The United States Constitution protects the liberty, property, and life
The United States Constitution protects the liberty, property, and life of all American citizens as provided for in the Bill of Rights. The first to tenth amendments of the United States Constitution major on the protection of the rights of the American citizens (Schachter 643). The first amendment seeks to protect the liberties of American citizens against the interference from the federal government. It prevents Congress from making laws abridging the freedom of association, religion, and speech. Subsequently, these aspects form the core basics of individual freedom of American citizens. Moreover, the second amendment provides for the rights of American citizens to protect themselves through the bearing of arms. The second amendment also protects Americans from invasion of their privacy through seizures and searches. Moreover, the bearing of arms is useful in protecting both property and personal safety. All these Bill of Rights in the American Constitution seem to only protect the civil liberties of American citizens. Civil rights are mostly provided in the fourteenth amendment of the American Constitution. The provisions of the fourteenth amendment seek equality for every citizen of the United States, regardless of ethnicity, color, gender, or age. Further provisions of the amendment include the right of suffrage for every citizen in America. Subsequently, the Bill of Rights, in addition to the fourteenth amendment of the American Constitution, protects individual liberty, life, and property ownership.
Civil rights in America have evolved from the past centuries to eliminate segregation and discrimination in American society. Civil Rights movements of the 1960s led to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Hall 235). The statute sought to eliminate all forms of discrimination based on race, national origin, race, ethnicity, and gender. The Act also ensured the right of suffrage applied to every American citizen. The United States Supreme Court, in its past judicial decisions, has tried to address the issue of civil rights. In the case of Brown v Board of Education upheld the unconstitutionality of segregation of children in public schools, thus setting in motion the need to end all discrimination based on race. The Supreme Court relied on the provisions of the fourteenth amendment of the U.S Constitution, which provides for equal protection of every citizen under the laws. The case reversed an earlier decision in the case of Plessy v Fergusson which was based on a separate but equal principle. The case formed a cornerstone of the civil rights movements that began around the time (Morris 616). Other developments of civil rights include the enactment of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. These statutes ensured that every American citizen was entitled to equal status of housing and voting. The Supreme Court further cemented the civil rights law in the landmark case of Runyon v. McCrary when they decided that segregation based on color in private schools was against the provisions of the federal laws.
In conclusion, there have been developments in the aspect of civil rights in America. However, there is a lot the needed to be done to cement every individual’s civil rights. First, the issue of mass incarceration and police brutality has mainly targeted the people of color, with more blacks dying in the hands of the police. Further, in terms of employment, there is a glaring disparity in terms of unemployment among whites and blacks. A white person is likely to get employed ahead of a black person who is a total disregard of the civil rights laws. The housing systems have also not changed, with most of the black people staying in the slums and project houses. There is, therefore, a significant disparity that needs to be addressed through statutes to attain the changes envisioned by the civil rights laws.