Differences and similarities between rights and liberties

1. Civil Liberties

2. Rights vs. Liberties: The
Struggle
 Conflict over rights and liberties
are at the core of American
identity
 American culture places a high value
on both rights and freedom
 The struggle over rights and
liberties is ongoing
 Can government provide maximum
freedom AND still provide equality for
all?
 Example: Security (Right) vs Privacy
(liberty)
In May 2016 the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) came under fire
over long security check lines at airports
throughout the US.
The goal of providing passengers with
security is once again in conflict with
citizens’ rights to privacy and government
interference. Who is right? What is the
right balance?
Department of Homeland Security
Secretary Jeh Johnson summed up this
struggle when he said, “We want to keep
passengers moving, but we want to keep
passengers safe.“

3.  Civil Rights: positive acts by
the government to provide
equality.
 What the government can do for
you.
 Usually refers to social
freedoms and equal treatment
under the law.
 Examples: Protections against
discrimination based on race,
religion, sex, and national
origin
The Little Rock Nine were nine African-
American students involved in the
desegregation of Little Rock Central High
School. Their entrance into the school in
1957 sparked a nationwide crisis when
Arkansas governor Orval Faubus, in
defiance of a federal court order, called out
the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the
Nine from entering.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower responded
by federalizing the National Guard and
sending in units of the U.S. Army’s 101st
Airborne Division to escort the Nine into the
school on September 25, 1957.
Rights vs. Liberties: Civil Rights

4. Rights vs. Liberties: Civil
Liberties
 Civil liberties: protections
from improper government
action
 Limits on what the government
can or cannot do to you.
 Rules regarding how the
government must act
 Examples:
 Freedom of Speech and Press
 Freedom of Religion
 Right to an Attorney

5. Changing views of Rights and
Liberties
 Modern ideas of Civil Rights and
Civil Liberties are a 20th century
creation.
 Both Rights and Liberties are
enshrined in our founding
documents
 Declaration of Independence
guarantees “unalienable rights”
including “life, liberty and pursuit of
happiness”
 Bill of Rights list many protections
against government intrusion and limits
government conduct
 Both have been expanded through14th
The Bill of Rights was a final
compromise between Federalists and
Anti-federalist to ease concerns over
creating a centralized power. Hence,
its proponents wanted guarantees
against an encroaching central
government.

6. Changing views of Rights and
Liberties
 For most of US history, citizens
have not been as protected as
today
 Civil Liberties originally did not
apply to states.
 Examples:
 Freedom of Speech not
incorporated until 1925!
 Right to an Attorney not
incorporated to the states until
1963!
In Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) the US
Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment’s
guarantee of counsel is a fundamental right
essential to a fair trial and, as such, applies the
states through the Due Process Clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment.
VI Amendment
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by
an impartial jury of the State and district
wherein the crime shall have been committed,
which district shall have been previously
ascertained by law, and to be informed of the
nature and cause of the accusation; to be
confronted with the witnesses against him; to
have compulsory process for obtaining
witnesses in his favor, and to have the
Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

7. Changing views of Rights and
Liberties
 And as for equal rights under the
law…
 The US allowed for legal
discrimination to go unchecked
 Denied guarantees of equality under
the law
 Examples: Women, minorities
 The US has only recently made efforts to
secure equal rights.
 Supreme Court reversal of past decision
 Federal laws and oversight
 Examples: Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Voting
Rights Act of 1965
 New groups needing protection
In Dredd Scott vs. Sanford
(1857), the Supreme Court ruled
that Blacks had no rights.
Women did not get full franchise
rights until the passage of the 19th
Amendment in 1920.
President Lyndon B. Johnson
signs the CRA on July 2, 1964.
Martin Luther King looks on.

8. The struggle to keep Rights and
Liberties
 Today, a new generation is
faced with evolving questions of
equality and freedom
 As heirs to this democratic
experiment, it falls on you to
determine the best balance of
liberty and rights.
In April 2016 Mississippi Governor
Phil Bryant signed “Protecting
Freedom of Conscience from
Government Discrimination Act”
(HB1523) into law.
He said the bill "protects sincerely
held religious beliefs and moral
convictions".
Opponents say the bill allows for
lawful discrimination of gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender
people.
Many states, mostly in conservative
South, have introduced or enacted
similar “religious freedom” laws,
largely under pressure from
religious groups, in response to the
US Supreme Court ruling in 2015
legalizing gay marriage.
Can private citizens refuse
services to people based on free
Religious Freedom or
Discrimination?