What are Civil Liberties and Rights?

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What are Civil Liberties and Rights?
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I. What are Civil Liberties?

1. Introduction The authors of the Declaration of
   Independence believed liberty to be an inherent
   right of all human beings and sought to create a
   government to protect this right. The Bill of
   Rights was thus designed to guarantee the
   inalienable rights of all humans. Governments are
   created to provide peace and protect individual
   rights society is willing to concede power to a
   government in order to have these protections.
   However, the struggle continues between how much
   power to give to this government before it
   infringes on one's rights. The classic dilemma of
   people in a democratic society is how to balance
   the authority they need with the personal liberty
   they want.

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I. Definitions Civil Liberties

• Wikipedia.org Civil liberties are protections
  from the power of governments. Examples include
  freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and trial
  by jury. These are usually created and protected
  by a constitution
• Burns et al Rights of all persons that cannot
  be denied by governmental power freedom of
  conscience, religion, or expression generally,
  the freedoms secured by the First Amendment
• 3) Cummings and Wise Are the fundamental
  rights of a free society that are protected by
  the Bill of Rights

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II. The Bill of Rights

• 1st Amendment the 1st amendment of our
  Constitution protects individuals from govt. laws
  that interfere with the freedom of religion and
  freedom of expression, as well as protection of
  written and symbolic speech, and freedom of the
  press, and freedom of association
• a. Amendment Congress shall make NO law
  respecting an establishment of religion, or
  prohibiting the free exercise thereof or
  abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press
  or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
  and to petition the govt. for a redress of
  grievances

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II. The Bill of Rights

• 2nd Amendment? the 2nd amendment of course
  protects the "right of the people to keep and
  bear arms" and of course is the subject of a long
  standing debate that really centers on the
  concepts of ORDER versus FREEDOM and SAFETY and
  HATRED of GUNS versus freedom
• a. A well regulated Militia, being necessary
  to the security of a free State, the right of the
  people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be
  infringed

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B. The Bill of Rights

• 4th Amendment covers freedom from unreasonable
  searches and seizures. This is going to be one of
  the main topics of today's class
• a. The right of the people to be secure in
  their persons, houses, papers, and effects,
  against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall
  not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but
  upon probable cause, supported by Oath or
  affirmation, and particularly describing the
  place to be searched, and the persons or things
  to be seized

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II. The Bill of Rights

• 5th Amendment covers right NOT to incriminate
  ones self, and also right to Due Process, Grand
  Jury, Double Jeopardy among others
• a. No person shall be held to answer for a
  capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a
  presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except
  in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or
  in the Militia, when in actual service in time of
  War or public danger nor shall any person be
  subject for the same offence to be twice put in
  jeopardy of life or limb nor shall be compelled
  in any criminal case to be a witness against
  himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or
  property, without due process of law nor shall
  private property be taken for public use, without
  just compensation

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II. The Bill of Rights

• 7th Amendment In less than criminal matters,
  right of trial by jury is preserved
• a. In Suits at common law, where the value in
  controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the
  right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no
  fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise
  re-examined in any Court of the United States,
  than according to the rules of the common law

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B. The Bill of Rights

• 8th Amendment No excessive bail or fines and No
  cruel and unusual punishment shall be inflicted
• a. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
  excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual
  punishments inflicted

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III. Civil Rights

• The terms civil liberties and rights are often
  used interchangeably, although as you now know
  they are NOT the same thing and should NOT be
  used as if they were
• B. Lets start with the textbook definition

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III. Civil Rights

• Burns et al Rights of all persons, not just
  citizens, to equal protection of the laws the
  constitutional right not to be discriminated
  against by GOVERNMENTS because of race, ethnic
  background, religion, or gender. Civil rights
  include the right not to be denied our lives,
  liberties, or property by government without due
  process of law. These civil rights are protected
  by the due process and equal protection clauses
  of the 5th and 14th Amendments and by civil
  rights laws of national and state governments

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III. Civil Rights

• A. Equality has been one of the central issues in
  our history
• B. In the Dec of Independence, Jefferson himself
  argued that all men are created equal--Did he
  himself believe that? Some say yes, some no
• C. One thing that isnt debatable though is that,
  as a country, we sure havent always practiced
  that Jeffersonian idea of equality

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III. Civil Rights

• D. Questions about civil liberties/rights
• 1. How do you define equality?
• 2. What, if anything, do you think government
  should do to achieve equality?
• 3. Should gender equality receive the same
  level of legal protection as racial equality?
• 4. Should persons captured on a foreign
  battlefield in the war on terrorism be entitled
  to constitutional protections?

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Civil Liberties Rights In Conclusion

• The next few weeks we will be exploring and
  discussing civil liberties and civil rights,
  largely through video, video response sheets
  discussion.
• 2) You need to read UAG, ch. 3 online lectures
  8-9 as well as complete online assignments 4-6
  (s 1.1, 1.3 short essay unrelated to Critical
  Thinking Text in Critical Thinking text)