Civil liberties and civil rights have both formed and shaped America’s society to what it is today. However, I believe that civil rights have made the bigger impact on America’s society. To understand how civil rights have changed or nation, we first need to recognize the meaning of civil rights. Civil rights are “The rights to full legal, economic, and social equality, regardless of race, nationality, color, gender, age, religion, or disability.”, According to leagdictionary.net. Civil rights in the U.S. have changed the way that the government treats people who are not white. From the 1600’s all the way up until the late 1800’s black African Americans where kept as salves to work for free in America. At the time, white people were the only group in America to be treated equally. Black people in the U.S. where treated very badly because the government had basically classified …show more content…
Although slaves were freed, many African Americans where still mistreated by the government and white people. The government made black codes, and Jim Crow Laws to basically point out what an African American could or could not do. These laws segregated African Americans and other races from white people. People who were not white where not allowed to be around white people. This made it harder for people of other races to have a job, a good education, and more. This is how the civil rights movement began. African Americans were tired of not being treated equally, so they began to protest against the government. After many years of protesting the government finally passed some laws that would treat people of any race equal to white people. African Americans were not the only people who were not treated equally. Women in America also faced equality problems. Women in America also had to protest to fight for their civil rights. Women where not able to vote until 1920. Women were also paid less than men even if they had the exact same