Civil Right and Civil Liberties
Ricardo Diaz
Dr. Kahlert
English A
5 December 2009
Civil Right and Civil Liberties Civil liberties and civil rights are fundamental for everyday living. In today’s society both of these terms have different prospective; civil rights are considered to be natural rights. In other words, civil rights means that people have the right to be treated the same regardless of their race, gender, or religion. Even thought civil rights are guaranteed by law, this prospective took many years to be achieved. For example, after the Civil War African and Americans were still treated badly; they got the worst jobs and were paid poorly. On the other hand, civil liberties are “Rights in freedom that protect an individual from the government” (Welch 404). Most civil liberties are found in the bill of rights; which are the first ten amendments of the constitution. Welch in Understanding American and California Government, states that “The declaration of independence proclaimed that all men are created equal” (448). In other words, all men were not formed equal in several respects, but they should be considered equal before the law. However, back on the eighteenth century many Americans believed that people had natural rights by the virtue of being human. In Richard Randall’s Introduction to American Government class, he stated that “Americans are very tolerant of civil liberties and democratic values. They only support the ideas for the individuals, groups, and ideas other groups support” (Randall). Civil liberties are important because it helps contain the power of the government to dictate how we behave. This ensures that our every day living is not interrupted by dependable statistics that may just try to intentionally cause harm. On the other hand, civil rights are also important because they protect us against unusual administrations whose goals are not to represent the people, but rather for their own sake. Next, the bill of rights was intended to prevent abuses of
Dr. Kahlert
English A
5 December 2009
Civil Right and Civil Liberties Civil liberties and civil rights are fundamental for everyday living. In today’s society both of these terms have different prospective; civil rights are considered to be natural rights. In other words, civil rights means that people have the right to be treated the same regardless of their race, gender, or religion. Even thought civil rights are guaranteed by law, this prospective took many years to be achieved. For example, after the Civil War African and Americans were still treated badly; they got the worst jobs and were paid poorly. On the other hand, civil liberties are “Rights in freedom that protect an individual from the government” (Welch 404). Most civil liberties are found in the bill of rights; which are the first ten amendments of the constitution. Welch in Understanding American and California Government, states that “The declaration of independence proclaimed that all men are created equal” (448). In other words, all men were not formed equal in several respects, but they should be considered equal before the law. However, back on the eighteenth century many Americans believed that people had natural rights by the virtue of being human. In Richard Randall’s Introduction to American Government class, he stated that “Americans are very tolerant of civil liberties and democratic values. They only support the ideas for the individuals, groups, and ideas other groups support” (Randall). Civil liberties are important because it helps contain the power of the government to dictate how we behave. This ensures that our every day living is not interrupted by dependable statistics that may just try to intentionally cause harm. On the other hand, civil rights are also important because they protect us against unusual administrations whose goals are not to represent the people, but rather for their own sake. Next, the bill of rights was intended to prevent abuses of
Cited: Welch, Susan. Understanding American and California Government. 12. Ohio: United States print , 2009. Randall, Richard. Introduction to American Government. Lectures. 10 Oct. 6 Nov. 2009.