The Bill of Rights and Civil Liberties: An American Government View

This essay provides an overview of the Bill of Rights and its significance in protecting individual liberties within the American government. It discusses the arguments between Federalists and Anti-Federalists regarding the inclusion of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution, emphasizing the Anti-Federalists' desire to limit government power and safeguard individual freedoms, including freedom of speech. The essay also highlights key civil liberties, such as freedom of religion and protection against unreasonable searches, and explores how the Supreme Court has expanded these liberties through landmark cases like Miranda v. Arizona. Furthermore, it touches on the 14th Amendment and its role in granting citizenship and discusses the balance between government surveillance and individual privacy, concluding with a note on corporate contributions to politicians. Desklib offers a wealth of similar student-contributed assignments and study resources.

Running head: AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
American Government
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Authors Note:

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AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
Part 1:
The Bill of Rights is a conglomeration of the first 10 amendments in the Constitution.
Bill of Rights protects the individual liberties by imposing certain prohibitions on the power of
the Government in the US. While Federalists argue against the Bill of Rights as it advocated a
strong Government in the Centre Anti-Federalists pushed the Bill of Rights to be included in the
Constitution to safeguard the interests of individuals and to keep a balance in power between the
State and Local Governments.
In objection to the demand of Federalists to have a strong central government Anti-Federalists
gave the following reasons to ensure power stays with both state and local governments in the
country.
I. To limit the government powers to protect the individual rights in the country.
II. Individual liberty must be safeguarded and with strong central government there is
genuine risk to the individual liberty.
III. To protect the freedom of speech of individuals in the country (Waldron, 2017).
Part 2:
To protect the individual freedom of Americans the following civil liberties were
included:
No prohibition on free exercise of religion:
The right to exercise religious practices of the individuals in the country without any restriction
is included thus, Congress shall not have any power to make any law to interfere with the free
practice of religion in the country.

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Freedom of speech:
The freedom of speech of individuals in the country is absolute and without any restriction.
Soldier shall not quarter:
Soldiers shall not quarter at the time of peach in any house without consent of the owner.
Security against unreasonable search and seizure:
The rights of individuals to be secured against searches and seizures which are not reasonable is
included in the Constitution to uphold the right to the people to be secure in their houses and
persons.
Part 3:
The Supreme Court by making law to protect the civil liberties of individuals in the
country and against the discrimination of minorities including African-American has expanded
the civil liberties in the country (Donohue, 2017).
In Miranda v Arizona, The Supreme Court ruled that the statement of defendants made to the
Authorities is not admissible unless the defendants are informed about their rights to have
attorney and understand that anything they said could be used against them in a case.
On July 9, 1868 the 14th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. According to the 14th
Amendments all persons born and naturalized in the US including former slaves freed recently
shall be granted US citizenship (House, 2014).
Expansion of government surveillance will certainly undermine the right of privacy to the
individuals in the country. However, there are number of benefits of government surveillance if

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AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
used appropriately. Enhanced security and safety in the country from anti-social elements and
averting major attacks on the sovereignty of the country. The safety and security of the state is
paramount hence, a little compromise with civil liberties if results in better security and safety of
the state then there should be no objection to such surveillance (Rossum, 2018).
No the Constitution does not grant corporations the right to unlimited contributions to the
politicians.

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References:
Donohue, W. A. (2017). The Politics of the American Civil Liberties Union. Routledge.
House, F. (2014). Freedom in the world 2014: The annual survey of political rights and civil
liberties. Rowman & Littlefield.
Rossum, R. A. (2018). American Constitutional Law, Volume II: The Bill of Rights and
Subsequent Amendments. Routledge.
Waldron, J. (2017). A right-based critique of constitutional rights. In Bills of Rights (pp. 3-36).
Routledge.