Overview

Civil liberties are constitutional protections for individuals against government actions, while civil rights refer to the protection of individuals from discrimination and unequal treatment. Understanding how these rights have evolved through judicial interpretation is crucial to understanding American democracy.

Key Themes and Events

• The Bill of Rights: The first ten amendments to the Constitution guarantee key liberties like freedom of speech, religion, the press, and due process protections in criminal proceedings.
• Selective Incorporation: Through the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, the Supreme Court applied most protections in the Bill of Rights to the states, beginning with Gitlow v. New York (1925).
• Landmark Cases on Civil Liberties: Engel v. Vitale (school prayer), Gideon v. Wainwright (right to counsel), Mapp v. Ohio (exclusionary rule), and Tinker v. Des Moines (student speech) illustrate expansion and limits of liberties.
• Civil Rights Movement: Major legal and social efforts in the mid-20th century aimed at ending racial segregation and expanding equal opportunity. Landmark events include the Civil Rights Act (1964), Voting Rights Act (1965), and Brown v. Board of Education (1954).
• Equal Protection Clause: Found in the Fourteenth Amendment, this clause has been used to strike down discriminatory laws based on race, gender, and more recently, sexual orientation.
• Affirmative Action and Controversy: Programs intended to promote diversity and correct historical injustices have been challenged in cases such as Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) and more recently in decisions concerning university admissions.

Quick Tip

Focus on the distinction between civil liberties and civil rights, and know the major cases that expanded or limited them. CLEP often asks for case recognition and the constitutional principles involved.