Preview

Essay On Civil Liberties And Civil Rights

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
583 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On Civil Liberties And Civil Rights
AP Government

Essay: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

Unfortunately, discrimination is something that is deep-rooted in our country's history. We've had many struggles by different groups such as: women suffragists, and the civil rights movements in the 60's. Affirmative action, or preferential treatment to minorities, is a way to avenge the effects of past discrimination. Affirmative action was a vital step towards equality during historical struggles like after the abolition of slavery and during civil rights movement in the 60's. In today's society however all people are equal and affirmative action only upsets that balance. Affirmative action essentially discriminates and "punishes" people for their race, something they cannot control. The equality of races is the idea being advocated here however; affirmative action does just the opposite. It indirectly discriminates against people that are not minorities. People cannot choose their race. Therefore, how can one race be given preferential treatment when they have no control over how they are born? The actions of people in the
…show more content…
The fourteenth amendment made blacks citizens and granted due process under the law. More recently, there was the Brown v Board of Education ruling for school integration. Both of these decisions, plus other civil rights rulings have promoted the mentality that society has changed and outlawed any kind of actions pertaining to inferiority or superiority amongst races. With all of these ideas being endorsed right before us, it seems contradictory to then give increased opportunity to minorities. Making minorities equal was a necessary principal to establish their rights as humans, however preferential treatment only reinforces the ideal that we are not equal. The separation is based only on race and opposes the ideas that are enforced

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Affirmative action is the policy in which schools give priority to students who tend to suffer from discrimination. The policy was intended to give minorities equal rights in the admission process, however nowadays, it gives an unfair preference to one group of students, as opposed to being equal. This leads into the discussion of racial discrimination. Opponents of the law say that affirmative action gives minorities an unfair advantage over non-minorities. On the other side, proponents of the law say affirmative action is the way to reverse the negative effects caused by years of racism and discrimination before 1961. I believe that affirmative action is a good sentiment to the minority community, however, I think it’s the incorrect approach to fix the problem. You can’t solve the problem of discrimination by creating more discrimination.…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    This is thanks to desegregation and affirmative action laws that have been put into action over the past several years. However, even with these laws we are not a perfect nation and there is still cases where social inequities can allow discrimination and prejudices to rear their ugly heads in today’s society. Social inequities can affect a particular races basic human rights such as the right to live in a certain area, be hired for a certain job, be able to travel freely, acceptance into schools or colleges, and even the right to…

    • 1130 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone” by Chief Justice Earl Warren, Majority Opinion.…

    • 2158 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    One problem with affirmative action is that even though it is set in pace to eliminate discrimination, it can at times have the reverse effect. Affirmative action was put into place in 1964 and the emancipation proclamation was issued in 1863 to start freeing the slaves. After one hundred years it was discrimination was still a problem in America, so affirmative action was put in place, and affirmative action has helped to create more equality among the races, but not necessarily eliminate discrimination. Affirmative action makes university admittance easier for minorities, but then it leads people to wonder if they were admitted because of their merit or their race and culture. This leads to problems, because some people view affirmative action as unfair and unjust and feel that all should have and equal opportunity when…

    • 1755 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kouakou Koffi Professor Sharifian GOVT 2305 07 October 2017 Civil Liberties vs Civil Rights “We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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.” This passage drawn from the Declaration of the United States Independence encompasses two notions, which at first glance look like the same, the Civil Liberties and the Civil Rights also known as Equal Rights. The laws enacted from these rights, even after all the efforts provided to make them fit to U.S. citizen’s live, are still subject of conflict when it comes to apply them. In this reflection, after an attempt of definition of each term, similarities and differences of both of them will be subject of analysis on one hands and on the other hands which sequence of them impact the most our everyday life.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Affirmative action is a policy with a set of criteria’s designed to ensure equality for all groups within a society to provide everyone with an equal opportunity to obtain success. Affirmative action in American society is renowned for allowing minorities and women a chance for equal access to education and a chance to access equal employment. Affirmative action can lead to the adoption of quotas for jobs and colleges in which a certain amount of potential employees or appointments must come from formerly underrepresented groups of people.…

    • 1495 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil liberties are our natural rights, such as freedom, equality and pursuit of happiness, which the government cannot modify by making new laws or by judicial interpretation. Civil liberties are important because it helps restrain the power of the government to dictate how we behave. This ensures that our daily life is not interrupted by authoritative figures that may just try to intentionally cause harm. Civil liberties contribute to the protection of our personal choices, such as the right to abortions. The bill of rights is important to civil liberties because it does not allow the government to govern our personal lives. Unfortunately, with this war against terrorism, we have given those authoritative figures the ability to mandate new laws that invade our personal privacy in the name of terrorism, such as the Patriot Act.…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is said that it is necessary to infringe upon civil liberties during wartime. For example, Abraham Lincoln suspended the right of habeas corpus during the Civil War. Similar to that situation, there was a multitude of violations on civil liberties during the first world war. This is due to the fact that before being able to officially enter the first World War, it was necessary for the United States government to rally a lukewarm citizenry into a pro-war spirit. Once achieved, it was mandatory to maintain enthusiasm for the war until peace was reached. The United States government decided that in order to do so, it was necessary to violate the civil liberties of those who were perceived as public enemies: German-Americans, war opponents,…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The argument for affirmative action is pretty simple; people just want a fair chance at obtaining jobs they are qualified for and the chance of going to a school because of their academic abilities. Affirmative action programs were put in place to break down walls within schools, businesses, and organizations and implement opportunities for people that were normally over looked because of race and sexual discrimination. Historical affirmative action cases have proven that there was a huge separation between people because of race and sex. Statistics have also shown that ignoring the problem of discrimination only leads to bigger social problems. The affirmative action programs also wanted compensatory justice, and this is something else that people agreed with. People feel that they did not live their lives to the fullest extend because so many rights, and things were taken away from them and members of their families, so they wanted to be compensated for it. We have to be careful that we do not reverse discrimination to others because of their gender, nationality, or family status, while pushing the point of affirmative action. If a person has never been discriminated against, then it would be hard for them to really understand why affirmative action is so important. History cannot right the wrongs of the past, people just…

    • 1564 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In total there are fifteen laws that count towards the topic of civil rights in the United States, alone. Kenji Yoshino, author of “The New Civil Rights” says that in order for us to turn our current beliefs into a set of ‘new’ civil rights, law must play a role. Obvious enough, law alone cannot bring about a new set of civil rights. There are more than enough pieces that could make up this puzzle. For instance, media plays a huge role in this situation. The media only shows what they want us, the people, to see. If we only see what they want us to see then wouldn’t that leave us very narrow-minded? The media adds irrelevant detail to every situation. For example, a person’s race, which otherwise makes no difference, could be the topic of discussion while a news crew covers a crime. Another component to solving this dilemma is spreading word of a new set of civil rights to the next generation starting at a young age. If adults with young children start to tell their kids what is right and what is wrong, from a civil rights perspective, from a young age, they will go their whole life knowing these ‘new’ civil rights.…

    • 1289 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil rights and civil liberties have a great impact on the way the United States has evolved over time. During the 1800's there was a lot of segregation and inequality among African Americans and white people. The civil rights movement paved a way for African Americans to be treated as equally as everyone else. Also the Civil liberties gave U.S citizens freedom to do and have many different things.…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In a country the size of the United States, different races and different views on the equality of each race exist. Affirmative Action was a put in place by the Federal Government to help conserve the protection of rights towards minorities, whether it be determined by race or sex, during the time after the civil war when they people were still being discriminated upon based on these two aspects. Affirmative Action created a situation that allowed minorities a guaranteed spot within a workplace or a school, eliminating racism and allowing the minority to be recognized for its accomplishments. This may not have been the best solution for the problem but at the time it was put in place it was a necessary mean to try and correct an evil. Affirmative Action is still in place today even though it shouldn’t be. It creates discrimination by trying to get rid of it. Administration officers and CEO’s of companies feel the need to fill the percentage that they were given so they turn their backs on more qualified persons. With Affirmative Action, a white man may lose a chance to get a job or go to college, simply because the position must be filled with a black man, to meet the designated quota assigned. Also majorities look down on the minorities who get into colleges and get jobs over them by saying that they only got the job because someone just needed to get the spot filled so that they wouldn’t get shut down. This makes the minority feel worse about themselves because really don’t know if they got into the school or got the job based on their own merits or not. People in todays society want to make the most money possible so they will hire who they believe will do the best job whether it be an African American woman or a middle aged white man. Affirmative Action was a necessary step to correct the wrong doings of our ancestors, but is not the correct solution,…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Affirmative Action is any effort taken to expand opportunity for women or racial, ethnic and national origin minorities by using membership in those groups that have been subject to discrimination as a consideration. The Fourteenth Amendment states that no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. As a result, Affirmative action is not consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment. In this essay, I will first discuss the violation of Affirmative Action against the Fourteenth Amendment. Second, how Affirmative Action helps one group of people while leaving out the other groups of people.…

    • 1025 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1873 there was the slaughterhouse case, which resulted in the Supreme Court saying that the rights of citizens should stay under federal control and that the fourteenth amendment only protected an individuals rights and not the individuals civil rights, this was under the discretion of the state. This was the start of negative results for black people as far as their civil rights were concerned. In 1896 the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson proclaimed that segregation was constitutional and in this instance Plessy was decided against eight to one. This shows massive negativity towards African-American civil rights. That fact that the Supreme Court took the ‘separate but equal’ principle meant that future cases such as Cumming v. Board of Education could apply that same principle. On the other hand there was some success such as in 1917 with the Buchanan v. Warley, which resulted in residential segregation being found unconstitutional. Further success came in 1923 when the case Moore v. Dempsey failed to uphold the death sentences of twelve blacks. This perhaps shows that black civil rights are being recognised by the Supreme…

    • 618 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Essay on Human Rights

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Human rights are protected under Australian law in three key ways; statute law, the constitution and common law. It could be argued that if Australia adopted a bill of rights, human rights would be more clearly defined, consistent in all states and territories and more easily understood.…

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays