prohibits the admission of illegally seized evidence (Mapp v. Ohio 1961).


The Death PenaltyThe Death Penalty

Is the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment or is it a useful method for dealing with the worst criminals?


The Death Penalty TodayThe Death Penalty Today

34 states allow the death penalty.

Time Limits for Death Row Appeals

The 1996 Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act limits appeals from death row.

(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)


The Death Penalty Today (cont.)

The Death Penalty Today (cont.)

Recently, DNA testing has led to the freeing of about a hundred death row inmates who were wrongly convicted, throwing doubt on the death penalty.


The States and the Death Penalty

The States and the Death Penalty


Questions for Critical Thinking


What do you think is the historical basis for civil liberties? Are people as concerned today about the protection of their civil liberties as were the founders?

Do you think the libel laws restrict a free press? Should the press be allowed to publish anything it wants about a person?

Should the press have to prove that everything published is absolutely true?




Would you support an interpretation of the Constitution that allows a physician to assist in facilitating the death of someone who chooses to die?

Where did the right to privacy originate? Why are the rights of the accused so important?

Is there any way to strike a balance between the rights of victims and the rights of the accused?


Web LinksWeb Links

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

The Freedom Forum

Judicial Watch

Supreme Court of the United States

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Washington Legal Foundation


Web Links Web Links

First Amendment Center

Religion and the Founding of the American Republic (Library of Congress Exhibition)

U.S. Department of Justice-Preserving Life and Liberty

Bill of Rights Defense Committee

chapter 5: civil liberties - us history semester 1 course

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