Explain the purpose of the Bill of Rights.

Explain the purpose of the Bill of Rights
Compare civil liberties and civil rights
Define incorporation and its relationship to the 14th Amendment
Summarize the content of all 27 amendments—clauses, purpose, scope
 Example: 1st Amendment clauses Congress shall make no law regarding: Establishment
(freedom from and freedom to religion)—government can’t tell you what to believe or
what not to believe, can’t establish a state church; Free Exercise—government can’t
interfere with legitimate practices relating to recognized religious observances,
Speech—protects political speech—doesn’t protect libel, fighting words, obscenity, child
pornography, commercial speech; Press—no prior restraint, different standards
between public and private citizens, Assembly—choose to gather so long as meets
standards of peaceful, not dangerous, meets statutory limitations,; Petition—can
complain directly to governmental representatives and bodies—request change;
express disagreements
Identify the constitutional question, associated amendment(s), and court decision in the following cases:
 Schneck v. US (1919)
 Gitlow v. New York (1925)
 Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)
 Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
 Texas v. Johnson (1989)
 New York Times v. Sullivan(1964)
 Flynt v. Farwell(1984)
 New York Times v. US(1971)
 Dred Scot v. Sanford(1857)
 Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
 Brown v. Topeka Board of Education(1954)
 Roper v. Simmons(2008)
 Graham v. Florida (2010)
 Atkins v. VA (2002)
 Mapp v. Ohio(1961)
 Nix v. Williams(1984)
 US v. Leon(1984)
 Gideon v. Wainwright(1963)
 Escobedo v. Illinois(1964)
 Miranda v. Arizona(1966)
 Griswold v. Connecticut(1963)
 Roe v. Wade(1973)
 Loving v. Virginia(1967)
 Lawrence v. Texas(2003)
 District of Colombia v. Heller(2008)
Identify and explain restrictions on freedom of speech and expression
Identify and explain the three prongs of the “Lemon Test”
Identify unincorporated amendments. Explain why incorporation has not been universal (all ten
amendments of Bill of Rights or where only partially incorporated)
Identify issues of regulating speech such as obscenity, libel, commercial, hate speech
Explain how the liberties and rights in the Bill of Rights reflect Enlightenment philosophy and the
colonial experience
Short Answer Essay Questions: Prepare the following short answer questions for the exam. Write a 5-7
sentence paragraph with a topic sentence, supporting sentences and conclusion. Edit carefully for
spelling, grammar and punctuation. Since these are prepared prior to the exam and you can use the
course materials, there is no room for error.
 Briefly explain the difficulties associated with protecting freedom of speech identified as
dangerous, symbolic or hate speech. Should hate speech be protected under the First
Amendment? Why or why not?
 Identify the three questions that form the “Lemon Test.” How has the accomodationist
approach to the separation of church and state altered the application of the Lemon Test?
 Taken as a group, how do the Fourth through Eighth Amendments serve to protect the interests
of the accused in the US criminal justice and court system? Why is the protection of those
interests considered vital to American democracy
 Given the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the Union victory in the Civil War, why were
the 13th-15th Amendments necessary? Do they represent a reasonable effort to extend the
protections of the Bill of the Rights to the states or an overreach of federal power? Should states
be able to ignore provisions of the Bill of Rights for their own citizens if they choose to?

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