CHAPTER 19 CIVIL LIBERTIES: 1ST AMENDMENT FREEDOMS

CH. 19-1 THE UNALIENABLE RIGHTSADVANCED AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

A COMMITMENT TO FREEDOM

Personal freedom is deeply rooted in America’s colonial past

Revolutionary War was fought to preserve and expand these rights of the individual against the government

“…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain alienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…”

The American Constitution did not contain a list of rights for the people

BILL OF RIGHTS—Dec. 15, 1791CIVIL LIBERTIES—protections against the

governmentSafety of persons, opinions, and property from

arbitrary acts of governmentCIVIL RIGHTS—example includes prohibition

from discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religious belief, or national origin

LIMITED GOVERNMENT

Government in the USA is LIMITED GOVERNMENT

Constitution guarantees personal freedoms and restricts what government can do

The difference between DEMOCRACY and DICTATORSHIP is the extent of the authority of the leaders

RIGHTS ARE RELATIVE, NOT ABSOLUTENo one has the right to do anything they

wantFree speech – but you can be punished for

using obscene language or using words to incite a riot

WHEN RIGHTS CONFLICTFreedom of the press vs. right to a fair trial

TO WHOM ARE RIGHTS GUARENTEED?Most are for all personsUSSC says “persons” covers ALIENS alsoALIEN—people who are not citizens in the

country they are living inCitizens can travel freely throughout the

country but Aliens could be restrictedEx.—After Pearl Harbor, people of Japanese

descent were forcibly evacuated from the west coast inland

USSC said this removal was legal during wartime

1988—US Congress apologized to those people still living and pay them $20,000

Muslims—Are their rights being violated since 9/11?

FEDERALISM AND INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS

Federalism creates a very complex pattern of guarantees of individual rights in the USA

BILL OF RIGHTSFirst 10 amendmentsVth Amendment (p. 534)Some provisions only apply to the national

government, not states

THE MODIFYING EFFECT OF THE XIVth AMENDMENT

“Due Process Clause”—”No State shall…deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…”

What specific rights are “basic or essential”?

Most rights listed for the federal level are made part of the state rights by this amendment

PROCESS OF INCORPORATIONCombining most of the guarantees from

the Bill of Rights into the XIVth Amend.“Gitlow v. New York” (1925)Gitlow was communist convicted in state

court of criminal anarchy (speeches & pamphlets)

USSC upheld the conviction of Gitlow but made the following crucial point:

Freedom of speech and press, which the Ist Amendment says cannot be denied by the National Government, are also “among the fundamental personal rights and liberties protected by the Due Process Clause of the XIVth Amendment from impairment by the states.”

Other cases deal with other basic rights (p. 535-2nd column & chart p. 536)

THE IXth AMENDMENT

Not a complete list of rights“The enumeration in the Constitution, of

certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

Ex.—can’t be convicted by evidence unlawfully obtained or women have the right to an abortion without government interference

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