POLI 2051 Chapter : Chapter 4 5 Notes
Document Summary
Civil liberties and civil rights: civil liberties vs. civil rights. Civil liberties - freedoms guaranteed to the individual - they take the form of negative restraints on government. Examples: freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, etc. Civil rights - they declare what government must do or provide - it is generally a claim upon state action, usually asserted by a group, usually the "have nots" in society. Examples: right to vote, right to a jury trial, housing and employment have been included more recently. 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. And since authority over individual rights was exercised primarily by state governments, the bill of rights did not significantly affect the course of american politics for the first.
