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Credit Sprint's Guide to AP® U.S. Government and Politics, Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

AP® weight 13–18%CLEP® Rights

Civil liberties are protections against government power, found mainly in the Bill of Rights. Civil rights are protections against discrimination and the guarantee of equal treatment, built on the Fourteenth Amendment. Unit 3 depends heavily on Supreme Court cases, which are tested on the exam.

Civil liberties and civil rightsCivil libertiesBill of Rights, due processlimits on government Civil rightsEqual Protection Clausefreedom from discrimination 14th Amendmentincorporation and equal protection

What you need to know

  • Selective incorporation applies most of the Bill of Rights to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, one right at a time. Gitlow v. New York (1925) began it for speech, and McDonald v. Chicago (2010) applied the Second Amendment.
  • First Amendment religion: the Establishment Clause bars the government from favoring a religion (Engel v. Vitale, 1962, banned school-sponsored prayer) and the Free Exercise Clause protects religious practice (Wisconsin v. Yoder, 1972, protected Amish families from compulsory schooling after eighth grade).
  • First Amendment speech and press: protected broadly, but not absolutely. Schenck v. United States (1919) created the clear and present danger test. Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) protected student symbolic speech unless it disrupts school. New York Times v. United States (1971) limited prior restraint. Defamation, obscenity, incitement and true threats receive less protection.
  • Fourth through Eighth Amendments: protections for people accused of crimes. Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) guaranteed a lawyer for those who cannot afford one in felony cases. The exclusionary rule bars illegally seized evidence, and Miranda warnings protect against self-incrimination. The Eighth Amendment bars cruel and unusual punishment.
  • Second Amendment and privacy: McDonald v. Chicago applied the right to bear arms to the states. Privacy rights have been derived from several amendments, such as in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965). Later decisions have changed the law on abortion, and students should know the main cases and how the Court's view of precedent has shifted.
  • Civil rights and the Fourteenth Amendment: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) allowed separate but equal facilities, and Brown v. Board of Education (1954) overturned it for public schools, citing the Equal Protection Clause. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination in public places and employment, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 protected voting rights.
  • Tools for civil rights: litigation (the NAACP), nonviolent protest, civil disobedience as in Letter from Birmingham Jail (Martin Luther King Jr.), legislation and executive action. The women's movement, the LGBTQ movement and disability rights (the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990) used similar tools.
  • Equal protection standards: the Court uses strict scrutiny for classifications based on race, intermediate scrutiny for gender and rational basis for most others. Affirmative action has been narrowed by later decisions.
  • Due process comes in two forms: procedural (fair process) and substantive (some rights are protected from government interference regardless of process). The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments both contain due process clauses.
  • Policy tension: government must balance liberty and order, as in post-9/11 laws like the Patriot Act, and balance free speech with other public interests.

Exam traps

Watch forCivil liberties limit what government can do to you. Civil rights are about equal treatment by government and others. A question about the exclusionary rule is civil liberties; one about Brown is civil rights.
Watch forSelective incorporation is case by case. It does not apply the whole Bill of Rights to the states at once.
Watch forThe Establishment Clause (no state church) and the Free Exercise Clause (free practice) are different. Engel v. Vitale is Establishment, Wisconsin v. Yoder is Free Exercise.
Watch forKnow the standard for each case: Tinker allows student speech unless it substantially disrupts school; Schenck uses clear and present danger; New York Times limits prior restraint.

Key terms

  • Civil liberties: Protections of individual freedoms from government interference, such as speech and religion.
  • Civil rights: Government action to guarantee equal treatment and protect people from discrimination.
  • Due process clause: The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment guarantee that government may not take life, liberty or property without fair procedures.
  • Equal protection clause: The Fourteenth Amendment guarantee that states cannot deny any person equal protection of the laws.
  • Establishment clause: The First Amendment ban on government establishing an official religion or favoring one faith.
  • Free exercise clause: The First Amendment protection of the right to practice one's religion.
  • Prior restraint: Government action that blocks speech or publication before it occurs, which is almost always unconstitutional.
  • Libel: A false written statement that harms a person's reputation.
  • Symbolic speech: Nonverbal expression, such as wearing an armband or burning a flag, that conveys a message.
  • Clear and present danger test: A standard from Schenck that allows limits on speech creating an immediate threat of serious harm.
  • Incitement: Speech directed at causing imminent lawless action and likely to do so, which can be punished.
  • Time, place and manner restriction: A content-neutral limit on when, where or how speech occurs, allowed if it serves a significant interest.
  • Exclusionary rule: The rule that evidence gained by illegal searches generally cannot be used in court.
  • Probable cause: A reasonable basis to believe a crime has occurred, required for warrants and arrests.
  • Warrant: A court order allowing police to search or arrest, based on probable cause.
  • Miranda rights: Warnings police must give suspects in custody about the right to remain silent and to have a lawyer.

Practice questions

Five of the 122 Unit 3 questions in Credit Sprint. Every choice is explained in the app.

1. A public high school suspends students for wearing black armbands to protest a war, though the armbands cause no disruption. Which case most directly supports the students?
  1. Schenck v. United States (1919)
  2. Engel v. Vitale (1962)
  3. Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
  4. Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
Show answer

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969). The Court held that students keep First Amendment rights at school unless their speech substantially disrupts the educational process.

2. Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) is a significant free exercise case because the Court held that
  1. religious beliefs are never protected from regulation
  2. Amish parents could not be forced to send children to school after eighth grade
  3. parents lose all authority over education
  4. public schools must teach religion
Show answer

Amish parents could not be forced to send children to school after eighth grade. The Court found the state's interest in two more years of school did not outweigh the Amish community's religious liberty.

3. Which of the following is an example of prior restraint?
  1. A court order barring a newspaper from printing a story before publication
  2. A newspaper choosing not to print a story
  3. A fine for a false advertisement
  4. A lawsuit against a newspaper after it prints a false story
Show answer

A court order barring a newspaper from printing a story before publication. Prior restraint stops speech before it occurs and is heavily disfavored.

4. Which amendment includes protections against self-incrimination and double jeopardy?
  1. The Fourth Amendment
  2. The Eighth Amendment
  3. The Fifth Amendment
  4. The Third Amendment
Show answer

The Fifth Amendment. It also guarantees due process and grand jury indictment for serious federal crimes, so it is central to criminal procedure.

5. The Eighth Amendment is most directly relevant to a challenge to
  1. a state's refusal to allow a person to vote
  2. a police search of a car without a warrant
  3. a school's ban on student newspapers
  4. the use of a particular punishment as cruel
Show answer

the use of a particular punishment as cruel. Courts consider whether a punishment is disproportionate or violates evolving standards of decency.