Civil Liberties And Civil Rights

Civil rights and civil liberties have great similarities. Both civil rights and civil liberties include policies that protect the equality and freedom of people from government officials. However, the two terms have great differences. Two main differences between civil rights and liberties exist. One difference includes the origin of the policies. They also protect from different things. Although they have differences, civil rights and liberties have great importance to the citizens of the United States.

Civil rights and civil liberties are similar. They each want to protect something or someone. They go off the Bill of rights and the constitution since the Bill only goes up to the first ten amendments. Within the civil rights movement there were court cases that were passed.

From the beginning, the United States Constitution has guaranteed the American people civil liberties. These liberties have given citizens rights to speak, believe, and act freely. The Constitution grants citizens the courage to express their mind about something they believe is immoral or unjust. The question is, how far are citizens willing to extend the meanings of these liberties? Some people believe that American citizens take advantage of their civil liberties, harming those around them. On the contrary, many other people feel that civil liberties are necessary tools to fight for their Constitutional 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 In America, today there is a lot of controversy over human’s rights. This is not true of just today, however, this fight for people 's rights has been going on for ages. There are two basic types of rights. 2 There are Civil Rights and there are Civil Liberties. Civil Liberties are a broader topic, such as the right to vote or the right to bear arms, they can be directly from the Bill of Rights or the Constitution. While Civil Rights are more specific, for example, employers cannot be ageist or sexist and woman should have the same chance for a promotion than any man. Civil Rights protect everyone from any type of discrimination. While Civil

Webster defines civil liberty as a freedom from arbitrary governmental interference specifically by denial of governmental power, and in the United States especially as guaranteed by the bill of rights. Civil liberties are the basic rights, and freedoms that are due to every American citizen. More than often, civil liberties and civil rights are often used synonymously, but those terms are very distinct. A civil rights violation happens during designated situations where a person is discriminated against based on physical characteristics. However, civil liberties deal with basic rights and freedoms that are guaranteed within the Bill of Rights and U.S constitution, inferred over the years by courts, and legislatures. Although, there are many liberties outlined within the United States constitution freedom of speech will be expounded upon.

There is a difference between civil liberties and civil rights in relation to the government. Civil liberties refer to an individual’s unalienable freedoms that cannot be taken away by political intervention. On the other hand, civil rights are provided by the government in order to promote equality. This ideology was introduced to the founders of the nation by John Locke, who believed in natural rights. Locke stated that these natural rights are to be protected and secured by the government. The question that should be raised now is whether the government truly does protect our civil rights and have the citizens’ best interest in mind.

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?

1 Civil Rights Vs. Civil Liberties As a citizen of the United States, one is granted many protections under law. 2 These protections consist of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Varying based on the person, these rights are very valuable and ensure that an individual free of harm for certain situations. Civil Rights and Civil Liberties have evolved over the years as our country continues to further its development. They allow for the diminishing of injustice and a sense of security when it comes to the law system. The importance of Civil Rights and Liberties may not be very well known to all, but continue to play a role in every citizen’s

1 McGahey 3 Megan McGahey Sherry Sharifian GOVT 2305 71430 20 September 2017 Civil Liberties vs.

Civil rights and civil liberties have been constantly changing and growing as our country moves forward with its ever-changing society. Civil liberties are about

Civil liberties are our natural rights, such as freedom, equality and pursuit of happiness, which the government cannot modify by making new laws or by judicial interpretation. Civil liberties are important because it helps restrain the power of the government to dictate how we behave. This ensures that our daily life is not interrupted by authoritative figures that may just try to intentionally cause harm. Civil liberties contribute to the protection of our personal choices, such as the right to abortions. The bill of rights is important to civil liberties because it does not allow the government to govern our personal lives. Unfortunately, with this war against terrorism, we have given those authoritative figures the ability to mandate

Throughout America’s history people have fought for more rights and freedoms. Civil rights and civil liberties have been at the center of these arguments. Whether the argument was to have more rights or have our freedoms enforced people have been using civil rights and civil liberties as their rationale. American history has been defined by the many rights and freedoms the people have been granted.

1. 2 Define Civil Liberties; then define Civil Rights. How are they similar? How do they differ? Which civil sequence has more influence on your life as you know it to be now? Why do you believe this to be so?

SLO 1 Civil Liberties vs Civil Rights Democracy in simple sense is understood as rule of people. As said by Abraham Lincoln,” democracy is government of the people, by the people, for the people”. In democracy all the power is seized by the people but, still we find many cases in different parts of the world that the political leaders and government officials and their families having more rights and power as compared to regular people. The violation of civil liberty and civil rights by the government official and political leaders are very common.