What is the relationship of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence to civil rights and civil liberties?

Answer 1

The US Constitution and Declaration of Independence contributed much to the civil rights and liberties of the US political system. It is first important to distinguish the two documents. The Declaration was essentially a resolution passed by the Second Continental Congress to inform King George III that America had split. It had no real legal effect on the system, but it did provide a common ground of ideals (which were mainly borrowed from John Locke's work). The Preamble cites as natural rights "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," claims that "all men are created equal," and that when a government becomes counterproductive of achieving these goals, it is the right and duty of the governed to change that government. These ideas are the basis for American political culture, and have provided for several Supreme Court decisions that allowed advancements in civil liberties and rights. The actual legal basis of these rights, however, must come from the Constitution. The Constitution was ratified at first without individual rights, but, at the urging of some New England liberals, one was added. The majority of civil liberties and civil rights have their bases in the Bill of Rights (Amendments I-X), Amendment XIV, and the right to habeas corpus. Amendment I: Freedom of and from religion, freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of assembly and freedom of petition. This amendment gives you a LOT of personal rights. It essentially allows for dissent against the government, a legal basis for the right to change government talked of in the Declaration. Also, it secularizes the state, allowing that no religion may use religious law as basis for law. This gives you the right to moral relativism (as long as your rights do not impede on the life, liberty, or property of another citizen.) Amendment II: Right to militia and arms. This allows for citizen organized militia and weaponry, should the dissent allowed by Amendment I fail to work. Some people argue that gun control violates the second amendment, but most legal scholars cite that the language of the text does not provide a clear answer. Amendment IV: The right against searches . This is a big one: the right to privacy comes directly from amendment IV and subsequent Supreme Court decisions. Amendment V: "The Fifth" This amendment allows that you do not have to testify if your testimony would incriminate you. This is commonly called "pleading the fifth." Amendment VI: Due Process Amendment VI gives those accused of crimes the right to a fair and speedy trial by a jury of their peers in the precinct in which the crime occured. This has been both strengthened and eroded by Supreme Court decisions. It also guarantees the right to legal counsel. Amendment VII: The right to jury trial in common law cases in which the value of the property in question is over $20. Amendment VIII: Amnesty from excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment. These are pretty vague terms, but Supreme Court decisions have helped to clear up and grey area. Opponents of the death penalty, claim, and have succeeded before in claiming, that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. Amendment IX and X: These amendments say that the rights of the federal government and states do not abridge the rigths of the people and that those powers not enumerated to the federal government nor reserved for the states belong to the people. This concept of individual government (or, as in the declaration, liberty) is essential to the US system. Amendment XV: 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. This is the legal basis of equality, defined as an American ideal in the "all men are created equal" ideal of the Declaration. Habeas Corpus: the guarantee of habeas corpus is given in the text of the Constitution. It denies the government the ability to hold prisoners for an interminable amount of time without charging them of a crime. This is complemented by the sixth amendment. So, it is clear to see that the Declaration of Independence, while a very important philosophical document, did little for the legal environment of the United States. The Constitution manifested the ideas present in the Declaration in a legal sense.