Questions and side-notes that may be helpful when reading the lesson...
- What is the Magna Carta? Why was this document even a thing?
- How did the English Bill of Rights influence the American Bill of Rights? How are they different? How are they alike?
- Personal Rights: These rights provide for individual autonomy, including, among other rights, freedom of thought and conscience, privacy, and movement. The idea that humans are autonomous, self-governing individuals with fundamental rights is central to natural rights philosophy, as discussed in Unit 1. The rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness often are said to be "God-given" or based on nature. Every person is believed to possess such rights at birth. The purpose government is to protect those rights. (straight from the book)
- Economic Rights: These rights include choosing the work one wants to do, acquiring and disposing of property, entering into contracts, creating and protecting intellectual property such as copyrights and patents, and joining labor unions or professional associations. Like political rights, such rights can be created and protected by statutes, national or state constitutions, or both. Many people consider economic rights to be associated with ownership. (straight from the book)
- Political Rights: These are rights of individuals that address political participation and can be created and protected by statutes, national or state constitutions, or both. Examples are the rights to vote and to engage in political activities, such as supporting particular candidates for office or running for office. (straight from the book)
- Positive Rights: require government to act in specified ways. They include, for example, the rights of individuals to receive certain services from government, such as protection of their persons and property from criminal acts, protection from aggression from other nations, public education, and in some cases food, housing, or medical care.
- Negative Rights: restrict government action. Many of the individual rights protected by the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights are stated that "Congress shall make no law" the violates fundamental rights to freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.