Bill of Rights
This amendment ensures the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury in criminal cases.
6th Amendment
This amendment, passed after the Civil War, ended slavery in the United States.
13th Amendment
This branch of government makes and votes on laws and includes the Senate and House of Representatives.
Legislative Branch
In 1954, this landmark case ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, overturning the “separate but equal” doctrine.
Brown v. Board of Education
This system of government divides power between national and state governments, balancing authority in areas like lawmaking and taxation.
federalism
This amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, along with excessive fines and bail.
8th Amendment
This amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, making it consistent with the military draft age.
26th Amendment
This system ensures no branch becomes too powerful by giving each the ability to limit the powers of the others.
Checks and Balances
This 1966 case required police to inform suspects of their rights to remain silent and have an attorney, leading to the well-known “Miranda rights.”
Miranda v. Arizona
According to this theory, people agree to form a government, sacrificing some freedoms for law and order.
social contract
This amendment prevents the government from forcing citizens to house soldiers in their homes during peacetime.
3rd Amendment
This amendment granted equal protection under the law and citizenship to anyone born in the U.S., including formerly enslaved people.
14th Amendment
This compromise established a two-part structure in Congress, balancing representation between large and small states.
the Great Compromise
This 1896 case upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine, allowing Jim Crow laws to flourish for decades
Plessy v. Ferguson
In the U.S. legal system, this principle ensures that an accused person is not considered guilty until proven so beyond a reasonable doubt.
presumption of innocence
This amendment ensures that individuals accused of crimes have the right to due process and cannot be forced to testify against themselves.
5th Amendment
This amendment first prohibited the sale and production of alcohol, leading to the Prohibition era in the 1920s.
18th Amendment
This branch of government interprets laws and has the power to declare them unconstitutional.
Judicial Branch
This 1803 case established the principle of judicial review, giving the Supreme Court the power to declare laws unconstitutional.
Marbury v. Madison
Citizens have this right, allowing them to seek a higher court’s review of a court’s decision.
the right to appeal
This amendment says that just because a right isn’t listed in the Constitution doesn’t mean it can be violated.
9th Amendment
This amendment protects voting rights for male citizens, especially Black men, after the Civil War.
15th Amendment
Every ten years, this population count helps determine the number of representatives each state has in the House of Representatives.
the Census
This 1857 Supreme Court case ruled that African Americans could not be considered citizens and that Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in the territories, intensifying sectional tensions leading up to the Civil War.
Dred Scott v. Sandford
This term describes rights that cannot be taken away or given up by the government.
inalienable rights