Argumentative Essay On Civil Rights

"If the fires of freedom and civil liberties burn low in other lands, they must be made brighter in our own. If in other lands the press and books and literature of all kinds are censored, we must redouble our efforts here to keep them free. If in other lands the eternal truths of the past are threatened by intolerance, we must provide a safe place for their perpetuation." Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1938 (Isaacs 66)

Civil Liberties and Civil Rights are two terms that are often used interchangeably in America. Since the founding of our nation there has always been the debate of the limit of government and what rights were guaranteed to each individual. Many of the architects of our government feared that national government could one day become too powerful and begin to infringe on the individual rights of the citizens. As a result, a Bill of Rights was added to our constitution. The Bill of Rights serves as a guide of what the government cannot do. Civil Liberties simply establish precedent on what rights the United States government cannot abridge on. Civil Rights, on the other hand applies to the rights of individuals. Over the history of our nation the question of civil rights has found itself becoming a pillar of our legal system and has been very instrumental in our quest to become a “more perfect union”. In recent history one civil liberty that has caused a continual controversial debate is the second amendment, in addition to how it applies to gun control measures that are being proposed in order to decrease the level of mass shootings. The second amendment clearly defines the intention of individuals to have the right to bear arms. In order to understand why gun control advocates have failed to secure effective gun control legislation, we must explore the reasoning why the second amendment is interpreted the way it is and should Americans be allowed to own guns?

Our Founding Founders established the federal government with three distinct branches, each with powers over the other in order to have a proper checks and balances to ensure fairness across the board. The U.S. Constitution outlines the powers and responsibilities of the three branches of government and is a critical document for the federal government. Important laws and documents such as The Bill of Rights, The US Civil Rights Act and The Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) are managed by our Constitution. Below we will discuss three subjects which set up a diverse broad range of viewpoints that are essential in our democracy.

Chapter 21 Question 2: What key issues and events led the federal government to intervene in the civil rights movement? What were the major pieces of legislation enacted, and how did they dismantle legalized segregation?

part in todays lessons plan. Also should be parents aware, that not talking to your

Civil Rights are types of laws that embrace common situations that affect individual’s lives, such as employment, voting, housing, education and public accommodations and facilities. These laws exist as a matter of creating policies that promote opportunities for all persons and equality without regard of gender, race, disabilities, religion or national origin. This legal phenomenon might happen by various reasons: lack of equality in the society, prejudice against minorities, or existence of previous laws that support the oppressed.

America, in 2015, is a dystopia for many. Our country has begun to throw away the very values and principles its foundation was built on. Yet, some fail to see the problem and still claim this is the land of the free, home of the brave. How can it be the land of the free when African Americans are shot down in the streets by police every day, with little to no consequences for the killers? When incarceration rates in the US are higher than that of any other country, and minor drug offenders can serve sentences of up to 20 years? We spend more on funding prisons and the military, than we do on improving education. In Maryland, the state government passed a bill to fund juvenile prisons, worth millions of dollars, but did not pass one to fund

he basis of most Republican opposition to the 1964 law, even from GOP members of Congress who backed the 1957 and 1960 Civil Rights bills signed by President Dwight Eisenhower, was discomfort about forcing private business to comply with public accommodation laws. Few Republicans expressed any qualms about requiring things like public busses and government buildings to integrate. Because Republicans had been the party of civil rights and liked more in it than they didn’t, they voted for it. Democrats were split. It was Democrats that used a herculean effort to block it through filibusters. Some local municipalities and governments in the South had laws prohibiting private business owners from serving black customers. Goldwater wanted to end

The Declaration of Independence, written in 1776, states that all citizens have certain unalienable rights which are “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. Over the next 250 years, these “unalienable rights” have been deteriorating in our country and the amount of them that everyone has slowly gone away. This led to civil liberty issues arising from race, sex, and wealth classes. Civil liberties are rights that governments can’t take away from the people and everyone has. Civil liberty issues of the American past have not been resolved because the deliberate murder of people is still prominent in America, women in society are controlled by men, and the discrimination of blacks and whites continues to exist.

In the mid-1960s, Malcolm X said, "If you stick a knife nine inches into my back and pull it out three inches, that it not progress. Even if you pull it all the way out, that is not progress. Progress is healing the wound, and America hasn't even begun to pull out the knife." And, to this day, Malcolm X's words are just as salient and prophetic as they were during the Civil Rights Era. The exigent problem that American society recognizes but refuses to acknowledge is that black people have and continue to be excluded from the so-called white American humanity. Some Americans could argue that the 13th amendment left an encouraging and indelible impression on the racial fabric of American society. There is a historical and prevalent notion that America prides and extols herself in her pursuit for equality and justice. Furthermore, America worships herself on the altars of democracy, justice and equality. American patriots said that black people should be grateful for the 13th amendment. But, the problem, like an ominous shadow, remains. American patriots said that they acknowledged the error of their ways and consequently conferred former black slaves with the 14th and 15th amendments; yet, the exigent issue remains. American patriots told black people to show some gratitude for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and yet, the problem akin to an individual who tirelessly struggles to extricate himself from the invisible shackles, remains. Though some could argue that the passing

1. Discuss when, why and how the Cold War began. Then cite at least one factor that perpetuated the Cold War in each decade from the 1950s-1980s and discuss how the item you selected affected America at home as well. Last, discuss when and why the Cold War ended.

In Calvin Jillson’s American Government: Political Development and Institutional Change Eighth Edition, Chapters thirteen and fourteen explore the subjects of civil liberties and civil rights. Chapter thirteen concentrates on the origin and expansion of civil liberties in the United States. This chapter mainly focuses on the different aspects of the freedom of expression and religion, and how they were transformed by different legal disputes, but it also details the problems with the criminal justice system in America. Chapter fourteen analyzes social movements and their effect on American politics, particularly movements for racial and gender equality. It also describes the ongoing debate over affirmative action in the United States. Both civil liberties and civil rights are used to empower the individual over government, and ensures an egalitarian society in today’s world.

“O say can you see, by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming.” All generations should respect our country, the American flag, United States veterans, and all branches of military. Earlier generations have provided us with the freedoms we have today such as opportunities, rights, and education.

“Oh, I know that you’ve never laid a finger on her, but it’s certainly not because of your chaste soul, not by a long shot. She wouldn’t let you. She still has you right where she wants you - drooling over her like one of Pavlov’s dogs, and then sending you home to me with an itch to scratch. You make me sick.”

The American declaration of independence stated, that: “All men are created equal”. But in the 19th century only whites were born with equal opportunities. Africans were imported as slaves and had to work on the fields of the whites. Until 1865 the Negroes were treated and looked at as something lower than human. They were compared to apes, and therefore just owned the same rights as animals. They were raised believing that whites were superior. It took them years to realize that they have to stand up for their rights. The uprising turned into a brutal civil war.