What are Civil Rights?
Civil Rights is a term used broadly in the news, the workplace, the government, and even in everyday conversation. Most United States citizens and residents likely know they have civil rights, but knowing what those rights are is not necessarily intuitive.
The American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, began to define what rights the people have,1 which the government cannot interfere in without the due process of law. Due Process, in itself a civil right, demands that the government follow legal and not arbitrary procedures in order to deprive a citizen of his or her civil rights.2 The Declaration of Independence recognized that “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”3 are unalienable rights, for which governments are formed to protect.
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