American Government 100Part II

Patterson. pgs. 92-108

Woll, pgs. 103-115, AG8-17

Civil Liberties

True/False Questions

1. At the time the Bill of Rights was adopted, it applied to action by both the federal government and the states. True or False

2. Initially the Supreme Court largely ignored the due process clause, allowing states to decide for themselves what rights their residents would have. True or False

3. In Near v. Minnesota, the Supreme upheld the right of a newspaper to regularly print defamatory statements about blacks, Jews, Catholics, and labor union leaders after a law was passed to prevent such language. True or False

4. As it stands, nearly all freedoms in the Bill of Rights are now national rights and under the protection of the federal courts. True or False

5. Although the Supreme Court ruled that the Sedition Act of 1798 was unconstitutional, it left open the question of whether Congress had the power to regulate free expression. True or False

6. Unlike the general public, the press has the right to libel someone if it serves the public interest. True or False

7. People are protected from having someone else’s religious beliefs being imposed upon them, and people are also free to believe whatever they like. Trueor False

8. According to Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes,the First Amendment does allow a person to yell fire in a crowded theater even as a prank, reflecting just how robust America’s constitutional rights are protected. Tue or False

9. In the 1950s, the Supreme Court overturned the conviction of eleven members of the U.S. Communist party who had been prosecuted under a law that made it illegal to express support for the forceful overthrow of the U.S. government. True or False

10. Over the past six decades, which includes the Vietnam and Iraq wars, not a single individual has been convicted solely for criticizing the government’s war policies. True or False

11. Although the Supreme Court struck down a St. Paul, Minnesota ordinance that had banned hate speech (1992), in 1993 the Court also ruled that such protection did not extend to hate crimes. True or False

12. Factually accurate statements, when they are damaging to a public official's career or reputation are not a protected form of expression. True or False

13. In 1987, the Supreme Court ruled that creationism could be taught alongside evolutionary theory in the public schools as long as the two interpretations were given equal time. True or False

14. Parents are protected from prosecution for not providing their children with necessary medical treatment if the parents are reacting to a religious prohibition. True or False

15. In District of Colombia v. Heller, the Supreme Court majority struck down a law banning handguns in the nation’s capital, arguing that the Framers never intended to require gun owners to be a part of a state militia. True or False

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How was the FBI able to monitor the daily activities of Antoine Jones for about one month? a) They had attached a monitoring device on his pet dog, b) They had secretly installed a GPS tracking device to the undercarriage of his car, c) They had coopted his mistress by forcing her to cooperate with a promised plea bargain, d) They had successfully planted a snitch among his trusted entourage.

2. Specific individual rights such as freedom of speech and protection against self-incrimination that are constitutionally protected against infringement by government: a) civil rights, b) public safety net, c) civil liberties, d) personal declarations.

3. The following have to do with whether members of differing groups—racial, sexual, religious, and the like are treated equally by government and, in some cases, by private parties: a) constitutional limitations, b) legal parameters, c) judicial pronouncements, d) civil rights.

4. Refers to legal protections, primarily procedural safeguards, designed to ensure that individual rights are respected by government: a) due process, b) privileges and immunities, c) enumerated limitations, d) full faith and credit.

5. Which amendment to the Constitution extended the protections found in the Bill of Rights to state and local governments? a) Twelfth, b) Thirteenth, c) Fourteenth, d) Fifteenth.

6. The First Amendment provides for: a) freedom of speech and press, b) the right to bear arms, c) protections against illegal searches and seizures, d) the right to be notified of the charge.

7. The Sixth Amendment provides for: a) protection against self-incrimination and double jeopardy, b) no cruel and unusual punishment, c) the right to a jury trial and to an attorney, d) freedom to assemble and associate.

8. How did Congress get the former Confederate states (minus Tennessee) to pass the Fourteenth Amendment? a) By promising them more money to help rebuild, b) By lowering their taxes temporarily, c) By exonerating the leaders of the Confederacy, promising not to punish them, d) By passing the Reconstruction Act, which placed the southern states under military rule until they did so.

9. The beginning of the process of applying the Bill of Rights to the states in a landmark case in 1925 involving freedom of speech and press? a) Winchester v. Calhoun, b) Hardy v. New Hampshire, c) Dexter v. United States, d) Gitlow v. New York.

10. Why did the Supreme Court overturn the conviction of Dollree Mapp (Mapp v. Ohio) in 1961? a) Mapp was wrongfully convicted for threatening a police officer, b) Mapp was arrested after a warrantless search that disallowed the evidence, c) Prostitution was deemed an acceptable exercise for feeding one’s family, d) the jury was tainted after the judge had unconstitutionally disclosed Mapp’s criminal past.

11. The process by which some of the rights contained in the Bill of Rights become applicable through the Fourteenth Amendment to actions by the state governments: a) gradual accommodation, b) incremental inclusion, c) selective incorporation, d) supplanting doctrine.

12. What was the first attempt by the U.S. government to restrict free speech making it a crime to criticize the president or other national officials? a) Alien Retrieval Act of 1793, b) Treasonous Act of 1789, c) Sedition Act of 1798, d) Verbal Abuse Act of 1801.

13. In what unanimous ruling of 1919 did the Supreme Court uphold the conviction of a person passing out anti-war leaflets in violation of the Espionage Act of 1917: a) Galveston v New York, b) Schenck v United States, c) Rafferty v Collins, d) Perkins v McCarthy.

14. According to this federal law, it is illegal to advocate the forceful overthrow of the U.S. government: a) the Smith Act of 1940, b) the Hoover Act of 1942, c) the Public Surveillance Act of 1919, d) The Patriot Act of 1952.

15. What was the test decided by the Supreme Court in Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969): a) a state can prohibit hate speech because it can incite imminent lawless action, b) a state can ban the creation of hate groups to prevent a clear and present danger, c) a state cannot ban hate speech unless it is likely to produce lawless action, d) freedom of speech extends to hate speech, no matter its consequences.

16. A judicial principle that effectively gives Americans the freedom to voice nearly any political opinion they desire. This freedom extends to hate speech aswell: a) imminent lawless action test, b) clear-and-present-danger test, c) imminent-danger test, d) clear-and-imminent danger test.

17. In 1977, the Supreme Court ruled that an ordinance preventing a parade of the American Nazi party from marching in Skokie, where a large population of Jews lived, was: a) constitutional because of the possibility that violence could arise as a result, b) unconstitutional because the Nazis clothing and military regalia had been targeted, c) unconstitutional because the right of assembly takes precedence over the mere possibility that undesirable consequences might arise, d) constitutional because of the emotional trauma that such action would inflict on the local Jewish community.

18. The Supreme Court has held that public officials can regulate the time, place, and conditions of a public assembly provided: a) that the restrictions focus on hate and criminal groups, b) that the limitations be directed at groups promoting un-American activities, such as Communists and Nazis, c) that these conditions are reasonable and applied fairly, d) that the restrictions assure the public safety while simultaneously containing threats to stability and harmony.

19. The landmark 1971 Supreme Court decision that allowed for the publication of stolen and secret government documents (referred to as the Pentagon Papers) revealing the lies public officials used about the Vietnam War: a) Dallas Morning Star v. Johnson, b) New York Times Co. v. United States, c) Miami Herald v. United States, d) Los Angeles Times v. United States.

20. The government prohibition of speech or publication before it occurs: a) prior restraint, b) sedition, c) advanced warning, d) imminent danger.

21. The doctrine of prior restraint will be applied to the following: a) to prevent the publication of the Pentagon Papers, b) information that might compromise a military operation, c) to prohibit Klan members from marching in a largely black community, d) specify where a theater that runs pornographic movies will be located in a community.

22. False information that greatly harms a person's reputation is legally referred to as: a) malicious content, b) libel or slander, c) innuendo forbearance, d) propaganda.

23. The 1964 Supreme Court decision involving the effort by the state of Alabama to silence negative press advertisement involving attacks on civil rights workers by filing a libel suit: a) Johnson v Alabama, b) New York Times Co v Sullivan, c) The Manchester v Owens, d) New England Gazette v Wallace.

24. The First Amendment stipulates that a) Congress, b) the president, c) the government, d) the people "shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

25. Government may not create an official state religion, favor one religion over another, or favor religion over no religion: a) exclusionary rule, b) free-exercise clause, c) least means principle, d) establishment clause.

26. A Supreme Court decision of 1962 which argued that the establishment clause prohibits the reciting of prayers in public schools: a) Texas v. Lemon, b) Engel v. Vitale, c) Robertson v. Seventh Day Adventists, d) Graham v. United States.

27. Though the Supreme Court has allowed a statue of Moses holding the Ten Commandments in the rotunda of the Library of Congress building, it nonetheless required the removal of similar displays in two Kentucky courthouses because: a) the displays in Kentucky looked amateurish and did not include Christian symbols as well, b) the displays in Kentucky were restricted, inaccessible to the public, c) the displays in Kentucky had only been recently installed with a religious purpose in mind, d) the Court did not appreciate a display of the KKK and the Confederate flag next to both Kentucky statues.

28. A judicial doctrine allowing government aid to a religious activity if no preference is shown toward a particular religion and if the assistance is of a secular nature: a) wall of separation doctrine, b) separation of religious doctrine, c) accommodation doctrine, d) religious adjustment doctrine.

29. What has the Supreme Court said about government involvement with church-affiliated schools? a) public funds can be used to subsidize teacher salaries, b) states can pay for math, science, and other secular textbooks, c) public funds can be used to build church-affiliated schools, d) tax-supported vouchers cannot be used to attend religious schools.

30. The Supreme Court’s most significant departure from its wall-of- separation doctrine came in a 2002 decision which upheld an Ohio law that allows students in Cleveland’s failing public schools to receive a tax-supported voucher to attend a private or religious school: a) Archibald v. Browning, b) Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, c) Johnson v. Toledo, d) Goldstein v. Ohio.

31. The following clause has been interpreted to mean that Americans are free to hold any religious belief of their choosing: a) establishment, b) equal protection, c) free exercise, d) full faith and credit.

32. In 2014, the Supreme Court majority held that a corporation with a few owners could deny contraceptives to female employees in their health insurance coverage if it violated the owner’s religious beliefs: a) Billingsley v. Seven Eleven, b) Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, c) Contreras v. Stop-N-Go, d) Montgomery v. Toys United.

33. According to Justice John Paul Stevens, the Heller decision was based on: a) was well reasoned that was based on historical fact, b) an ideological and dangerously distorted view that guns should never be regulated, c) the success of the gun lobby to corrupt what actually serves the public interest, d) a purely partisan position rather than what the framer’s intended.

34. In McDonald v. Chicago (2010), the Supreme Court: a) provided clear and comprehensive guidelines on which gun restrictions are constitutionally permissible, b) did not provide clear or comprehensive guidelines on which restrictions are constitutionally permissible and which are not, c) argued that plastic guns and bullets, silencers, and machine guns can be owned by private parties, d) majority said that “arms” cannot be restricted to only guns when interpreting the Second Amendment.

Fill-in Questions

1. In 1925, how did the Supreme Court change course by invoking the Fourteenth Amendment in a case involving a state government?

a) it upheld New York’s law making it ______to advocate the ______of the U.S. government.

b) it ruled that ______do not have complete power over what their residents can legally ____.

c) that freedom of speech and of the press …are among the ______personal rights and liberties’ protected by the ______clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from impairment by the states.

2. During the 1960s, the Supreme Court ruled that defendants in state criminal proceedings:

a) must be provided a lawyer in ______cases if they cannot afford to hire one,

b) cannot be compelled to ______against themselves,

c) have the right to ______and to have legal ______at the time of arrest,

d) have the right to ______witnesses who testify against them,

e) must be granted a ______trial…

3. What are areas of speech that are not protected?

a) You are free to say almost anything except that which is ______,

b) ______another person, or

c) has a high probability of ______others to take ______lawless action.

4. Based on the Supreme Court decision of 1971 (Lemon v Kurtzman), what is the three-point test that lays out the parameters for government involvement with religion?

a)the policy must have a ______purpose;

b) its principal or primary effect must be one that neither ______nor ______religion;

c) the statute must not foster “an excessive ______with religion.

5. In 1987, the Court overturned a Louisiana law deciding that:

a) creationism be taught along with the theory of ______in public school science courses.

b) concluding that creationism is a ______, not a ______; and that

c) its inclusion in public school curricula violates the ______by promoting a religious belief.

The Nationalization of the Bill of Rights

Woll, pgs. 103-109

1. Originally, the Bill of Rights were applicable at the federal level, not at the state level. True or False

2. Which amendment to the Constitution specifies that those powers not delegated to the federal government, will be assumed by the states and the people? a) Nine, b) Ten, c) Eleven, d) Twelve

3. Under the federal system each member of the community is both a citizen of the United States and the state in which he or she resides. True or False

4. In what Supreme Court decision did Justice Marshall affirm that the Bill of Rights were only applicable at the federal level? a) Barron v Baltimore, b) Betts v Baltimore, c) Powell v Alabama, d) Griswald v Connecticut

5. The Fourteenth Amendment specifies that:

a) All persons born or naturalized in the United States … are ______of the United States ….

b) "No state shall make or enforce any law which abridge the ______and ______of citizens of the United States;

c) nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or ______, without due process of law;

d) nor deny to any person ... the ______of the laws."

6. According to Woll, the Fourteenth Amendment was clear and unequivocal in restricting state action, requiring little clarification by the Supreme Court. True or False

7. The history of the Fourteenth Amendment suggests that it was originally designed to protect the legal and political rights of: a) women, b) Jews, c) African Americans, d) all Americans.

8. As a result of the Slaughterhouse Cases (1873), a) the Bill of Rights could be made applicable to the states, b) the privileges and immunities clause of the 14th Amendment altered the authority of the states over the latter's citizens, c) allowed for speech, not action to be protected by the national government at the state level, d) did nothing to limit the authority of the states in determining the rights and privileges of their citizens.

9. In Gitlow v New York (1925), what area/areas of the Bill of Rights did the Supreme Court decide were applicable at the state level? a) the area of the right to counsel, specified in Amendment Six, b) the areas of speech and press of the First Amendment, c) the areas of religion, specified in the free exercise and establishment clauses, specified in the First Amendment, d) the area of association, specified in the assembly clause of the First Amendment.

10. The Gitlow and the later, Near decisions were limited because they only incorporated two specific areas of the First Amendment, not other major portions of the Bill of Rights. True or False

11. According to Woll, what areas of the Bill of Rights have not been incorporated at the state level?

a) Grand _____ indictment

b) trial by jury for ______cases

c) the right to ______

d) protection against excessive _____ and ______

e) protection against the involuntary quartering of ______in private homes.

12. What was the landmark Supreme Court decision which finally nationalized the right to counsel in all serious criminal cases at the state level via the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment? a) Miranda v Arizona, b) Scott v Sanford, c) Brown v Powell, d) Gideon v Wainwright.

Gideon v Wainwright

Woll, pgs. 110-115

1. When Clarence Gideon was arrested and charged with breaking into a poolroom, he requested an attorney. True or False

2. At the time of the Gideon trial, the state of Florida provided attorneys for the following cases: a) misdemeanors, b) felonies, c) capital offenses, d) under no circumstances.

3. According to Justice Black, the following case was strikingly similar to the Gideon case: a) Powell v Bradley, b) Betts v Brady, c) Livingston v Arnold, d) Rodriguez v Smith.