civil right
Civil rights are freedoms and rights guaranteed to a member of a community, state, or nation. Freedom of speech, of the press, of religion, and of fair and equal treatment are the basic civil rights. ... Although the Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the Constitution, civil rights were not always respected to all human beings, especially women and blacks. When the constitution was first written, many Americans understood the meaning of the famous inscripture "all men are created equal" to mean that all white males were created equal, likewise with other civil rights guarantees as well. ... Abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison, Fredrick Douglass, and Sojourner Truth, paved the way for the first civil rights movement that occurred after the Civil War, during Reconstruction. ... America was destined for another, more far-reaching civil rights movement. The civil rights movement during the late 1800s and early 1900s provided the foundations for the current civil rights laws achieved throughout the 1960s. Black Americans made significant gains in their struggle for equal rights during Reconstruction, the 12-year period after the Civil War. In 1868, after southern president Andrew Johnson vetoed a Civil Rights bill, the radically republican influenced congress transported the principals of the Civil Rights bill to the 14th Amendment. The 14th Amendment conferred civil rights and citizenship for all former slaves, and was incorporated into the requirements for a southern state to regain its statehood. After the 14th Amendment was passed; however, the radical faction of congress was disappointed that it did not grant blacks the right to vote. ... With the passing of breakthrough legislation, several leaders emerged to lead this new civil rights movement. ... The civil rights movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s succeeded in "breaking the ice" for blacks and also in leading the way to womens triumph in 1920. However, this civil rights movement did not accomplish its goals to the fullest due to the lack of government enforcement.