Government and politics concepts · AP U.S. Government and Politics, AP U.S. History
Selective incorporation
Selective incorporation: The process by which the Supreme Court has applied most Bill of Rights protections to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause.
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What it means
The Bill of Rights originally limited only the national government. Through a series of cases in the twentieth century, the Court held that specific rights are so fundamental that the Fourteenth Amendment protects them against state action as well.
Incorporation happened right by right, across many cases, which is why it is called selective.
Example
In McDonald v. Chicago (2010), the Court incorporated the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, applying it to state and local governments.
On the exam
Selective incorporation is a core Unit 3 concept; McDonald v. Chicago and Gideon v. Wainwright are related required cases.
Lessons and practice questions
Related terms
- Due processThe constitutional guarantee, in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, that government cannot deprive people of life, liberty or property without fair legal procedures.
- Establishment clauseThe First Amendment clause that prohibits the government from establishing an official religion or favoring religion.
- Free exercise clauseThe First Amendment clause that protects individuals' right to practice their religion without government interference.