Civil liberties in the United States

rdf:langString Civil liberties in the United States

rdf:langString United States Constitution, Amendment I

rdf:langString United States Constitution, Amendment II

rdf:langString United States Constitution, Amendment XIX

rdf:langString United States Constitution, Amendment XXIII

rdf:langString United States Constitution, Amendment XXVI

rdf:langString United States Constitution, Article XIV

rdf:langString United States Constitution, Article XV

rdf:langString "Congress shall make no law... prohibiting the free exercise thereof;"

rdf:langString "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech,"

rdf:langString "The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax."

rdf:langString "Congress shall make no law... abridging... the press,"

rdf:langString "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

rdf:langString "Congress shall make no law... abridging... the right of the people peaceably to assemble,"

rdf:langString "Congress shall make no law... abridging... the right of the people... to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

rdf:langString "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

rdf:langString "when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the inhabitants of such State, being years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such citizens shall bear to the whole number of citizens years of age in such State."

rdf:langString "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

rdf:langString Civil liberties in the United States are certain unalienable rights retained by (as opposed to privileges granted to) citizens of the United States under the Constitution of the United States, as interpreted and clarified by the Supreme Court of the United States and lower federal courts. Civil liberties are simply defined as individual legal and constitutional protections from entities more powerful than an individual, for example, parts of the government, other individuals, or corporations. The explicitly defined liberties make up the Bill of Rights, including freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, and the right to privacy. There are also many liberties of people not defined in the Constitution, as stated in the Ninth Amendment: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. The extent of civil liberties and the percentage of the population of the United States who had access to these liberties has expanded over time. For example, the Constitution did not originally define who was eligible to vote, allowing each state to determine who was eligible. In the early history of the U.S., most states allowed only white male adult property owners to vote (about 6% of the population). The 'Three-Fifths Compromise' allowed the southern slaveholders to consolidate power and maintain slavery in America for eighty years after the ratification of the Constitution. And the Bill of Rights had little impact on judgements by the courts for the first 130 years after ratification.