Protection of civil rights and liberties

Question 1

Protection of civil rights and liberties

What are civil liberties?

Answer 1

The freedoms enjoyed by individual Americans, e.g. right to free speech

Question 2

Protection of civil rights and liberties

What are civil rights?

Answer 2

Protections introduced by the govt to ensure that group of citizens are not discriminated against

Question 3

Protection of civil rights and liberties

What are the bill of rights?

Answer 3

The first 10 amendments to the constitution that were agreed by Congress in 1789 and finally ratified in 1791. These amendments focus on individual rights such as freedom of speech and religion

Question 4

Protection of civil rights and liberties

Where do many civil rights originate from?

Answer 4

The ‘equal protection’ clause of the 14th amendment (1865). This gave former enslaved people the equal protection of the law, but has subsequently been used to protect the rights of other groups

Question 5

Protection of civil rights and liberties

In what ways are civil rights and liberties protected?

Answer 5

The constitution, The bill of rights, amendments to the constitution, landmark rulings of the Supreme Court

Question 6

Protection of civil rights and liberties

1) The constitution

Answer 6

• Framers wrote it with the intention to protect citizens from an overly powerful govt
• Codified system of C&B’s limits powers of each branch
• Article 3 estabished the SC as the final court of appeal
• Entrenched Constitution + complex amendment process, the framers aimed to protect the rights set out within it from being easily removed

Question 7

Protection of civil rights and liberties

2) The Bill Of Rights (1791)

Answer 7

• Intended to protect the civil liberties of US citizens from actions of govt

Question 8

Protection of civil rights and liberties

3) Subsequent amendments to the Constitution

Answer 8

• After the BoR, further amendments to the constitution were required to ensure that the rights of all Americans are protected, e.g. 13th amendment abolished slavery in 1865, 19th amendment gave women the right to vote in 1920

Question 9

Protection of civil rights and liberties

3) Subsequent amendments to the Constitution

The equal rights amendment

Answer 9

• The unratified ERA was one of the most contraversial civil rights amendments and was never ratified, not part of the constitution
• ERA would have made it illegal to discriminate on the grounds of sex
• Campaign for the ERA was led by the PG ‘NOW’
• Was passed by Congress in 1972, and ratified by 35 states, however oppostion from conservative women meant it was not ratified by the required 3/4 of state legislatures

Question 10

Protection of civil rights and liberties

4) Landmark ruilings of the SC

Answer 10

• SC has the role of interpreting the Constitution to ensure that it applies to civil rights and liberties in a modern context