Sierra Sanchez
Professor K
Poly 1
June 7 2018
Civil Liberties
From the beginning, the United States Constitution has guaranteed the American people civil liberties. These liberties have given citizens’ rights to speak, believe, and act freely. The Constitution grants citizens the courage to express their mind about something they believe is immoral or unjust. Through civil liberties we are able see evidence of structural and procedural balance of power. In this essay I will discuss the importance of these terms and how they shaped the Bill of Rights.
Civil liberties are basic freedoms granted to individuals in the Bill of Rights. Individual freedom can survive only under a system of law by which both the supreme and the governed are bound. Such a system of fundamental laws, Civil rights are constitutional guarantees, which mean they are granted to individuals with the body of the Constitution in the form of amendments. Many civil rights were granted after the Constitution was written, but civil liberties were included in the Constitution since their adoption in the Bill of Rights. The powers that are placed in the hands of the Bill of rights affect our everyday lives. They allow us to voice our opinion and led protest. Every amendment in the Bill of rights is there to secure that the government is ruled by and for the people not ruling over the people.
From Civil Liberties we have Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to be free from unreasonable searches of your home, the right to a fair trial, the right to marry, and the right to vote are all examples of Civil Liberties that every American is guaranteed under the Bill of rights. Which brought many ideas such as Clear and Present danger and Bad Tendency Test. Clear and present danger was the courts first important decision in free speech, press and assembly. Bad tendency test was quite similar but it was used in interpreting the First Amendment by allowing governments to infringe upon freedom of speech even though the amendment specifically forbids. Freedom of speech has proven to have such a tremendously powerful influence that it has changed the course of history in different occasions for the sake of the world. Since ancient times, humans have demonstrated the need to express what they think is right and what must be changed. As a result, the world has been transformed into a more tolerant society towards other cultures, religions and traditions.
The First Amendment the modern American conception of freedom of speech comes from the principles of freedom of the press, and freedom of religion as they developed in England, starting in the seventeenth century. The arguments of people like John Locke on religious toleration, were all the beginning for the idea of the “freedom of speech”. In the first amendment there is a semicolon that is very important that often goes unseen. With the semicolon in the fi...
