American Civil Rights

History > U.S. Post-Modern 1965-Present
Law

A discussion of the effect on civil rights in America of the Patriot Act of 2001 and the 2007 Supreme Court's decision to make partial-birth abortions illegal.

1,329 words () | 3 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the challenges to civil rights that exist today in the United States. The paper particularly discusses the the implementation of the Patriot Act of 2001 and, in 2007, the Supreme Court's decision to make partial-birth abortions illegal. It then looks at how these two decisions have affected overall civil rights in America.

From the Paper:

"If any good can be found in this ongoing crisis in the United States and its Patriot Act, it is that, hopefully, an important lesson has been learned by American civil rights activists. That lesson is that human rights cannot be taken for granted. Activists need to keep working even when civil rights are in good shape. Luckily, one win for the Democrats will probably be enough to get the legal framework moving to repeal the Patriot Act. The history of American civil rights since 1945 is too strong a tradition to be held hostage by hysterical legislation."

Sample of Sources Used:

Gaddis, John Lewis. The Long Peace: Inquiries into the History of the Cold War. London: Oxford University Press, 1987.
Anderson, Terry H. The Pursuit of Fairness, a history of affirmative action. London: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Levine, Paul and Harry Papasotiriou. America Since 1945: The American Moment. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.