Throughout the history of the United States of America, various groups have risen to demand equal treatment under the law. In many cases the treatment they were seeking was in part pursued based on the fact that they believed they were entitled to as a American citizen. In many instances these groups were successful in advocating their position based what they felt were their rights under the Constitution of the United States. Some of the rights sought were based on civil right, and some were based on civil liberties. Each time a group or an individual has risen to protect such rights; they have been met with considerable opposition from the many who interpret such rights differently. A great many lives have been lost in the continued pursuit …show more content…
Simply understanding each of the rights guaranteed to Americans under the Constitution is not enough. In order for a group to rise up and secure equal protection under the law, they must clearly communicate what protections they are entitled too, overcome campaigns of public opinion and controversy and establish which competing values of Freedom, Order, and Equality they should be privileged too.
There is a clear difference between an individual’s civil rights, and their civil liberties. However, there seems to be a common misconception as to which is which. Saylor defines civil rights as “protections
…show more content…
Often groups will leverage civil liberties protections to make their case for acceptance or to gain political clout to progress their cause. The pursuit of such an advantage means that a decision of which fundamental value will be used to advance the issue. Some of the values that provide the best argument are often competing with each other. The Value of Freedom, or complete absence of restrictions or barriers, is a concept that was relevant during the times of slavery but is in direct conflict with the concept of order. Order is achieved by erecting restrictions and barriers. However the very order reduces the purity of Freedom. The most commonly pursued value is that of equality. The desire for equality has driven groups to organize effectively and make the case to end slavery, and eventually capitalize on legislation that created the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Though Freedom, Equality and order can be mutually compatible there is tension among
Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, and the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution were historical milestones in which the ever controversial topic of racial equality was first challenged. In theory, these two movements laid the groundwork for a racially equal United States of America. A country in which every member, regardless of skin color, or race were to be treated equally under the eyes of the law and to one day be treated as equals within all realms of society. As historic and powerful as these movements were, they did
Our 14th amendment is perhaps the most important amendment because it helps defend some of our fundamental rights. This amendment extends the due process procedure to all citizens when trying to deprive them of life, liberty, or property. The amendment also ensures that everyone born in the United States or naturalized is guaranteed citizenship. This helped grant the right to vote for many americans who before were excluded from this right. It was ratified on july 9th in 1868 following the civil war along with 13th and 15th amendment. These are known as the civil war amendments and had to be accepted by the southern states in order for them to be brought back into the union. The 14th amendment in particular was designed to protect the basic civil rights granted in the constitution to all americans. However a lot of issues have arose over time in regarding the 14th amendment equal protection clause. Movements like Black Lives Matter have brought forth some of these issues happening today. The supreme court has made interpretations of the 14th amendment in cases like Plessy vs Ferguson, Brown vs the Board of Education, and even in when overturning the case Dred Scott vs Sanford. To better understand the 14th amendment’s equal protection clause we have to take a closer look at the interpretations made by the supreme court to
Freedom is a fundamental human right that all Americans enjoy today. Foner defines freedom as the ability of an individual to do as he/she wishes as long as long as the actions are within the law and respect the right of others (2). Accordingly, freedom is among the rights that are anchored in American constitution to protect the civil liberties of all Americans. Today, America is regarded as a democratic country that operates within the rule of law partly because of its respect for human rights (Romano 3). However, history shows that the freedom that African Americans enjoy today did not come easily; rather came after a long and enduring struggle by Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968). It is noted that, unlike white Americans who enjoyed freedom to do as they wished in the early 19th century, African Americans were denied the freedom to operate freely like their white counterparts (Foner 6). Therefore, because curtailing the freedom of African Americans were denying them the opportunity to advance socially, economically and politically, the Civil Rights Movement was formed by Martin Luther King Junior and colleagues to fight against racial segregation and to ensure that African Africans gain equal rights as the whites. This essay seeks to explore the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968) struggle for freedom and
During the mid 20th century, citizens all over America were fighting for their rights, especially including women and those of color. This period marked the beginning of a long road of reconciliation and reconstruction, but now citizens have been able to cross the finish line in establishing equal rights for all of the United States citizens. Over time, American’s former issues regarding the civil liberties of citizens have slowly resolved such as the rights of equality for citizens of color, the repercussions of citizens voicing their opinions, and acquiring rights for women.
As many people are aware, African Americans struggled a lot when trying to receive equal rights. Even though the Civil War that took place from 1861 to 1865 had accomplished to abolish slavery in 1865, African Americans were still being treated poorly and weren’t receiving civil rights. “Civil Rights are the rights of all Americans to equal protection under the law, as provided by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution” (Bardes, Schmidt, Shelley 92).
Like African Americans women of all races have faced discrimination in The United States. Women also had limited rights and wanted to be considered equal. Like blacks women could not vote, own land, or get a higher education until the early 1960’s. These two movements created the Civil Rights Equal Rights amendments. These two groups forced the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to be created.
In the United States of America, multiple groups have risen up and have stood their ground against many forms of oppression. Specifically the Colonists, the Colored, and When the 13 Colonies were being dictated under the rule of King George III; leaders like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin rose and looked straight into the devil’s eyes to gain their liberation from their unjustful law oppression in 1776. That event occurred 240 years ago, but like George Santayana said, “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” In 1964, the US government ratified or passed the Civil Rights Act that gave all
I am a citizen of the United States of America, arguably the most powerful country in the world. As such, I expect to be treated as outlined in our Declaration of Independence: “...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness-”. It seems like such a simple idea; everyone deserves to live life freely and happily. So why is it that today there are so many controversies pertaining to this very principle? Our civil rights and liberties as American citizens are constantly under scrutiny as we struggle to understand the simple word ‘all’. History is our evidence that minority groups are
Civil rights are individual freedoms everyone is awarded by their government and that the government cannot infringe upon. Civil rights in America have been largely changing and expanding since World War II. Presently there is still copious amounts of civil rights issues in the United States. The marginalization of women and their rights are a prime example of how civil rights in America are still evolving and need amending. Deemed the land of the free by many, yet the United States does not offer equal opportunities for the women living in it’s vast space. In 2015 one would think that women would have come a longer way but they are still struggling. Dorothy McBride, Janine Parry and Natasha Thomsen tackle this topic in their books Women’s
Civil Rights protects citizens from discrimination, and because of different civil rights movements, constitutional rights are now guaranteed for all U.S. citizens (Civil Right for kids overview, 2017). These rights give all citizens the opportunity of “...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (Declaration of Independence, 1776). There were different movements fought for their population against discriminated. It is because of people like Martin Luther King J., Helen Keller, and Rosa Parks, who made people aware of discrimination through activities like the March on Washington, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the Little Rock Nine (Civil Rights for Kids overview, 2017). There people and others helped to protect people against discrimination.
Numerous groups throughout history have wrestled for equal rights and engaged in combat against oppressors. Both the American women’s suffrage movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s and the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s were examples of an oppressed group grappling with those above them for equality. Each group had to press for legislation that would protect them against inequality. Although the time periods of the women’s suffragette struggle and the African American Civil Rights endeavor were separate in history, the goals and methods of each were immensely similar.
In today’s society civil rights movements are showing up more and more each day fighting for equality and human rights. Fighting for what is right and what you believe in can be long and tiresome, many civil rights activist fight for religion, race, and gender. It is a battle for justice amongst ourselves to receive equal rights. Some of the different aspects of the relationship between human rights and the separation of powers are questioning the proficiency of human rights law to secure rights, including the right to be governed by way of the rule of law and to have a share in self-government. People want to be the same no matter what they look like or what beliefs, “The Civil Rights Movement is an abstract issue for our youngest students,
America is the land of the free, but are we all really free? Americans will argue that we do not have equal rights. Americans have fought for equality in numerous ways for centuries including, rights for women, african americans, and the LGBT community. One of the biggest movements in American history concerning equal rights is the Civil Rights Movement during the 50s and 60s. African Americans were being treated poorly and were forced to obey Jim Crow Laws. The Civil Rights Movement was a way for those African Americans to stand up and fight for what they believed in.
Civil rights and civil liberties are terms that are often used synonymously, but both terms are indeed dissimilar.
Civil rights are the rights the citizens withhold to political and social equality and or freedom.