About 4 paragraphs please

 

Before answering the questions below, review the content in the attachment, prompt, and this link: http://www.jonathangullible.com/philosophy-of-liberty

 

If we were to ask people what aspect of the American system of government they value above all others, most Americans would probably emphasize our tradition of rights, liberties, and freedoms. Over time we have commonly come to believe that the hallmark of a democratic system is respect for civil liberties, especially the First Amendment freedoms of religion, speech, press, and assembly.

As Chapter Fourteen points out, the framers of the U.S. Constitution thought constraining the national government was their most important goal. But they did not include in the main body of the Constitution a specific list of fundamental rights that the national government may not infringe upon. The concept that prevailed in the Constitutional Convention was that the limiting and checking mechanisms of the Constitution—federalism, separation of powers, elections—would be sufficient to constrain the national government. But the popular protest over the absence of a list of fundamental citizen rights led to the agreement to add the Bill of Rights.

The connection between civil liberties, especially the fundamental First Amendment rights, and the existence of a free society should be paramount in your minds when reading these chapters. Think about the difficulty presented to citizens, politicians, and lawyers when they attempt to interpret and apply First Amendment rights in any concrete fashion. The Bill of Rights itself technically applies only to the national government. It is the Fourteenth Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, and especially the interpretation of the due process clause since the 1920s, that has led to the nationalization of the Bill of Rights through "selective incorporation."

The words in the First Amendment may appear to be simple and straightforward, but there are no absolutes, and the arguments over application have been endless. Most of the disputes have not been over the desirability of the basic rights, but rather, on the application of those rights to specific cases. The U.S. Supreme Court has had to make some agonizing choices between, for example, the right to a fair trial and the freedom of the press. In most cases, there is no clear-cut right or wrong, but rather conflicting notions of what is good.

The Fifth Amendment extended due process protection to individuals against the national government, the Fourteenth Amendment applied those due process protections to the states. Chapter Sixteen explains what the framers intended, and how those words have been interpreted and put into practice over the past 200 years.

The following two links connect to an article and a flash presentation intended to provide you a better understanding of the classical conception of liberty that was at the heart of American human and civil liberties as put forth by the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Make sure you utilize both of these sources when writing your discussion prompt answer.

 

The attachment connects to a two page brief on the difference between "negative rights" and "positive rights". American civil liberties are negative rights, no positive rights are guaranteed by the Bill of Rights as originally understood and interpreted. The only positive right that the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized since then is when it interpreted the Right to an Attorney to mean that the state must provide you an attorney. Even then, its recognition of this positive right was justified as only acceptable because it was necessary to secure a defendant's negative rights to due process and a fair trial.

 

This link is an effective and entertaining flash media presentation that explains the philosophy of classical liberty, a philosophy that was dominantly popular among the framers of the Constitution and that has continued to be a motivating philosophy behind America's strong conception of fundamental liberties of life, liberty, and property, and of civil liberties like speech, religion, and assembly.

 

Answer 2 of the following questions by explaining how the difference between negative and positive rights, and the concept of self-ownership can be seen as influencing or fundamental to how the Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution as guaranteeing rights that limit the power of the Federal Government over individual citizens. Be sure to cite evidence from the lecture material, and at least one Supreme Court case, backing up your answer for each right.

1) What does it mean to have the freedom of speech?

2) What does it mean to have the freedom of religion?

3) What does it mean to have the freedom of assembly?

4) What does it mean to have the freedom of property?

5) What does it mean to have the freedom of Due Process?

Attachments:

• 1502808620-GTI_-_Positive_Negative_Rights.pdf