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Similarities between civil rights and civil liberties
Similarities & differences between civil liberties and civil rights
Similarities between civil rights and civil liberties
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The terms are pretty much used synonymously, but I'll make the distinction that "civil liberties" means your conceptual rights and "civil rights" means your legal rights.
In those terms, "civil liberties" are your personal rights as spelled out in the Constitution and other founding documents, such as the right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, etc.
"Civil rights" are the particulars of how those vague concepts are implemented in law. Under this definition, our civil liberties don't change (except when we amend the constitution) but our civil rights change regularly as new laws are made or new interpretations are ruled upon.
Some examples of civil rights laws are:
-- Affirmative action rulings, which require preferential hiring of under-represented minority and gender groups;
-- The Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires that public places provide access for people with disabilities;
-- Vermont's recent Civil Union statute, which allows homosexual couples to get married.
None of those laws change the basics underlying civil liberty (the right to equal treatment is the basis of all of them), but they have a big effect on people's legal rights.
The philosophical basis for most controversial civil rights law (like those above) is the idea that a "right" doesn't exist at all if it can't be enforced or exercised. Enforcing and exercising rights often means that other people are required to do things or pay for things, which is where the controversy comes in. For example, blacks had the "right" to equal treatment in job hiring before affirmative action, but had no means to enforce equal representation in the job place until Affirmative Action laws took effect. And disabled people had the "right" to go to any public place, but until the ADA took effect, they had no means of compelling business owners to build ramps for wheelchairs, for example.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination based upon their disability (Bennett-Alexander, 2001). The protection extends to discrimination in a broad range of activities, including public services, public accommodations and employment. The ADA's ban against disability discrimination applies to both private and public employers in the United States.
The thirteenth and fourteenth amendments, both which deal with civil rights, and the Civil Rights Act, which was made in 1866, have sparked considerable debate since their founding. As Kaczorowski states in his article, the federal government gained a considerable edge over local and state governments with its ability to legislate human rights. He writes that Historians have interpreted the laws in stark opposition. Depending on the political bent of the observer, the laws mandating equality can be
In America the Amendment 1 of the U.S. Constitution gives the American people the right to peaceably assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Most notably Amendment 1 is known for and most often cited as giving the Freedom of Speech. Even before this amendment was ratified people in the U.S. were protesting, as in the Boston Tea Party. Protesting has been a way to effect change in America. A question to ask is this: is there a right way or wrong way to protest.
Typically the most basic civil liberties are found in a country’s bill of rights and then that country passes amendments as needed in order to grow the peoples’ civil liberties, or shrink them if need be. Now, in the case of the United States the people are not “granted“ civil liberties by the...
All throughout history civil liberties have been established, fought for, and abused. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, the civil liberties in the United States of America were tested. There were many events where the freedoms that our founding fathers had fought for Passive Voice (consider revising). Prejudice, fear, and racism all played a role during these events, during many of which they decided the outcome. Two events that demonstrate when the civil liberties in America were tested were during the trial of Sacco and Vanzettii and Schenek v. United States.
Overall it can be said that the Civil Rights Acts’ of 1866 and 1875 were extremely limited and in reality it was an ideology that lacked support and more importantly, enforcement. There were areas were they made an immediate impact however their future importance is of more relevance, as they have provided the foundation for future equality. They were drastic and controversial Acts’ especially considering a war had just been fought over the matter and so any effect was inevitably going to be limited. The long term benefits most certainly outweigh the short term effects here and so to this extent one must agree to the view in the question but if merely considering the direct, immediate effects then one must oppose.
Civil Liberties are singular rights shielded by law from crooked legislative or other obstruction. Civil Liberties in the 1970's are altogether different from common freedoms today. A great deal that was disapproved of in those days is the ordinary standard of today. Individuals' perspectives on things have changed drastically, for example, War, gay marriage, drug use and even women’s rights. It's just been 46 years, since 1970 which, when taking a look at the big picture, isn't long ago.
As a country it is important that we understand and value the importance of civil rights. The following cases demonstrate the importance of rights and liberties. In Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), the Supreme Court ruled on the inherent right to privacy. The Supreme Court ruled that the state could not ban the use of contraceptives. They determined that this was a violation of martial privacy. The state was attempting to fine and/or arrest people that were using any type of medicine or instrument to prevent pregnancy. This case was followed by Roe v. Wade (1973), where the Supreme Court not only gave women the right to privacy but also the right to have an abortion. In Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002), the Supreme Court gave parents in Ohio the right to use vouchers in order for their children to attend religious or private schools. While these cases protect liberties, the cases involving civil rights are far more reaching. In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Supreme Court prohibited racial segregation of public schools. In Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (1986), the Supreme Court ruled that a “hostile environment” related to sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination. The impact of protecting our civil rights ensures a more inclusive American
Without civil liberties, America would be empty. This type of dystopian nation would compromise simple American values that the people take for granted. They are the guarantees to each individual, granting them protections against government actions, not to be mistaken for civil rights, which are the legal actions taken by the government to create equal conditions for every individual. While it is arguable whether all civil liberties should be protected by the United States, there are exceptions likewise. In any event, while
Civil rights are the rights to personal liberty and are provided by the law. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights promises everybody civil rights. But many people, including lots of black people, have been denied their civil rights. Black people, and also some white people who help them, have struggled for these rights for a long time. Many people have helped and many kinds of groups have been formed to help win equal rights for everyone. Things are a lot better used to be, but the struggle is not over.
Declared in the U.S. Constitution every American or should it be person, is guaranteed civil rights. Civil rights did not just consist of “freedom of speech and assembly,” but as well as “the right to vote, the right to equal protection under the law, and procedural guarantees in criminal and civil rights,” (Dawood). It was not until 1791, that the Bill of Rights was appended to the constitution, which helped clarify these rights to citizens. “Rights were eventually applied against actions of the state governments in a series of cases decide by the Supreme Court,” Dawood stated. In previous years (1790-1803), the Supreme Court had little say in decisions being made by government. As time went on the Supreme Court took on more responsibility and started making additional decisions, which in time helped minorities gain their civil rights. It took a couple of years, as a matter of fact till the 1900’s for the Supreme Court to get out of the “ideology of white supremacy and the practice of racism,” (Smith). Though the decisions of the Supreme Court were not all that appreciated in the beginning, following the 20th century the court really facilitated in the advancements of civil rights.
Throughout American history, our civil liberties as American citizens have evolved immensely. For example, the first ten amendments in the U.S. Constitution are referred to as the “The Bill of Rights,” which contains some of the most cherished civil liberties, such as freedom of speech and religion. These civil liberties however, did not originally apply to state governments or institutions the state established. The Bill of Rights focused solely on what the national government could not do, allowing state governments to do whatever they wanted. For example, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire supported Congregationalist ministers with tax payer dollars for decades. After the Civil War, civil liberties expanded, because three new amendments were added: the Thirteenth, abolishing slavery, the Fourteenth, which redefined civil liberties and rights, and the Fifteenth, which allowed adult, male citizens to vote. The due process clause (contained in the Fourteenth Amendment) became one of the most important civil liberties, because it applied the language of the Fifth Amendment to state governments, proclaiming that they could not “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law....
The First Amendment is the first section of the Bill of Rights and is often considered the most important part of the U.S Constitution because it guarantees the citizens of United States the essential personal freedoms of religion, speech, press, peaceful assembly and the freedom to petition the Government. Thanks to the rights granted by the First Amendment, Americans are able to live in a country where they can freely express themselves, speak their mind, pray without interference, protest in peace and where their opinions are taken into consideration, which is something not many other nationalities have the fortune of saying. The Founding Fathers were the framers of the Constitution of the U.S., and the responsible for the elaboration of the First Amendment. The majority of the Founding Fathers were enlightenment thinkers who were in love with liberty, and thought that basic political rights were inevitable for man’s nature. After having experienced the tyranny from their mother countries, the Founding Fathers carefully constructed the Constitution of the United States in a way where tyranny was avoided and a government for the people, by the people and of the people was developed, which is clearly reflected in the Constitution. At the time of inception of the United States, the Founding Fathers created the First Amendment in order to ensure that the government would not interfere with Americans’ basic civil rights. The rights outlined on the First Amendment were considered so important by these leaders that many states refused to ratify the Constitution of the United Sates until there was a conjecture of amendments that would protect individual rights in the future.
Civil liberties is a term coined by the United States that guarantees certain rights to the people by the Bill of Rights. Although the Right to Privacy is not officially enumerated into the Constitution, the Supreme Court ruled that citizens do in fact, have the right to their own privacy in their own home and their own beliefs. Privacy rights are an essential part of everyday American lives, in that everyone should be given the right to do whatever they want to do in privacy without anyone judging them or knowing what they have done. The right to privacy can also be considered jeopardizing to society because if someone is doing everything privately, including planning some sort of abomination or is doing something illegal, and the police does not find out, it can cause some serious damage to the society. The Patriot Act was enacted after 9-11 to ensure security among the nation. By doing so, the United States implemented strategies in protecting the people, such as decrease privacy rights that were “given” to the people. Also, in today’s society, iphones have an a setting in which the phone can track your location and so-call “help” you do whatever you need the phone to do. According to the Usatoday’s article, location services through GPS coordinates one’s online post and photos, in that one does not even know they are exposing their private lives to the online world. Although, The right to privacy plays an important role in keeping everyday Americans the will to do whatever they want in private, it may cause potential trouble in keeping everything a secret, even illegal actions.
The Americans with Disabilities Act, TITLE 42 - THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE U.S.C. § 12101 - 12117 et seq. (Author 1990 ).