Civil Liberties Vs Civil Rights

Improved Essays
Aaron Hanson Mrs Sharifian American Government 14 September 2017 Civil Liberties V Civil Rights With the creation of the constitution, checks and balances, and more importantly the initial ten amendments, came the proposal of civil liberties and civil rights.
Although they may seem similar, they have been given different names for many reasons. Civil liberties are like civil rights in that they define the things people should be able to do and have and are primarily focused on the rights of the individual. However, unlike civil rights, civil liberties are god given rights or fundamental rights that apply to all humanity regardless of citizenship and cannot be overruled or given up. Civil Rights however, are right enacted by the government given
…show more content…
In the case of Barker V Wingo, the case was about a man who was accused of a crime and this trial went on for 6 days. Clearly time was an issue here. According to the 7th amendment regarding liberties of individuals in courts, the people have the right to a speedy trial. Or in the case of Zedner V United states, where the trials that were supposed to precede, took too long to initiate lasting up to 90 days. This too is a matter of time being used, where the accused must bear the limitations of those who are called for the court. These cases conflict upon the 7th amendment and challenged these individual liberties. The supreme court however ruled that the court decisions and actions of each individual unconstitutional. In the matter for civil liberties, a clear and renowned example comes from the case of Brown v Education Board, whereas an individual was put under unfair admission consideration based on the color of his skin. Because this directly affected the individual in the sense of equality and discrimination, his rights were being violated. Between civil liberties and civil rights, I believe neglecting our civil liberties causes more harm than does neglecting civil rights. Now when considering which part of the states would be affected most, we must also consider the timeline in which these cases took place. In the case for the Brown v Board of Education, segregation was still a problem and racism was also evident. From this we can conclude through what we’ve learned through history, that the southern states often had many more property regarding slaves of African American workers, or simply just the mistreatment of the group. Now that schools couldn’t rule the discrimination of race, the southern eastern side of the states were most affected, considering they would have to put forth more effort to change the society than in the north-west side of the states. As for

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Bill of Rights limits the range of power the federal government can possess. Likewise, civil liberties are rooted in Bill of Rights and they were designed to protect the people from the government. Civil liberties were important to the American people because it ensures that the public can not violate laws that people are entitled to. With that being said, if the government denies someone their civil liberties or violates them it is illegal. Civil rights and civil liberties are so closely related, because they both were intended to be for the good of the people.…

    • 792 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Unfair Engel v. Vitale Court Case Many court cases are viewed unfair by the public, and seem to violate the U.S. Constitution’s first amendment. A particular trial aroused my attention as well. I disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision in the Engel v. Vitale trial that declared it unconstitutional to openly lead prayer in public schools.…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Perfecto 1 Jocelinne Perfecto Professor Sherry Sharifian Government 2305-71013 25, September, 2017 SLO#1 Civil Liberties v Civil Rights Generating from the words civil liberties and civil rights, we can gain an understanding that the meaning of these words implies important aspects into our daily lives. The term civil liberties as defined in We the People by Thomas Patterson, is a person’s individual protection from government actions also known as government infringement. (Patterson 93) These civil liberties stem from the Bill of Rights which was ratified in 1791 with the first ten amendments in which the government is obligated to protect. (Patterson 94)…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What impact did World War I have on Civil Liberties in the United States? While World War I was going on, it had a major impact on Civil Liberties in the United States. The government was taking people's individual rights, freedom of speech and the right to protest was inhibited as well. Those people who showed any interference with the government or refused to military recruitment with the war would be punished by being sent to jail for twenty years or were fined with at least ten thousand dollars.…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Andrew Titcomb-Morales Mrs. Holt Legal Systems 4 October 2017 The 14 amendment is that no judge or any government official can take away you rights as a person such as someone’s: life, liberty, or property. This amendment has been used many times in history as a way to back up someone’s case. There are two famous cases that has occurred over time: Plessy vs. Ferguson and Brown v Board of Education.…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Reconstruction began in 1867 following the Civil war. Reconstruction Act established temporary military governments in ten confederate states and required the states to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment and permit freedmen to vote. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibited the states from denying citizens their rights. African Americans, Native American’s and immigrants didn’t have the privilege to enjoy the same freedoms as the whites. 1893, Fredrick Turner gave a speech about the western frontier.…

    • 906 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Powell V. Alabama Case

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments were established to protect the rights of the suspected, the accused, criminal defendants and that of convicted criminals. There have been several instances of the course time where these protections of rights haven’t been upheld. An example of when these protections of rights have been neglected is the Powell v. Alabama in 1932. There are several things that made this particular case so different from that of other cases. The time period, the series of events in the case, and the doctrines that were established during this time period are just a few to mention.…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Both the civil rights movements share similarities in regard to their purpose. One reason why the civil rights movement began during the Reconstruction Era and during the 1960s was to gain rights for African Americans. Before the Reconstruction Era civil rights movement, most African Americans were slaves. Slaves were not seen as people in the southern states, instead they were seen as property of the slave master.…

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Gideon V. Wainwright

    • 59 Words
    • 1 Pages

    A landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Gideon v Wainwright, was able to extend civil liberties because the Supreme Court collectively ruled that the states are ordered under the 14th Amendment due to the U.S. Constitution giving counsel in criminal cases to represent poor defendants. Mr. Clarence Earl Gideon was refused to be appointed a lawyer by the Florida…

    • 59 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When it comes to the United States Constitution, the first ten amendments are most generally known as the Bill of Rights. These specific ten amendments were brought to congress in the year of 1789. These amendments were intended to guard the American citizen’s rights, as well as their property (Laws, 2015). In addition, these amendments were supposed to decrease the amount of power that the government had over the people. These original amendments were affirmed in 1791 through the method of voting; however they had to be affirmed individually utilizing a three fourths superiority vote of each one of the states in America (Laws, 2015).…

    • 1347 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The concept of racial injustice has been debated throughout American history; it has been especially evident in America’s legal system. No matter the decade, African-Americans have continually been wrongfully convicted for crimes they never committed. From Brown versus Mississippi (1934) to the case of Brian Banks (2002), one stands out amongst the others: the Scottsboro Trial. This case can be considered the epitome of injustice as the role of racism in the trial was extremely evident in the fact many of the boys’ rights were taken away and crucial evidence was ignored by jurors.…

    • 1847 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Plessy v. Ferguson supreme court case is one of the most well known landmark supreme court cases. It primarily argues the “separate but equal” segregation and Jim Crow laws that emerged post-civil war. The outcome of this case was entirely justified, at the time, because it still met the principles in the thirteen and fourteen amendments. Additionally, Plessy's argument was still undermined with the fact that the state was still keeping facilities “separate but equal.”…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Bowell Vs Alabama

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Powell v. Alabama 287 U.S. 45 (1932) was a landmark case that would forever change the landscape of due process in the United States. This case brought into question what the courts were responsible for when it came to preserving the people rights, and more importantly how those rights should be carried out. The facts leading up to the case began in March when several white men in Alabama reported being thrown from a train by several African men, this prompted law enforcement to phone ahead to Scottsboro where the train was headed for and where the men were found with two white women by law enforcement(Samaha page 33).…

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    They were cases that determined a very important subject that would change our country. I feel that the Plessy vs Ferguson case should’ve been unconstitutional, but I’m glad that the Brown vs Board of Education case was voted unconstitutional. Today, people of all races can sit in the same…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Article three created the powers of the Supreme Court, “"The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish." (About the Supreme Court). Not only, is the Supreme Court the only court power to be outlined in the constitution, but it is also the most powerful court in America. Through the powers outlined in the constitution, the court has ruled on cases since the beginning of the country. It is one of the most important courts, because it defines the role of the constitution in citizens of America lives.…

    • 1001 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays