Civil Liberties and First Amendment Freedoms Unalienable Rights
Civil Liberties and First Amendment Freedoms
Unalienable Rights • The omission of a list of rights in the 1 st draft of the Constitution led to an outcry in 1787. • The Bill of Rights was added. • The first 10 amendments to the Constitution. • Unalienable rights are rights that you are born with and can not be taken away.
The Difference between Civil Liberties and Civil Rights • Civil Liberties • Protections against government. • Guarantees of the safety of persons, opinions, and property from acts of government. • Civil Rights • Positive acts of government that seek to make constitutional guarantees a reality for all people. • Prohibitions on discrimination based on race, sex, religious beliefs, or national origin set out in the Civil Rights Acts of 1964.
Are Individual Rights and Liberties Unlimited? • NO!!!! • Your rights stop when you infringe on the rights of others!!!
The First Amendment • The First Amendment guarantees 5 basic freedoms. • • • Freedom of Religion Freedom of Speech Freedom of the Press The Right to Assembly The Right to Petition
Freedom of Religion • The 1 st amendment sets out two guarantees of religious freedom • The Establishment Clause The prohibition of an “establishment of religion” • The Free Exercise Clause The prohibition of the interference in the “free exercise” of religion by the government • The Establishment Clause sets up, “a wall of separation between church and state” in Jefferson’s words
Freedom of Speech and Press • Freedom of speech and the press serve two important purposes • To guarantee each person a right of free expression, spoken and written, and all other means of communication • To guarantee all persons a full wide ranging discussion of public affairs… News
Freedom of Assembly and Petition • The constitution protects the right of the people to assemble – to gather with one another – to express their views on public matters. • This must be peaceable assembly and petition. • Restrictions of free speech • http: //www. youtube. com/w atch? v=MBNCS 2 YM 3 GY • http: //www. pbs. org/wnet/r eligionandethics/episodes/o ctober-8 -2010/snyder-vphelps/7180/
Restrictions on First Amendment Freedoms • The Clear and Present Danger Test • Speech is limited when it may incite violent action. • This test is meant to combat seditious speech • The advocating, or urging of people to overthrow the government by force or to disrupt its lawful activities.
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