Question

Required: 1-2 paragraphs

Summarize the evolution of civil liberties in the United States.

Answer 1

Civil liberties are defined as rights granted to the people by the Constitution of the United States and by law or legislation enacted by the courts. These freedoms allow us to freely speak out against our government, express our opinions, organize demonstrations and worship in whatever way we want. It was vital to the early settlers that we have these freedoms to be secured from undue interference by the government. These rights are found in the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments of the Constitution of the United States, including the right to privacy, freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.

England developed something similar to our Bill of Rights in the late 1600s. This includes many of the civil rights we enjoy today-including the right to free expression and the right to bear arms in some way. As the British settlers came to the U.S. and founded the original 13 colonies they brought British philosophy and law with them.

In our declaration of independence from Britain in the mid-1700s, it was argued that one of the Government's most important functions was to secure our personal freedoms. Once the Constitution of the United States was written, many of our current civil liberties were included in the Bill of Rights.

The U.S. Supreme Court, however, did not yet have the authority to find laws or regulations unconstitutional; thus, the Bill of Rights was simply a declaration of beliefs that had little legal protection. Marbury v. Madison granted the U.S. Supreme Court authority during the early 1800's to strike down law that is considered to be unconstitutional. This gives our civil liberties tremendous protection and is included in the Bill of Rights as there was an organization to protect them. The Fourteenth Amendment, which incorporated our civil liberties contained in the states 'Bill of Rights, was adopted in the later 1800s.

All this meant was that individual states were unable to enact legislation that rejected the Bill of Rights and, conversely, applied the rights contained in the Bill of Rights to people from their states until 1925 when the United States was not questioned and confirmed. The Supreme Court held that the states are bound by the Bill of Rights by the Fourteenth Amendment for good.

Our civil rights have been confirmed, understood and continued to this day. In 1965 the Supreme Court ruled in Griswold v. Connecticut that certain amendments to the Bill of Rights require a right to privacy.

The vast majority of court cases outlining American civil rights was based on the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments added in 1791 to the Constitution. Civil liberties covered under the Bill of Rights can be divided into two broad areas: freedoms and rights granted in the First Amendment (religion, expression, press, assembly, and petition), and freedoms and rights connected with crime and due process. The Fourteenth Amendment, which forbids violations of rights and freedoms by state governments, also guarantees the civil rights.