Chapter 4: Civil Liberties

Study Plan

In this chapter, we will:

• define the Bill of Rights and establish its relationship to personal liberty. As we shall see, it is through the Bill of Rights that Americans are protected from government.
• turn to the process by which the Bill of Rights was applied, not only to the national government, but also to the state governments. This nationalizing process has been long and selective in applying only certain provisions of the Bill of Rights.
• analyze the state of civil liberties today, beginning with the First Amendment. The First Amendment guarantees regarding the freedoms of religion, of speech, and of the press continue to be a focal point of judicial interpretation of the Bill of Rights.
• review the Second Amendment right to bear arms and the rights of those accused of a crime. These rights, contained in the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments, make up the due process of law.
• review the right to privacy. This right takes many forms and, like the freedoms specifically named in the Bill of Rights, has been subject to new judicial interpretations.
• ponder the future of civil liberties in the United States. As we emphasize throughout this chapter, the Bill of Rights is constantly subject to the interpretations of the Supreme Court. Will the Court try to limit the extent of civil liberties in the near future?

As you work through the below assignments, don't forget to generate a Progress Report. Fill out the sections you have completed and send a copy to your email account.

Organize

1. Follow this Study Plan to access your chapter assignments.
2. Print out the Chapter Outline and bring it to lecture to help structure your note-taking and check-off topics covered in class.
3. Access Quiz+! The results of this chapter quiz create a Custom Study Plan that links you directly to materials that will assist your pre-exam review.

Learn

1. Read Chapter 4 in your textbook or ebook.
2. Read the Chapter Review of Chapter 4. Note any material you have difficulty remembering from the text.
3. Master the key terms for this chapter by working through the deck of Flashcards.

Connect

1. Explore the Interactive Politics Simulation and the questions that follow.
2. Complete the You Decide Exercise after reading the Policy Debate box in Chapter 4 of your textbook or ebook.
3. Answer the Questions for Discussion and Thought and articulate your own point of view on the chapter's material.
4. Complete the What Government Does Exercises to understand the structure of American government and how it affects your life in a direct way.
5. Complete the Get Involved Exercise to see how you can use what you have learned in this chapter to effect change in politics and policy.
6. Watch the Video Exercises for this chapter and answer the accompanying questions.
7. Mobilize for political action with Mobilize.org!

Links

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