Personal Freedom & Civic Duty

Technology has had a great influence on the legal system, particularly the right to privacy. This book explains how individual rights are being challenged in cyberspace, through digital media, and the pursuit of national security. Readers are introduced to topics such as what rights the Constitution protects in general and questions how the rules have been tested with regard to technology, such as expectations of privacy online. Digital media are also studied with regards to copyright laws, freedom of Internet speech, and cyberbullying. Regarding the subject of privacy in the electronic age, this book poses questions such as what is the right balance between security and privacy regarding surveillance, how much personal information can Web sites collect on individuals, and how much personal information be stored on third-party servers. Finally, the appendix includes a copy of the Bill of Rights so readers can better understand the rights of American citizens in this new technological landscape.

This book is for those who are not only interested in law, but how the law works in daily practice when it comes to the limitation of powers. Readers are first given a history of the development of the rule of law and the basic principles of the legal system among societies through the ages. The book then explains the rule of law in America and how the American legal system came about and evolved. Profiled are seminal court cases that helped shape the rule of law into what it is today. The text analyzes controversial legal issues, such as terrorism, national security, and the legality of drone strikes. It also offers a look at legislation in the future with evolving technologies that test First Amendment rights. With an appendix that includes the actual text from the Bill of Rights, this book is a comprehensive companion for any student of social studies.

The Sixth Amendment was not generated and ratified in a day. The process took many years, starting with the Bill of Rights and ending with how it applies today. This guide to the rights of the accused discusses the history of this important right, the court cases that shaped it, the historical figures who gave it prominence, and those who it has affected.

Some people may believe that violations of civil liberties during the search of one's office, property, possessions, or person are something that only criminals have to worry about, yet any citizen can become the subject of a search. Many of these searches can be conducted without a warrant or even proof of probable cause-at traffic stops, at border crossings and airport checkpoints, and even in school. In theory, the Constitution protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizures, but definitions of "unreasonable" and "probable cause" shift with each generation and are open to the subjective interpretation of police officers, lawyers, and court judges. This book reveals the long history of shifting interpretations of Constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and the most important precedents-including up-to-the-minute, currently unfolding cases-that have helped determine what is considered reasonable, which instances require warrants, and when privacy rights must yield to the needs of public safety. Most importantly, it highlights the urgency of the issues surrounding freedom from searches and the importance of insisting upon privacy rights. Includes the text of the Constitution's Preamble and the complete Bill of Rights.

The right to vote was a hard fought, hard won campaign. With voter apathy still a huge issue during every major election, women, African Americans, and young people need to understand that without the efforts of some amazing pioneers, they may not have the right to vote at all. This informative historical guide follows some of these pioneers through history as they struggled, worked, protested, and won their rights to vote as American citizens. Not only does it preserve these great moments in history, it gives modern voters a reason to get out and vote.

One of our most fundamental rights as citizens of a democracy is our right to due process of law. This principle provides critical protection against arbitrary rule by the government. The text explores the origins of this very old constitutional principle and how its traditional definition has expanded over time. From a basic concern with fairness in criminal procedures (procedural due process), the legal concept expanded to become a key tool for protecting a variety of individual rights, some of them controversial (substantive due process). This title fulfills the needs of the Common Core by providing rigorous, complex text and examining due process rights from multiple points of view.

Students extract key ideas and details through informational text that helps them improve their critical reading skills. They can evaluate actions and events in the substantive topic of equal rights, including learning about the fight for the rights of African Americans and other racial minorities, women's rights, and LGBT rights. The U.S. Constitution laid the groundwork for equal rights in America, including the possible future expansion of rights. The powerful Bill of Rights established many of these liberties and guaranteed Americans protection from government tyranny. Despite these guarantees, many people have been excluded from certain basic rights throughout U.S. history. Readers analyze these events and achievements and examine some high-profile instances of injustice and inequality. Sidebars offer students additional particulars about equality and personal freedom, and the Preamble to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are printed in the back matter for easy reference.

A captivating narrative about the civil rights of African Americans, Native Americans, American women, immigrants, prisoners, and gays and lesbians, this resource immerses readers in the historical events that helped win and protect basic freedoms under the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. This remarkable volume also contains a chapter that profiles disability rights, the rights of children, teens, and senior adults, and animal rights. The Preamble to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are printed in the back matter for easy reference.

Teens today can hardly conceive of a world in which women did not have the right to vote and women's domain truly was the home. Showing the long way that American women have come, this book reviews the major events in the fight for women's rights. The narrative focuses on important leaders and the reforms that they demanded-and organized to win. The authors trace a fascinating path from the colonial period, when women's roles were highly circumscribed, to today's era of fifty-percent representation in the workplace.

It is often observed that Americans passionately believe in their own right to free speech but can be quick to demand censure of anyone else's speech that they don't agree with or are offended by. This goes straight to the thorny heart of the free speech debate-how far should society and government go to protect a citizen's right to utter all kinds of free speech, including profane, unpopular, revolutionary, or blasphemous. Who gets to decide what is acceptable and unacceptable, popular or unpopular speech-and are wordless actions and symbolic gestures considered types of speech to be protected as well? This book tackles complicated questions and reveals the wide ranges of answers that have been provided by politicians, thinkers, courts, and average citizens over the nation's history. Historically rich and up-to-the-minute, thought-provoking and conscience stirring, this book illuminates free speech issues. Includes complete text of the Constitution Preamble and the Bill of Rights.

In a world where full body scans are permitted before someone boards an aircraft, it is no wonder people are concerned with the issue of privacy rights. The issue of privacy has always been a complex one, and the events of September 11, 2001 made it that much more complicated. Privacy rights had to be weighed against the importance of protecting Americans' lives and monitoring terrorist activity. This stirring tome covers the roots of privacy in America, landmark Supreme Court cases that settled privacy rights issues, and privacy and law enforcement (police brutality, racial profiling, police searches, and government surveillance). One chapter is devoted to the right of privacy for students, including privacy and the Internet. The Preamble to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are printed in the back matter.

With the Occupy Wall Street movement still fresh in the minds of many across the nation, no part of the Constitution is more important to that cause than the Freedom of Assembly. This guide to that freedom takes a sweeping approach, going back to the dawn of democracy and the signing of the Magna Carta and then discussing how people are affected in modern times and with modern issues. It hits some of the most controversial moments and issues in a fact-filled format that still manages to be an entertaining read for any historian or modern activist.

Among other freedoms, the First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees a free press. This enlightening book examines the origins of freedom of the press in America and traces many of the important court battles that helped define that freedom. Further, the author explores the continuing evolution of the media today, including the ways in which technology may be changing the meaning of a free press. The text supports curricular requirements by looking at press freedom through the lenses of the law, history, and media literacy. Fascinating historical and recent news photographs enhance the narrative.