...Nunnally-Rivera The American Civil Liberties Union: Strategy and Vision The American Civil Liberties Union, otherwise known as the ACLU, has an extensive and influential history in the United States. The ACLU has ambitious legislative goals in the near future. In order to accomplish these goals, this interest group must fight vigorously for the public’s hearts and minds, as well as the democratic power of Congress. The organization started in the year 1920 after years of anti-war protests and the Red Scare that lead to the infamous Palmer Raids. A group of citizens banded together with the purpose of protecting the basic rights of everyday Americans. While initially, most of the ACLU’s support was directed towards socialist and communist rights, the organization eventually expanded to include minority groups oppressed by discrimination, women’s rights groups, and virtually any citizen who felt their civil liberties had been violated. The goal of the ACLU is to make sure that everyone in the United States is equally protected by the Bill of Rights from government abuse. Although the ACLU is a non-partisan organization, its views tend to typically lean towards the left, and many of its supporters tend to be either liberal or libertarian (votesmart.org). The interest group tends to run into controversy often since it is willing to defend the rights of certain infamous groups such as the Neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. It’s important to note that the American Civil Liberties Union is...
Words: 1623 - Pages: 7
...Civil Liberties and Terrorism Ashley Larman POL201 Instructor Tracy Trunnell 4/22/12 Civil Liberties and Terrorism “All those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to know that war is the surest and shortest means to accomplish it” Alexis de Tocqueville. I personally believe that we do not need to restrict our civil liberties as stated in the Bill of Rights in order to protect American citizens from terrorist organizations. Civil liberties are the personal guarantees and freedoms that the government cannot abridge, either by law, constitution, or judicial interpretation which include the freedom from slavery and forced labor, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right to privacy, freedom of conscience, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, and the right to marry and have a family ( Conner, Sabato, 2011). Yes, it is very important for us to worry about terrorism and to defend our country but it is not necessary for our government to take away our civil liberties in the process. So where does this leave us? Do we let terrorism scare us into losing our civil liberties or do we ignore terrorism and keep our rights? I do not think we have to compromise our safety from terrorism to keep our civil liberties, there has got to be a common ground where everyone can keep their civil liberties and still be safe from terrorism...
Words: 969 - Pages: 4
...be watching; therefore, society grapples with the relationship between civil liberties and homeland security. Belief structures underlying the relationship of liberty and security vary among different political orientations in the United States. The disclosure that the Obama administration surreptitiously accessed phone records and infiltrated the internet activity of millions of Americans, has elevated brand-new questions about the public’s enthusiasm to sacrifice civil liberties in the interests of homeland security. This thread will provide a brief synopsis on how American’s can understand the balancing of a civil liberties perspective...
Words: 981 - Pages: 4
...Politics- Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow POLITICAL 110: US GOVERNMENT Feb. 14th, 2016 Professor Mark Stallo Politics- Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Civil Liberties and Social Responsibility in American Government Today Throughout our country’s history, civil liberties have influenced American social responsibility within the government. Civil liberties are fundamental rights and freedoms that are guaranteed by the Constitution. There are many examples of civil liberties mentioned in the Bill of Rights such as: freedom of speech, freedom of press, the right to a fair trial, the right to own property, and freedom of religion. (U.S. Department of Defense, 2016) The protection of these rights as guaranteed by the Constitution allows United States citizens to freely act in accordance with each civil liberty. For instance, on April 25th, 2015 local officials in Baltimore MD responded to citizens exercising their civil liberties including freedom of speech and right to protest. The events influenced the local officials and political leaders to react both negatively and positively. Although the people participating in the protest were able to exercise their right to protest and speak freely, this freedom was short lived. Eventually several protestors, civilians, and even news reporters were shot with rubber bullets, pepper-sprayed, arrested, or otherwise silenced during the demonstration. These events are very similar to another instance during 2014 in Ferguson...
Words: 1265 - Pages: 6
...GOVT-2305-73431 9th Feb 2018 Civil Liberties vs Civil Rights Civil liberties and civil rights’ concepts are frequently used interchangeably but they do represent the various types of guaranteed protections. Civil liberties are the limitations placed on government that provide protection to the people against their actions. 1 For example, the first amendment of the Bill of the rights provides freedom to their citizens to follow whatever religion they like. So, the government are not allowed to interfere on freedom of the people to worship. However, on the other hand civil rights are control on the power of the majority to create equal conditions to all the Americans. Citizens are protected by some positive actions of the government from the discrimination by the majorities. 2 Protection of minority groups such as African Americans, Hispanics, and women are some examples of civil rights....
Words: 695 - Pages: 3
...The effect of the ACLU Imagine living in North Korea with no freedom and no idea of an outside world, having no rights and no way to communicate with anyone outside of the country. Without groups like the ACLU keeping the government in check and going to court for our civil liberties, that could very well be America. When a government has the power to take away their citizens rights, they start to no longer see their citizens as people. The ACLU fights for civil liberties and has championed many court cases over the violations of our constitutional rights. The ACLU was founded to defend our civil liberties and has successfully done so in the face of opposition from our own government. The ACLU was founded in 1920 by Roger Baldwin and many others....
Words: 356 - Pages: 2
...the 9/11 attack happened and proposed solutions on how to prevent terrorist attacks in the future. Alan Dershowitz contributed to this body of literature from a lawyer's perspective in his book titled Why Terrorism Works: Understanding the Threat, Responding to the Challenge. In an article from the book titled, Should the Ticking Time Bomb Terrorist Be Tortured, many of his suggestions such as the use of torture, are rather controversial; however, Dershowitz encourages people to rethink current notions of security, liberty, and international law. Alan Dershowitz acknowledges that he is not an expert on terrorism; his opinions, suggestions and methods in his articles and books were written using his lifetime of experience in crime and violence from the perspective of a defense lawyer and a professor of criminal law and knowledge of psychology. HLS 410 OL 009 FINAL PROJECT Alan Dershowitz is a professor of law at Harvard Law School, a civil libertarian, and a staunch advocate of First Amendment causes. He is a...
Words: 2779 - Pages: 12
...what their definition of freedom was. Their writings inspired many people to think what freedom really meant and take action for freedom. A few of these authors were John Winthrop, Benjamin Franklin, and Ralph Emerson. John Winthrop categorized freedom into two categories, Natural Liberty and Civil Liberty. Benjamin Franklin was more interested in the economic side of freedom by being able to choose any job to become financially successful and having to do things for himself. Ralph Emerson’s definition of freedom was for people to think for themselves and do what they think is right. Just to worry about themselves instead of worrying about other people’s opinion and what others are doing. They all had different views of freedom and what it means to be free, but deep down they were similar in which people want the freedom to choose and be who they want to be without being punished or bound. John Winthrop’s definition of Natural Liberty is being able to do whatever people wanted and just relying on their instincts just like an animal would. “By this, man, as he stands in relation to man simply, hath liberty to do what he lists; it is a liberty to evil as well as to good” (12, Winthrop). Natural Liberty can be good or evil depending on what the person’s instincts tell him to do, which will usually be evil because they will also do whatever they please. “This is that great enemy of truth and peace, that wild beast, which all of the ordinances of God are bent against,...
Words: 1370 - Pages: 6
...alcohol, and drugs but run short on bills, diapers and household goods. The dilemma is that on one hand it might be a violation of rights to ask people to be drug tested, but it’s no more intrusive than providing social security #’s, birthdates, and mother’s maiden named, or pay stubs. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, (2008) the 1996 Welfare Reform Act authorized - but did not require - states to impose mandatory drug testing as a prerequisite to receiving state welfare assistance. This is in part to the fact that some think that testing people for drug use is a violation of their civil rights. The big question is should people be allowed to collect benefits from the state if they are misusing the money for drugs? If the person cannot pass a drug test to get benefits they cannot pass one for a job. This means they have no intention of getting a job in the first place unless they are forced. If the people are not working they get lazier and more likely to produce more children. I would side on testing, because if the money is used for the purpose it was intended for most people will not mind but those who use have an issue. References American Civil Liberties Union, (2008). Drug testing welfare recipients....
Words: 336 - Pages: 2
...Civil Liberties: Protecting Individual Freedoms PA582-68021 Fall Session A Audrey Afe-Tuufuli adafetuufuli_college@hotmail.com December 07, 2012 Civil Rights and Civil Liberties: American Freedoms Knowledge and wisdom proliferates today’s society. With the advances of technology, information and intelligence is ubiquitous; thus people are presumed to be well informed and civil. Also, with information and knowledge being infinite and easily accessible, one would gather that men are fairly in the know of the do and don’ts of society. Perhaps they are, perchance not; either or, society is intensely apprised in this day and age provided the countless sources of knowledge and information technology has enabled. An enlightened society is an advantage for a county as informed people contribute optimistically and helpfully make prudent and sensible decisions for its community; knowledge creates a plethora of various opinions; it percolates critical analysis; and furthermore - an enlightened society amps public engagement to question or even create public policies which addresses and resolves pressing societal issues. Though many policies may seem to resolve conflict and placate citizenry challenges, other policies have come under fire as infringing on civil liberties and civil rights. This paper attempts to present policies that have been litigated in the corridors of justice on the premises that they violate American civil freedoms. The Unalienable...
Words: 794 - Pages: 4
...lives. Potential government abuse of privacy from a programme designed to prevent another 9/11. I am unwillingly to the see the government engaging in using data mining to look for suspicious pattern in phone number called and email address.To prevent a day where, out of fear, we give government a license to look at anybody personal detail. They accessing it in ways that abuse individual liberties and violate personal privacy and in a manner that is unsupervised. Author tone The tone of the author is worried in second paragraph line 1 till 4 (Yes, i worry about potential government abuse of privacy from a programme designed to prevent another 9/11). Beside that , he also show the same expression in fourth paragraph line 1-2 (i worry about that even more).But in fourth paragraph line 3-4 , the tone of the author is caring (not because i don’t care about civil liberties, but because what i cherish most about America is our open society, and I believe that if there is one more 9/11).He show fearful tone in paragraph 5 line 1 to 7 (if there were another 9/11, i fear that 99 percent of Americans would tell their members of congress: “Do whatever you need to do , privacy be damned, just make sure this does not happen again.”) Purpose and intent The purpose of author is to inform us to be on guard for abuses and accessing private data from the government. The article is suitable to those working adult audience because most of them consist a lot of private data . Beside that...
Words: 821 - Pages: 4
...equality before the law and freedom of expression. Human rights provide equality and fairness and recognize the people’s choice of freedom. Every human has the right to live free from fear, harassment or discrimination. During the 1920’s women’s rights, immigration, and racism were the biggest topics in human rights. Women’s rights were paramount in the 1920’s. The 19th Amendment was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919 and ratified on August 18, 1920. The 19th amendment guarantees all American women the right to vote. This was a lengthy and difficult struggle that took activists and reformers nearly 100 years to win. Some of the key leaders of this movement were Elizabeth Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Susan B. Anthony. These three women, along with the assistance of many others, were pivotal in shifting the public’s view on a women’s right to vote and be contributing members of the nation. During the nineteenth century, women organized, petitioned, lectured, marched, rioted, and practiced civil disobedience in order to get freedom. Since the 19th Amendment was first introduced in 1878 and not ratified until August 19, 1920, most of the woman who started the movement didn’t live to see it passed. After the passing of the 19th Amendment women actually had a voice and it wasn’t men making all of the decisions. Public offices once made up entirely of men were being infiltrated with women. This transformed the whole dynamic of the office and work environment. The Act changed...
Words: 1475 - Pages: 6
...English colonization of the seventeenth century underwent remarkable complications demonstrated by settlement patterns and transformation of social structure. Specifically, throughout the settlement process, Indians experienced immense religious influence by the English and conflicted over both land and religious liberties. Also, as individuals emigrated from England to the Americas, challenging liberties concerning economic and societal structure began to surface. Furthermore, by delving deeper into the tensions that accompany freedom, insights involving the reasoning behind English impact arise. When analyzing the English settlement patterns in the Americas, Native Americans were challenged religiously and by the liberty of their land. For...
Words: 1195 - Pages: 5
...There are many people who think we should get rid of the death penalty. Saving Accountability Full Enforcement (SAFE) is one of them. They think the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. So is walking into a military facility with an automatic weapon and killing thirteen unarmed civilians, or walking into a Colorado movie theatre and killing twelve people and injuring fifty eight. So, should we get rid of that? Of course we should. But can we? I think it is cruel and unusual for someone to die who did nothing wrong. But in these particular cases, the perpetrators should be put to death immediately! Maybe the death penalty is unconstitutional, but so is mass murder. It’s shocking how in America you can commit such un-humane acts yet still be treated like a human. I don’t believe everyone who commits murder should be put to death, but there are some that should. Although murder is murder and one is not worse than the other all those should not be given the death penalty. It should be reserved mass murderers or terrorist (as we like to call them, although I don’t see the difference). If I know I’m going to die for killing twelve people, maybe I do not go in movie theatre and shoot them. But if I know I’m going to go to a prison and still receive food and water, and my family can come and visit me, it makes it easier to commit such a crime. Not only should these people be put to death, they should be put to death immediately! The families of the Fort Hood...
Words: 561 - Pages: 3
...to correct such behavior, by offer him assistance and develop an action plan to correct his behavior. Most importantly find the reason as to why he chose to cross-dress and changed his persona during off-duty. Winn-Dixie action raise the question of did they violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII, which prohibits the discrimination based on sex? According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, on October 23, 2000 the United States District court Eastern District Of Louisiana ruled that Winn-Dixie unlawfully discriminated against Oiler on the basis of sex in violation of the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. According to the employment non-discrimination Act employment discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers is pervasive and harmful. It violates core American values of fairness and equality by discriminating against qualified individuals based on characteristics unrelated to the job. Over the years, Congress has responded when it found that people were not being hired or promoted for unfair or arbitrary reasons, such as race, gender, national origin, or disability. When Congress has found such discrimination, it passed laws to restore civil rights by ensuring arbitrary considerations do not determine access to employment. We believe such legislation continues to be an essential part of equal protection under the...
Words: 288 - Pages: 2
