Civil Liberties
Civil liberties are freedoms upon which the government may not infringe. We've talked about how many of these liberties are protected in various places throughout the course, but we will briefly review these concepts before taking a deep dive into Jefferson's writings about freedom of religion.
The civil liberties that are guaranteed to Americans are outlined in the Bill of Rights. The most familiar of these are the rights protected by the First Amendment:
Freedom of Speech: People are free to express their thoughts and opinions. This right is not limited to verbal speech but can include symbolic speech such as wearing certain clothing. The Supreme Court has also ruled that political donations are a form of speech that is protected by this right.
Freedom of the Press: The press has the right to seek out and publish information. One vital element of this freedom is that the press is allowed to publish articles that criticize the government.
Freedom of Religion: The right to freedom of religion is protected by two clauses: the Establishment Clause, which states that the government cannot establish an official religion, and the Free Exercise Clause, which prohibits the government from impinging on people's right to exercise the religion of their choice.
Freedom of Assembly: This guarantees the people's right to peaceably assemble.
Freedom of Petition: This right states that people have the freedom to express their grievances to the government.
Other amendments in the Bill of Rights guarantee the right to a trial by jury and offer protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, double jeopardy, cruel and unusual punishment, and self-incrimination.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Ninth Amendment, United States Constitution
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Ninth Amendment, United States Constitution
The Ninth Amendment states that citizens' rights are not limited to the specific rights listed in the Constitution. This amendment is rooted in the fact that we each have natural rights that are given to us by God and not by the government. Remember the words of the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights..." Our rights are not given to us by the government; we already inherently have those rights. Therefore, the fact that a particular right isn't listed in the Constitution doesn't mean that the people don't have that right.
The right to due process in federal courts, which is guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment, is another important civil liberty. There are two types of due process that are guaranteed to Americans. First, procedural due process says that the government must use fair proceedings. Second, substantive due process says that the government's laws must be constitutional.
The Fourteenth Amendment expanded the right to due process to state and local jurisdictions as well. Using this amendment, the Supreme Court has employed a process called selective incorporation to make most of the Bill of Rights applicable to state and local governments instead of just the federal government. (Remember that the Bill of Rights was originally written to protect citizens from the federal government. It was not written to limit state and local governments.) The only parts of the Bill of Rights that haven't been extended to state and local governments are the Third, Seventh, and Tenth Amendments, as well as the grand jury requirement of the Fifth Amendment.
In addition to expanding the prohibitions of the Bill of Rights to state and local governments through the Due Process Clause, the Fourteenth Amendment contains the important Equal Protection Clause. This clause says that a state cannot "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This does not guarantee that every person will be treated the same, however. The government can classify people into certain groups in the pursuit of justified policy goals. For example, individuals under twenty-one cannot purchase alcohol.
Despite the guarantees of the Bill of Rights, civil liberties aren't absolute. There are situations where the rights of the individual must be balanced against the interests of the public as a whole. Freedom of speech is a protected civil liberty, for example, but libel, slander, and obscenities are not protected. Laws can be and are enacted to limit these types of speech. Actions that cause danger or serious harm are also not protected, even if they seemingly fall under the umbrella of a civil liberty. For instance, you can't scream out "Fire!" in a crowded theater when there is no fire. The panic that your shouting causes could lead to serious injuries as people rush out of the building. Likewise, freedom of the press can be limited in certain situations, such as when reporting a story will result in a breach of national security. Freedom of assembly must be balanced against the rights of others if it disrupts traffic or prevents people from conducting their business. Governments often require people to obtain permits before making large demonstrations, but they are required to approve these permits as long as they have the ability to prevent major disruptions to people's lives.
Throughout this course, we've discussed several examples of how civil liberties and rights have been protected by government legislation, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Another notable example is Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
Civil Rights Act of 1964: This act prohibits discrimination on the basis of color, race, nationality, sex, or religion. Part of this was a requirement to desegregate public places.
Voting Rights Act of 1965: This act was passed to protect the voting rights of black citizens. It outlaws literacy tests and, in places that have seen widespread discrimination, it allows for federal registrars to go in and do the registration themselves.
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990: This act prohibits discrimination against those with disabilities.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972: This provision outlaws discrimination on the basis of sex in any educational program that receives federal funding.
Title IX gives women in public schools and universities the right to equal opportunity in sports.