Defining Our Liberties
These are protections against the government that guarantee the safety of persons, opinions, and property from arbitrary government acts.
What are Civil Liberties
Originally, this set of amendments was intended only as a restriction on the National Government, not the States.
What is the Bill of Rights
This is the false and malicious use of spoken words.
What is Slander
This term describes communicating ideas through conduct, such as wearing an armband or carrying a sign.
What is Symbolic Speech
This word describes the crime of attempting to overthrow the government by force.
What is Sedition
This term refers to positive acts of government, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, that seek to make constitutional guarantees a reality for all.
What are Civil Rights
This specific clause in the 14th Amendment prevents states from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without a fair legal process.
What is the Due Process Clause
This is the false and malicious use of printed or written words.
What is Libel
This activity involves workers protesting in front of a business to create awareness; it is protected if it remains peaceful.
What is Picketing
This term refers to a court order authorizing a search of a person or property.
What is a Search Warrant
This famous line from the Declaration of Independence states that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain "unalienable rights."
What is "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness"
This is the name of the process used to apply the Bill of Rights to the states.
What is the Process of Incorporation
Freedom of speech and press are specifically intended to protect the expression of these types of views.
What are Unpopular Views
These two specific amendments work together to guarantee the right of free expression and discussion.
What are the 1st and 14th Amendments
This term refers to a citizen's right to bring their views to the attention of government officials.
What is petition
This amendment states that the Constitution does not contain all the rights held by U.S. citizens.
What is the 9th Amendment
In this 1925 case, the Supreme Court ruled that First Amendment rights must be upheld by the States.
What is Gitlow v. New York
This 1940 Act makes it a crime for anyone to advocate for the violent overthrow of the U.S. government.
What is the Smith Act
In this 1989 case, the Court ruled 5-4 that the government cannot prohibit an idea just because society finds it offensive. (Think burning a flag)
What is Texas v. Johnson
This is the intentional, peaceful violation of a law as a form of protest.
What is Civil Disobedience
Justice Holmes used this phrase in a dissenting opinion to describe the intent of the First Amendment's protections.
What is "Freedom for the thought we hate"
Beyond "Due Process," this 14th Amendment clause was primarily intended to prevent discrimination against individuals, particularly formerly enslaved people after the Civil War.
What is the Equal Protection Clause
The key issue in determining if speech is protected is whether the words trigger this type of action.
What is an unlawful or dangerous action
The CSUF professor strike that occurred on January of 2025
This vocabulary term refers to something related to a church parish or a religious organization.
What is Parochial