The U.S. is often seen as a beacon of liberty, equality, and freedom. But it hasn't always been that way for everyone, and many argue that it still isn't. Some of the most important parts of America's progress toward greater liberty, equality, and freedom are its established civil liberties and civil rights.
But what are they and are they the same thing? This article will give you an understanding of what civil liberties and civil rights are, how they are similar and different, as well as give some examples of both.
Civil Rights – Definition, Classification & Examples
Fig. 1 – 2017 Civil Rights protest.
The meaning of civil rights has changed over time, but today most people use the term 'civil rights' to refer to enforceable rights or privileges. They concern the right to equal treatment without discrimination due to ethnicity, race, age, gender, sexuality, religion, or other characteristics that set apart a person from a majority.
Civil rights are enforceable rights or privileges, usually regarding the right to equal treatment without discrimination.
This definition means that civil rights are associated with the suppression of liberties due to discrimination. They are a way to enforce that the distribution of citizen benefits is equal. This is why they are associated with the government’s actions to eliminate discrimination.
Civil rights are mainly enforced through federal law, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and through the constitution. This is mainly in the Fourteenth Amendment.
The difference between rights and civil rights can be confusing. Rights are legal or moral privileges assigned to people based on a given condition, for example, citizenship or being human, such as human rights. Civil Rights refer to when these rights are enforceable by law to ensure equal treatment.
Categories of Rights
Civil Rights are divided into categories to deal with them effectively in Federal Legislation. Because previous legislation predated the Civil War, there was a clear separation between the social and political to maintain women and races other than white subservient to voters' political decisions.
With time, these definitions have blurred, so political and social rights have more to do with the common rights of the citizen. In contrast, social and welfare-related rights are akin to fundamental human rights, relating to the well-being of the people, not their powers as citizens.Civil Rights can fall into one of these three categories:
Type | Examples |
Political and Social Rights | The right to own property, enter legally binding contracts, receive due process of law, bring private lawsuits, testify in court, worship one's religion, freedom of speech and press, the right to vote, and the right to hold public office. |
Social and Welfare Rights | The right to be financially secure, the right to a minimum supply of essential goods and services, the freedom of association, and the access to social goods. |
Cultural Rights | Right to speak one's language, the right to preserve cultural institutions, the rights of indigenous people to exercise a degree of autonomy, and the right to enjoy your culture. |
Table 1 – Civil rights categories.
While the U.S. Constitution prohibits voter disenfranchisement due to age, gender, and race, it leaves the states with the power to restrict an individual’s right to vote based on a criminal conviction. Only the District of Columbia, Maine, and Vermont allow inmates to vote, leaving 5.2 million Americans without a vote, according to estimates by The Sentencing Project in 20201.
Civil Liberties – Definition & Examples
Fig. 2 – American Civil Liberties Union banner, Michael Hanscom.
They protect against government actions since the government is obliged to respect them. Civil liberties are expressed in the Bill of Rights, a document that comprises the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Civil liberties are the fundamental rights, either implicitly or explicitly, listed in the Constitution.
Types of Civil Liberties
It is critical to clarify that not all civil liberties are explicitly stated in the U.S. Constitution, which gives place to two types of rights:
Explicit Rights: These are the freedoms guaranteed by the constitution. They are clearly stated and defined in the Bill of Rights or the following amendments.
Implied Rights are civil and political freedoms not explicitly stated in the constitution but derived from the rights it mentions. For example, the Freedom of Speech is mentioned, but it implies the right to remain silent, i.e., the right to privacy.
Examples of Civil Liberties
As stated, civil liberties can be explicit or implicit, but due to their listing in the constitution, the most obvious example of these is contained in the first ten Amendments of the Bill of Rights.
The First Ten Amendments
The freedoms established in the Bill of Rights explicitly name the liberties held by every citizen. The following is a summary of what each amendment covers:
Bill of Rights | Summary |
First Amendment | Freedom of Religion, Press, Speech, Assembly, and the Right to Petition the Government. |
Second Amendment | Right to bear arms. |
Third Amendment | Restriction on the quartering of soldiers in private homes in times of war. This amendment does not hold constitutional relevance at this time. |
Fourth Amendment | Right to security in citizens' private homes. |
Fifth Amendment | Right to due process, rights of the accused, protection against double jeopardy, and self-incrimination. |
Sixth Amendment | Right to a just trial and legal counsel. |
Seventh Amendment | Right to a jury trial in some civil cases and all federal cases. |
Eighth Amendment | Prohibition of cruel punishments and excessive fines. |
Ninth Amendment | Right to have implicit rights protected. |
Tenth Amendment | The Federal Government only holds the powers established in the constitution. |
Table 2 – Summary of the Bill of Rights.
The first twelve amendments result from the efforts of the Founding Fathers, especially James Madison, who wished to introduce these to the main body of the constitution.
Some of the most famous violations of civil liberties in the U.S. are the Sedition Act and the Patriots Act. The Sedition Act of 1918 was passed by President Woodrow Wilson to combat the public's disproval of military drafting. The Act made any statement that incited "disloyalty" within the military or disloyalty against the government illegal. It also prohibited any comments that advocated for labor strikes or supported countries at war with the U.S. As such, it limited freedom of speech.
President George W. Bush signed the Patriot Act of 2001 into law due to rising concern about terrorist attacks. The Act expanded the search and surveillance powers of the Federal Government. While an obvious violation of the right to due process and the right to legal counsel, it also is a violation of privacy.
Civil Liberties vs Civil Rights — Similarities, Differences, and Examples
Civil rights and civil liberties are complicated in differentiating the scope of each. When do civil liberties end and civil rights begin? While both are mentioned in the constitution and Bill of Rights, they are recounted differently in legislation nowadays.An excellent way to determine if the topic of discussion is a civil right or civil liberty is to ask:
What right is affected?
Whose right is affected?
Asking what right is affected will lead you to either federal law or the constitution. If it's rooted in federal law, it's most likely a civil right, but if it's rooted in the constitution, it is most likely a civil liberty.
Remember that the Fourteenth Amendment has causes that provide a civil right (through the equal protection clause) and civil liberty (through the due process clause).
The question of whose right is affected can help you determine the question of discrimination, so you must consider any characteristic that may result in different treatment, such as race, ethnicity, or religion. If one of these is affected, then it is most likely a civil right.
For example, suppose the government monitors the private conversations of Muslims. In that case, it is a case of violation of civil rights, but if the government is tracking all citizens, then it is a violation of civil liberties.
A good way rule of thumb is that a civil right gives you 'freedom from' but civil liberty gives you 'freedom to'.
Similarities between Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Civil rights and civil liberties could be used interchangeably in legal and legislative matters before the civil war, as both are mentioned in the constitution and the Bill of Rights. They are still often used interchangeably, even though they have different meanings, this might be because they have a lot of similarities:
Both involve government action
Both seek equal treatment for all citizens
Both are protected and enforced by law
Both derive from the constitution
Differences between Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
The impact of the language used in the civil war and during the civil rights movement has differentiated clearly what civil liberty and civil right means. Their main points of contention are:
Civil Liberties | Civil Rights |
Listed in the Bill of Rights | Concern about discrimination in the distribution of civil liberties |
Protects citizens against government actions | Targets loopholes where the government isn't enforcing certain rights due to discrimination |
Concerns every citizen | Concerns equality of rights for all citizens |
Involves explicit and implicit fundamental rights | Involves every right on the ground of equal treatment |
Table 3 – Differences between Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
Civil Rights vs. Civil Liberties Example
While there are many civil rights and civil liberties, the table below shows some examples of the most common and widely known examples.
Civil Rights | Civil Liberties |
The right to vote | Freedom of speech |
The right to a fair trial | Freedom of religion |
The right to a public education | Freedom of press |
The right to use public facilities | Freedom of assembly |
Table 4 – Example of Civil Rights vs. Civil Liberties.
Civil Liberties vs Civil Rights - Key takeaways
- Civil Rights refer to fundamental rights in the context of discrimination. It requires action from the government to ensure equal treatment for all citizens.
- There are three categories that civil rights can fall under; political and social rights, social and welfare rights, and cultural rights.
- Civil Liberties refer to the fundamental freedoms listed in the Bill of Rights that protect citizens from actions set forth by the government.
- There are two main types of civil liberties; explicit and implicit.
- Explicit civil liberties are mostly in the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
References
- “Locked Out 2020: Estimates of People Denied Voting Rights Due to a Felony Conviction | The Sentencing Project.”
- Fig. 1 – Civil Rights are Non-Negotiable (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Civil_Rights_are_Non-Negotiable_%2832573137052%29.jpg) by Paul Sableman (https://www.flickr.com/people/53301297@N00) licensed by CC-BY-2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en).
- Table 1 – Civil rights categories.
- Fig. 2 – American Civil Liberties Union (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/American_Civil_Liberties_Union_.jpg) by Kslewellen (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:American_Civil_Liberties_Union_.jpg) licensed by CC-BY-SA-4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en).
- Table 2 – Summary of the Bill of Rights.
- Table 3 – Differences between Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
- Table 4 – Example of Civil Rights vs. Civil Liberties.
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