POLI 2051 Lecture : Civil Rights Notes
Document Summary
Civil liberties and civil rights: civil liberties vs. civil rights. Civil liberties - freedoms guaranteed to the individual, what government can not do. Civil rights - they declare what government must do or provide; we are being screwed here, govt. Must step in and help me, i"m being denied this so i need someone to interfere. Ex: right to vote, right to a jury. Gun control laws: supreme court interprets laws & regulations. Rights, there are limits and the courts uphold these reasonable limits. Civil liberties: the bill of rights in context. The idea of a national or federal bill of rights had very little meaning initially - it was seen as limiting action of the national government, not the state governments. The 14th amendment (1868) seemed to change all this. It was one of the civil war amendments designed to protect the rights of newly emancipated blacks.
