Civil Liberties Are Constitutional Protections Against The Government

Civil liberties are simply defined to be protections against government actions or power. They are embedded in the Bill of Rights which restricts the power of the federal government. To take away any of the liberties in the Constitution is illegal. There are several Amendments that give liberties to the people. The First Amendment gives freedoms of speech, press, assembly, petition and religion. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Amendments give rights to bear arms, protection against having to house soldiers in your home, and protection from unreasonable search and seizures. The 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8thAmendments gives rights of due process, right to trial by jury, and protection from cruel and unusual punishment. The 9th and 10th Amendments gives rights not enumerated by the Bill of Rights. The 14th Amendment is also important as it pertains to civil liberties and states that there must be “due process” before the government can take away anyone’s life, liberty, or property. This Amendment also applies due process to the states as well as the federal government.

Civil liberties are basic freedoms granted to individuals in the Bill of Rights. Individual freedom can survive only under a system of law by which both the supreme and the governed are bound. Such a system of fundamental laws, Civil rights are constitutional guarantees, which mean they are granted to individuals with the body of the Constitution in the form of amendments. Many civil rights were granted after the Constitution was written, but civil liberties were included in the Constitution since their adoption in the Bill of Rights in 1791.

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 Rights In the U.S. most use the terms Civil Liberties and Civil Rights interchangeably; although they both protect the freedom of citizens they do this in different ways. 2 Civil Liberties are limitations placed on the government. These are things the government is restricted to do, by the constitution. Things that could interfere with personal freedom. 3 For example, the 1st amendment says that no law can be made establishing a set religion. (Course, 2015) Therefore no laws can be made pertaining to a set religion. Civil liberties can be seen as broader laws, placed against the government. 2 Whereas Civil Rights are almost like curbs

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.

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

Beginning in 1763, the Americans had a long road of aggravation ahead of them as laws limiting their control were established by Britain. The French and Indian War caused a need for regulations due to the debt Britain accumulated and tensions between Indians and colonists. However, the colonies had no control over the regulations imposed on them. Britain restricted their territories, surrounded them with British soldiers, and continued to escalate the regulations. Eventually, the Americans rebelled in response to these actions. In the late 18th century, Britain’s unrelenting control over the American colonies was the primary cause of the American Revolution.

After decades of salutary neglect Britain decided it was time to place stricter control on America. The British also needed money to pay for the Seven Years War, which they believed they should tax America for because they protected the Americans during the Seven Years War. From the very first day of America’s birth, America was a revolutionary force breeding new ideas of society, government, and citizenship (American Pageant pg. 126). When Britain stomped these ideas down, America’s revolutionary instincts were fueled and ignited.

The British owned multiple colonies throughout the world and had a relatively peaceful relationship with most if not all. The Americas were one which the British had the friendliest relations, until the Seven Years War. In the aftermath of the war, British realized the Americans were too savage for their taste and the colonists learned the British were not as perfect as they had originally believed. Through the years, due to King George III’s negligence of the colonist’s grievances and propaganda spreading throughout, tensions between the two began to rise gradually, eventually leading up to violent protests and then the American Revolution.

Between 1763 and 1776 a massive transformation occured in the relationship between the Britain and its colonies in America. Prior to the Seven Years War, many colonists felt extremely strong ties to Britain, much more so than they did to each other. All of this changed as a new king and new prime ministers enacted legislation that had a negative effect on all of the colonies and brought the colonies together under common grievances. In 1760 King George III ascended to the English throne in the midst of the Seven Years war.

Civil liberties are basic rights and freedoms granted to citizens of a country through national common or statute law. They include freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom from arbitrary arrest, freedom of assembly, freedom of association and freedom of religious worship. Such rights and freedoms form the basis of a democratic society and are often denied to those living in a dictatorship. Civil liberties are distinct from human rights in that the latter are universal rights and freedoms to which all people throughout the world are deemed to be entitled however, the two often converge. The UK judiciary has several methods that provide an effective protection of civil liberties

According to Wikipedia, “Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that protect an individual from the state” (Wikipedia, 2010). Why would we need protection from the state? The intent of civil liberties is to “set limits on the government so that its agents cannot abuse their power and interfere unduly with the lives of private citizens” (Wikipedia, 2010). Civil liberties are protected through

While civil liberties are defined as what government is not allowed to do in order to ensure the freedom of its citizens, civil rights are everything that government must do to protect freedom and equality. Over the lifetime of the United States of America, this concept has gone through multiple changes. For the most part, this has been one of expansion. When we look back to the beginning of our nation, we see that anyone who wasn’t a white man was considered a second class citizen at best, and at worst not even human. Over the decades, activists have worked tirelessly to change this, through boycotts, mass demonstrations, civil disobedience, and not so politely reminding the Supreme Court about the Fourteenth Amendment, which required laws

Civil liberties are individual freedoms which are protected from the government by the Bill of Rights. There were historical backgrounds to guarantee the freedom. Although they are ruled in the Constitution, it is not easy to protect the diversity and individual freedom in the society, and not all conflicts have been settled today. Yet, people are in a process to improve democratic society which is not a finished product, and freedom in all its forms improves itself over time. I am going to explain two major liberties in the First Amendment of the Bill of Right: the freedom of religion and the freedom of the press.

Changes in British policies toward the colonies between 1750 and 1776 played paramount in the evolution of relations between British North America and Mother England. Tension between England and the colonies mounted from the conclusion of the Seven Years’ War to the signing of the Declaration of Independence as a result of the several implemented changes imposed by Parliament for the purpose of increasing income and tightening the grip on America.