Eleanor Finch
The United States Constitution, written in 1787, included some civil liberties in its original document, such as the right to a trial by jury in criminal cases and the writ of habeas corpus. However, the most significant limitations on the government's power over the individual were added later in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, which constitutes the first ten amendments to the Constitution. The Bill of Rights was written by James Madison and includes protections for freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and due process, among others. Later, in 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people, guaranteeing them citizenship and due process under the law.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of Addition | 1791 |
| Amendments | 13th, 14th, 15th |
| Rights | Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, right to bear arms, right to privacy, right to a fair trial, right to an impartial judge, right to assistance of counsel, right to vote, right to property, right to life, right against self-incrimination, right against double jeopardy, right to equal protection of the law |
| Interpretations | The right to privacy was first implicitly found in an article published in 1890 by Warren and Brandeis |
| Limitations | The federal government's power was limited by the Bill of Rights |
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What You'll Learn
The right to privacy
While the United States Constitution does not explicitly mention the "right to privacy", the Supreme Court has interpreted certain amendments as having privacy implications. The right to privacy is considered a civil liberty, which is defined as an individual's legal and constitutional protection from more powerful entities such as the government, other individuals, or corporations.
In Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), the Supreme Court found that the Constitution guarantees a right to privacy against government intrusion. The Court based this decision on the penumbras of other explicitly stated constitutional protections, including the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments. The Court's ruling created a precedent for a “zone of privacy” that has been used in subsequent cases to interpret privacy claims and has influenced how trials, appeals, and state supreme court justices are conducted.
The Fourteenth Amendment has also been used to extend the right to privacy to individuals, rather than just married couples. In Eisenstadt v. Baird (1971), the Supreme Court extended the right to purchase contraceptives to unmarried couples, basing its decision on the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of due process. Similarly, in Lawrence v. Texas (2003), the Court used the Fourteenth Amendment to extend the right to privacy to "persons of the same sex [who choose to] engage in . . . sexual conduct."
In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court used the right to privacy, derived from the Fourteenth Amendment, to encompass an individual's right to have an abortion. However, after the Dobbs decision, the Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and consequently, the right to abortion no longer falls under the broader right to privacy.
While there is no explicit constitutional right to privacy, Congress and state legislatures have enacted laws relating to privacy and civil rights. For example, privacy acts exist in the federal United States Code (U.S.C.) legislated by Congress, and state laws designed to secure private information. These laws help protect an individual's right to privacy and ensure that their personal information is safeguarded.
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Freedom of speech
Civil liberties are certain unalienable rights retained by citizens of the United States, as per the US Constitution, and are interpreted by the Supreme Court of the United States and lower federal courts. They are freedoms guaranteed by the US Constitution, primarily from the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from infringing on liberties. Civil liberties are also defined as individual legal and constitutional protections from entities more powerful than an individual, such as the government, other individuals, or corporations.
The federal government is obliged by many constitutional provisions to respect the individual citizen's basic rights. Some civil liberties were specified in the original document, notably in the provisions guaranteeing the writ of habeas corpus and trial by jury in criminal cases (Article III, Section 2) and forbidding bills of attainder and ex post facto laws (Article I, Section 9). However, the most significant limitations on the government's power over the individual were added later in 1791 in the Bill of Rights. The original 10 amendments of the Bill of Rights protect rights involving personal liberty and justice.
The First Amendment's language explicitly protects freedom of speech: "Congress shall make no law [...] abridging the freedom of speech". The freedom of religion is also protected under the Constitution from government infringement. The right to privacy has been another significant civil liberty, with the Supreme Court finding in 1965 that the Constitution guarantees this right against government intrusion.
The Bill of Rights has been a source of constitutional controversy and intense political debate due to the ambiguous wording of many of its provisions, such as the Second Amendment's right "to keep and bear arms" and the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishments". Over time, the US Constitution has been amended to add more civil liberties, such as the abolition of slavery, the right to vote for formerly enslaved men, and citizenship for those who had been enslaved.
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The right to bear arms
The exact wording of the amendment is as follows: "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." This amendment has been the subject of much debate and interpretation over the years, with various Supreme Court cases further clarifying the scope of this right.
In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court affirmed that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep a gun for self-defence in the home. The Court also noted that this right is not unlimited and does not preclude certain prohibitions, such as those forbidding the possession of firearms by felons or restrictions on dangerous and unusual weapons. This was a landmark decision as it was the first time the Court explicitly ruled that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual's right to own a gun.
In McDonald v. Chicago (2010), the Supreme Court further clarified that state and local governments are limited to the same extent as the federal government from infringing upon the right to bear arms. The Court ruled that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment incorporated the Second Amendment against state and local governments.
The historical context and intent behind the Second Amendment have also been the subject of scholarly debate. Some scholars argue that the right to bear arms was already pre-existing in common law and early state constitutions before it was included in the Second Amendment. James Madison, who drafted the amendment, may have intended to provide assurances to Anti-Federalists that the militias would not be disarmed. On the other hand, historian Jack Rakove suggests that Madison wanted to assure moderate Anti-Federalists that the militias would not pose a threat to the federal government.
In conclusion, the right to bear arms, protected by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, has been a significant part of American civil liberties. The amendment has been interpreted and reaffirmed through various Supreme Court cases, shaping the understanding of this right in modern times.
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Voting rights
The 15th Amendment, passed in 1870, prohibited racial discrimination in voting. The 19th Amendment, passed in 1920, prohibited gender discrimination in voting. The 26th Amendment, passed in 1971, prohibited age discrimination in voting for citizens who are at least 18 years old.
The US Constitution has been amended over time to add more civil liberties, which are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge or withhold from its citizens without due process. Civil liberties are seen as natural rights that are inherently given to each person. They include basic rights and freedoms that are guaranteed by law, either explicitly identified in law or in the US Constitution.
The Bill of Rights lists the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution and outlines the rights that Americans enjoy. The 9th Amendment states that people have other rights that are not enumerated in the Constitution, including the right to vote. The right to vote is also protected by the 15th, 17th, 19th, 24th, and 26th Amendments.
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The abolition of slavery
However, the issue of slavery was a contentious one, and it was a major factor in the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. The war was fought primarily over the issue of slavery, with the northern states, led by President Abraham Lincoln, seeking to end slavery, while the southern states, or the Confederacy, sought to preserve it.
The war ended in 1865 with the defeat of the Confederacy, and the abolition of slavery soon followed. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in December 1865, abolished slavery and prohibited involuntary servitude, stating: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction". This amendment ensured that slavery was no longer legal within the United States and granted freedom to those who had been enslaved.
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Frequently asked questions
Civil liberties were added to the US Constitution in 1791 in the Bill of Rights.
The Bill of Rights is a founding document written by James Madison, comprising the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
The Bill of Rights includes liberties such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the right to keep and bear arms, and the right to privacy. It also guarantees fair procedures for those accused of a crime, such as protection against unreasonable search and seizure, self-incrimination, double jeopardy, and excessive bail.
The Bill of Rights is significant because it limits the power of the government and protects the liberties of individuals. It ensures that the government cannot infringe on the rights of citizens, such as freedom of speech and religion, and provides a framework for fair legal processes.
Yes, there have been several amendments to the Constitution that extended civil liberties. After the American Civil War, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were added. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, the 14th Amendment granted citizenship to formerly enslaved people and guaranteed their rights to life, liberty, and due process of law, and the 15th Amendment guaranteed the right to vote for formerly enslaved men.
