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Poli 101 Civil Liberties
Course: American Politics (Poli 101)
13 Documents
Students shared 13 documents in this course
University: University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
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Module 6: Civil Liberties
Part I. Defining Civil Liberties
I. The terms "civil rights" and "civil liberties" are often used interchangeably, but there are
important differences.
a. Civil liberties are the basic freedom and liberties given at birth in the first ten
amendments (Bill of Rights) and in the “due process” protection of the 14th
amendment
i. Protects citizens against improper government action
ii. Limits the power of government
iii. E.g., During Civil Rights movement blacks were segregated and this was a
breach of their freedom and liberty
b. Civil rights are about equality and are rooted in laws and the “equal protection”
clause of the 14th amendment
i. Protects citizens from illegal action of other citizens or other government
agencies
ii. Limits the power of majorities
1. Majorities with power to discriminate against minority cannot
iii. E.g., Blacks being barred from protesting during civil rights movement
because they were a minority
II. Conflicting Interests
a. Basic Freedoms and Liberties are NOT absolute. They can be limited by the
government when there are compelling interests.
i. National Security vs. Civil Liberties (government vs. individual)
b. The Judicial Branch (supreme Court) decides conflict continues
i. They decide if government action was improper and unconstitutional
III. Balancing interests
a. Individuals: the political freedoms that protect citizens from government abuse
b. the government: security or public interests
c. The court: drawing lines on the conflicts between liberty and security
Part II. The Origins of Civil Liberties
I. Background : Two Groups of founding fathers-Federalists vs. Ant- Federalists
a. Anti-Federalists thought the constitution gave the federal government too much
power
i. Wanted to add some amendments to protect state power and protect
liberties of individual states.