| A | B |
| amendments | changes in or an additions to a constitution or law. |
| civil rights | a term used for acts of government that make constitutional guarantees a reality for all people. |
| constitutional | a law or other governmental action that aligns with the provisions of a constitution. |
| democracy | a system of government in which political control is exercised by all the people, either directly or through their elected representatives. |
| natural rights | a belief that individuals are naturally endowed with basic human rights that cannot be taken away or given up. |
| suffrage | the right to vote. |
| due process | is a contitutional right of U.S. Citizns. Each citizen is entitiled to go through the steps of the judicial process when accuesed of a crime. |
| due process clause | Stated in the 5th Amendment guaranteeing this right. |
| Bill of Rights | First 10 Amendments to the Constitution. |
| Enlightenment | Political movement that inspired ideas of United States democracy including natural rights, individualism and rebellion of and unjust ruler. |
| 19th Amendement | Gave women the right to vote. |
| Plessy vs. Ferguson | (1896) Stated that separate but equal was a fair way to segregate the races. |
| Brown vs. The Board of Education | 1854 Supreme Court decision which overntruned Plessy v. Ferguson. Seprate but equal is inherently (by nature) unequal. |
| Jim Crow Laws | Laws which segregted (seperated) the races in the South and were designed to give minorities second-class status. |
| Civil Disobedience | is non-violent protest against unjust policies or law. |
| poll tax | Money paid for the right to vote in an election. |
| Voting Rights Act of 1965 | forbade literacy test and allowed federal intervention in areas where voting rights had been denied. |
| petition | Formal request for government action. 1st amendment right to protest. |
| expression | Enlightenment Freedom of speech, press and protest combined. |
| libel | The crime of printing lies about another person. |