Unit 4: Civil Liberties: First Amendment

Freedoms

DAY 1

Civil Liberties vs.

Civil Rights

Key Vocabulary• Bill of Rights, civil liberties, civil

rights, alien, Due Process Clause (14th Amendment), Sheppard Case, 9th Amendment

• Establishment Clause, parochial, Free Exercise Clause

• libel, slander, sedition, seditious speech, prior restraint, shield law, symbolic speech, picketing

• assemble, content neutral, right of association

Extra Credit

Make 20 flash cards (using index cards) with the vocabulary word on one side and the definition on the other for key vocabulary, concepts, and ideas throughout this unit.

The Unalienable Rights • How is the US

government (and the Constitution) committed to freedom?–civil liberties—

protections against government

–civil rights—positive acts of government

How is the government limited to ensure freedoms?–All people have the right to do what they

please if they do not infringe on the rights of others• Example of Conflict: freedom of the press vs.

freedom of a fair trial (Sheppard Case)–All “persons” (even aliens—not citizens of the

country in which they reside) have certain rights under the Constitution

DISCUSSION: Should the US gov’t protect the rights of illegal aliens in the US?

Write one paragraph explaining…• The obvious conflict in the

Sheppard case was freedom of the press vs. freedom of a fair trial.

What role did the media play in the

wrongful conviction of Sheppard?

Federalism and Individual Rights

• Bill of Rights was meant to limit the power of the National Gov’t (does not restrict the state gov’s)– 14th Amendment (Due Process Clause): combined

most of the guarantees in the Bill of Rights into this amendment

– 9th Amendment: there are other rights not set out in the Bill of Rights that citizens have

Review questions• Explain why a strict constructionist of

the Constitution would use the 9th Amendment to argue for more rights.

• True or False: All “persons” have certain rights under the Constitution.

• True or False: The Bill of Rights were meant to limit the power of the State Governments.

Quick Questions to answer about….

1. Can a religion practice animal sacrifice in the U.S.?

2. Can a man have more than one wife in the U.S. if it is part of his religion?

3. Can a religious group have a club at a school?

4. Can a public school have a prayer (over the announcements) at the beginning of the school day? Moment of silence?

What is the message of this cartoon?

Group Assignment• Develop a poster that explains** each of the following

terms:– Bill of Rights, civil liberties, civil rights, alien, Due

Process Clause (14th Amendment), Sheppard Case, 9th Amendment

**You must have a definition, example, and a picture for each

term.

DAY 2

Freedom of Religion…TLW develop an

understanding of historic cases surrounding the establishment and free

exercise of religion.

What is the message of this cartoon?

Does this fit in today’s

America? Is there some truth to this

concept?

Explain.

Another question to get you guys thinking a little bit…

Confederate Flag Beltvs.

Anti-Gay Bullying T-Shirt

WHO IS RIGHT?

Day 2:Freedom of

Religion• What is Freedom of Expression?

–Guaranteed by the 1st and 14th Amendments•Establishment Clause (establishment of

the religion)•No interference by the government in

the “free exercise” of the religion

Free Exercise Clause• Guarantees the right of people

to believe whatever they choose• No person has the right to

violate laws and claim it is for “religious” reasons

• However, there have been some cases where religious rites have been upheld (sacrifice, drug use, etc.)

If something is declared illegal should it be illegal for all citizens?

Quick Questions to answer about….

1. Can a religion practice animal sacrifice in the U.S.?

2. Can a man have more than one wife in the U.S. if it is part of his religion?

3. Can a religious group have a club at a school?

4. Can a public school have a prayer at the beginning of the school day?

What is Separation of Church and State?–Thomas Jefferson

declared that the Establishment Clause creates “… a wall of separation between the Church and State…”

• However, this “wall” is not impenetrable

You will write the following for each court case. There are 6 court cases total we will be reading.

• Name of the Case• Brief Explanation of the question in the

case.• Brief Summary of the Court’s Decision.• Explain whether you agree or disagree

with the court’s decision.You should have a minimum of 3 sentences and

a maximum of 6 sentences.

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1971)

• Did Wisconsin's requirement that all parents send their children to school at least until age 16 violate the First Amendment by criminalizing the conduct of parents who refused to send their children to school for religious reasons?– Conclusion: …the Court found that the values and

programs of secondary school were "in sharp conflict with the fundamental mode of life mandated by the Amish religion," and that an additional 1 or 2 years of high school would not produce the benefits of public education cited by Wisconsin to justify the law.

Example of how your Yoder notes should look….

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1971) • Summary of Case: The Amish religion does not believe it is necessary

for their children to go to school past the 8th grade because the skills taught in a high school setting are not beneficial to their life as an Amish person. However, the state of Wisconsin had a law stating that they had to attend school through age 16. (1st Amendment issue over Freedom of Religion)

• Court’s Decision: The court sided with the Amish (Yoder). The court did not believe an additional 1 to 2 years of schooling would benefit an Amish person. High school was in “sharp conflict” with their belief system.

• My opinion: I do not agree with this decision because if a state’s people want all of their citizens to attend school through the age of 16 then they should have to do so.

Engel v. Vitale (1961) • Does the reading of a nondenominational prayer at the

start of the school day violate the "establishment of religion" clause of the First Amendment?– Conclusion: Neither the prayer's nondenominational

character nor its voluntary character saves it from unconstitutionality. By providing the prayer, New York officially approved religion…the Court used the establishment clause to eliminate religious activities of all sorts, which had traditionally been a part of public ceremonies.

Reynolds v. US (1878)

• Does the federal anti-bigamy statute violate the First Amendment's free exercise clause because plural marriage is part of religious practice?–Conclusion: The First Amendment protected

religious belief, but it did not protect religious practices that were judged to be criminal such as bigamy.

Good News Club v. Milford Central School (2000)

• Did Milford Central School violate the First Amendment free speech rights of the Good News Club when it excluded the Club from meeting after hours at the school? If a violation occurred, was it justified by Milford's concern that permitting the Club's activities would violate the Establishment Clause?– Conclusion: "Milford's restriction violates the Club's free speech

rights and that no Establishment Clause concern justifies that violation…ground that the Club was religious in nature, it discriminated against the Club because of its religious viewpoint in violation of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment…”

Church of Lukumi Babalu v. Hialeah (1992)

• Did the city of Hialeah's ordinance, prohibiting ritual animal sacrifices, violate the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause?– Conclusion: …applied exclusively to the church.

The ordinances singled out the activities of the Santeria faith and suppressed more religious conduct than was necessary to achieve their stated ends.

Stone v. Graham (1980) • Did the Kentucky statute that required

all classrooms to post the Ten Commandments violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment?– Conclusion: The Court found that the requirement that

the Ten Commandments be posted "had no secular legislative purpose" and was "plainly religious in nature."

Unit 4: Day 3

Religion and Education: Analyze regulations on religion within the education

system.

Quick Review:

1. What are “protections against government” called?

2. Which amendment refers to other rights not set out in the Bill of Rights?

3. What case involved the conflict between freedom of the press vs. right to a fair trial?

4. What are people called that are not citizens of the country in which they reside?

5. What amendment combined most of the guarantees in the Bill of Rights?

Cheerleaders at Kountze High School in Texas are fighting a ban on banners with Bible verses.

Write down an argument for or against the use of religious

verses on banners at a public school football game.

Wisconsin v. Yoder

Day 3: Religion and Education

• “Released Time”—allows public schools to release students for religious classes

• Public institutions cannot sponsor religious exercises–However, individuals can

pray at school

Is the presence of a Christmas tree in the front office considered “sponsorship” of religious activity? Why or why not?

Religious Teachings? Federal Funding?

• Theory of Evolution—Supreme Court held that evolution can be taught in schools

• Lemon Test (for private school aid with public funds)– 1st—purpose of the aid must be

clearly secular– 2nd—primary effect must neither

advance nor inhibit– 3rd—avoid an “excessive

entanglement of government with religion”

Should a student be excused from evolution lessons if they do not believe in evolution? Why or why not?

Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

–Should we teach this also?

DRAW to Define….On a sheet of paper, you will work in groups of 1, 2, or 3 and draw pictures that represent the following terms:

Bill of Rights, civil rights, alien, Sheppard Case, Establishment Clause, parochial, Wisconsin v. Yoder, Reynolds v. US, Church of

Lukumi Babalu v. Hialeah

Can’t work with a table of 4 or 5. Divide up into smaller groups.

No words, pictures only.

Write a sentence explaining each relationship or concept.

1. Civil Liberties vs. Civil Rights2. Bill of Rights and The National

Government3. Establishment Clause vs. Free

Exercise4. Separation of Church and State

Day 4Freedom of

Speech and Press: TLW develop an understanding

of the rights and the limits of the Press.

What happened in each case?• Wisconsin v. Yoder (1971)

• Engel v. Vitale (1961)

• Reynolds v. US (1878)

• Good News Club v. Milford Central School (2000)

• Church of Lukumi Babalu v. Hialeah (1992)

• Stone v. Graham (1980)

Write iton your GroupSheet!

What happened in each case?• Wisconsin v. Yoder (1971)

– Hint: “no high school”• Engel v. Vitale (1961)

– Hint: “morning prayer…you don’t have to though”• Reynolds v. US (1878)

– Hint: “one wife…come on”• Good News Club v. Milford Central School (2000)

– Hint: “a Christian club at school!”• Church of Lukumi Babalu v. Hialeah (1992)

– Hint: “sacrifice…not in these parts”• Stone v. Graham (1980)

– Hint: “post them, I dare you!”

WRITE THE MESSAGE OF EACH CARTOON ON THE

NOTECARDS.

Day 4: Freedom of Speech and Press

• Guaranteed in the 1st and 14th Amendments–To each person a right of free

expression–To all persons a full, wide-ranging

discussion of public affairs• Libel—is the false and malicious use of

printed words• Slander—is the false and malicious

use of spoken words

Seditious Speech• Sedition–is the crime of

attempting to overthrow the government–This type of behavior and

speech is not protected by the 1st amendment

–Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798: gave the president the power to deport undesirable aliens that made scandalous and malicious criticism of the government

Sedition Continues… – Sedition Act of 1917:

Government made it illegal during WWI to encourage disloyalty, interfere with the draft, or incite insubordination in the armed forces

– Smith Act of 1940: makes it illegal to advocate for the violent overthrow of the US government or the distribution of material that teaches overthrow of government and to knowingly belong to a group with such an aim

Obscenity• What language and images in printed matter, films,

and other materials are in fact obscene?• What restrictions can be properly placed on such

materials?

Prior Restraint

• Government is allowed to punish utterances only after they are made–No punishment

before expression either written or spoken

Symbolic Speech• A person can say something

with a facial expression or a shrug of the shoulders (symbolic speech)

• Flag Burning?– Texas v. Johnson (1989)– Johnson burned an American

flag at an anti-Reagan demonstration

– Supreme Court ruled that the protestor had a right to burn the flag if doing so peacefully

ACLU Wins Settlement for New Mexico Teachers Punished for Posting

Anti-War Materials

• November 14, 2003

• ALBUQUERQUE -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico today announced the settlement of a civil rights lawsuit against the Albuquerque Public Schools for disciplinary actions taken against teachers and a counselor for posting materials related to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Articles….

• You must read and take notes for 2 of the 4 articles.

• Write down the main conflict of the article in your notes.

Extra Credit NOTECARDS DUE FRIDAY.

In Your Notes…• EVERYONE must complete…

–Answer the questions for 2 of the 4 situations.

–You do not need to write the question–…But you need to write in complete

sentences

Unit 4: DAY 5

In your notes, number your paper

1 through 5. Skip lines between each

number.

Can the state of Texas have the 10 Commandments posted outside of their capitol building or is that considered establishment of religion?

• What does the Confederate flag represent?

• Is it similar to any of the symbols below?

KKK

NAZI

SS

This guy wrote rumors about future

Apple products. Should he be

allowed to do that?

Day 5

• Written response to the discussion questions.

• Choose 2 of the 5 to write a page each about.

• Use the vocabulary we have learned so far in the semester.

• You have 25 minutes.

Choose 2 to write one page each about…1. Should the US government protect the rights of

illegal aliens in the US?

2. Should a student be excused from evolution lessons if they do not believe in evolution? Why or why not?

3. Does this clause make sense or if something is illegal should it be illegal for all citizens?

4. Should Seditious speech be protected? Explain why or why not.

5. Why is it important that the US protect unpopular opinions as much as popular ones?