Civil Liberrties and Civil Rights

Civil liberties and Civil rights As the United States began to establish itself as a country, more and more problems began to surface within the nation. A perfect example of this would be the American Civil War, which significantly affected society. This brought about many changes within America such as women’s rights movements and decisions regarding African American freedom. Citizens of America live in a society governed by democratic principles. The most basic

principal of democracy is the idea of majority rule and the government’s responsibility to

represent the will of the majority. This often leaves individuals questioning their relationship to

the state and society. This is where the Constitution comes into play. In America the

Constitution lays down the rules for the individual relationship to the state. Simply speaking, it

defines areas where government may act and where they may not act. This is why we have civil

liberties and civil rights. Although many confuse the two they are different in matter.

Does it matter if our beliefs, thoughts, and voices are regulated by the government? What if

there was a regulated dress code for citizens? What if there was only one genre of music or

movies? Many of us would feel violated, the right to believe as we want, think as we want and

voice our opinions are civil liberties. Civil liberties are rights that individuals have against

government. Among our civil liberties are the right to free expression, the right to worship (or

not) as we choose, and the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Civil rights, on the other hand, deal with the protection of citizens against discrimination

due to race, ethnicity, gender, or disability. These protections come from the constitutional

amendments following the Bill of Rights. Civil rights are what people expect the government