The Constitution on Early Civil Liberties during the 1910s and 1920s?

Question

Can someone explain to the me the attitudes of the Supreme Court's ruling on civil liberties between the 1910's and 1920's? How did this impacted on the Constitution?

Answer 1

Looking back at the history of our body politic in state and nation, there are turning points, times when the absence of a public official, an active private citizen or even an organization changes the course of history. Certainly it would not be an exaggeration to say that the American Civil Liberties Union has, over the course of the past 75 years, been such an organization.

The year the ACLU was founded, 1920, was a bleak time for civil liberties. Most of the rights we take for granted today existed only on paper. There was no religious freedom for minority religions. Rights for women were not recognized-not even the right to vote-let alone the right to family planning and contraceptives.

In 1920, racism was so firmly entrenched in this country that no one ever could imagine a time when it would be otherwise. Working people did not have the right to organize unions, or strike, or picket, or distribute leaflets, or even meet in their factories without suffering violence.

In 1920, when the ACLU was founded-130 years after the Bill of Rights was ratified-the Supreme Court had never struck down a law on first amendment grounds. The freedom to publish and to speak existed only if the majority agreed with what you said. Which left the Socialists, Jehovah's Witnesses and labor unions-those least likely to afford a lawyer-out in the cold.

In 1909 the NAACP was created and in 1920 the ACLU. And then began the long struggle to make the Bill of Rights a reality. Gradually, over time, cases were filed and, here and there, won. De jure (by law) race discrimination began to crumble. First amendment rights were established. And after decades, gender equality was gained in some measure-at work, in the bedroom and in the military.


Hope this gives you SOME insight!