Amending the Constitution
The fraction of both the House and the Senate needed to propose an amendment.
What is two-thirds?
The power of the courts to strike down laws that violate the Constitution.
What is judicial review?
This 1787 deal counted three of every five enslaved people toward a state's population for representation.
What is the Three-Fifths Compromise?
This amendment contains the Equal Protection Clause.
What is the 14th amendment?
Found in both the 5th and 14th Amendments, this promise means government cannot take life, liberty, or property without fair legal process.
What is due process?
The fraction of the states needed to ratify an amendment once it is proposed.
What is three-fourths (38 states)?
This 1803 case first gave the Supreme Court the power of judicial review
What is Marbury v. Madison?
This 1787 law banned slavery in the lands that became Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
What is the Northwest Ordinance?
The easiest test for a law to pass: it only needs a reasonable link to a legitimate goal. Laws based on age or wealth get this test.
What is rational basis?
A student is suspended without being told why or given a chance to explain. This type of due process was violated.
What is procedural due process?
Congress and the state legislatures can start the amendment process. This group cannot propose an amendment directly.
Who are the citizens (the people)?
This 1896 case upheld racial segregation under the rule of "separate but equal."
What is Plessy v. Ferguson?
Letting the settlers of a territory vote on whether to allow slavery there.
What is popular sovereignty?
A law that treats people differently based on race or religion must pass this toughest test.
What is strict scrutiny?
The Court uses this type of due process to decide whether a right not listed in the Constitution is fundamental.
What is substantive due process?
The 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments all fit this category of amendments.
What is expansion of suffrage?
This 1954 case declared segregated public schools unconstitutional.
What is Brown v. Board of Education?
This 1820 agreement admitted Missouri as a slave state, admitted Maine as a free state, and drew the 36°30′ line.
What is the Missouri Compromise?
Laws that treat people differently by gender, or by whether a child's parents were married, get this middle test.
What is intermediate scrutiny?
Marriage, interstate travel, and birth control are fundamental rights. Every state offers this service, but the Court ruled it is not a fundamental right.
What is public education?
The 11th Amendment and the 14th Amendment both fit this category of amendments.
What is overturning Supreme Court decisions?
This 1919 case created the "clear and present danger" test for when government may limit speech.
What is Schenck v. United States?
This 1854 law let two new territories decide on slavery by popular vote.
What is the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
A state makes new residents wait one year before they can receive welfare benefits. Name the tier of scrutiny and explain why.
What is strict scrutiny? (The right to interstate travel is fundamental)
Name the two things a government must prove before it can restrict a fundamental right.
What is a compelling state interest, and using the least restrictive means possible?