Since the beginning of American history, citizens residing in the country have lacked the civil rights and fundamental freedoms that human beings deserved. Different races and ethnicities were treated unfairly. The right to vote was denied to anyone other than a wealthy, white male. Women were harassed by their bosses and expected to take care of everything related to the home. Life wasn't all that great in America's past, but fortunately over time the civil liberties and rights of American citizens have expanded, granting Americans true freedom. Throughout American history, our civil liberties as American citizens have evolved immensely. For example, the first ten amendments of the United States Constitution are referred to as the “Bill of Rights,” which contains some of the most valued civil liberties, such as freedom of speech and religion. These civil liberties, however, did not originally apply to state governments or state-established institutions. The Bill of Rights focused exclusively on what the national government could not do, allowing state governments to do whatever they wanted. For example, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire have supported Congregationalist ministers with taxpayer dollars for decades. After the Civil War, civil liberties expanded, as three new amendments were added: the Thirteenth, which abolished slavery, the Fourteenth, which redefined civil liberties and rights, and the Fifteenth, which allowed adult male citizens to vote. The due process clause (contained in the Fourteenth Amendment) became one of the most important civil liberties, because it applied the language of the Fifth Amendment to state governments, proclaiming that they could not “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process legal process.... middle of paper......mining history, race, sexuality, or place of residence. It is now up to judges to decide whether the government provides valid reasons for classifying certain laws. While America has indeed come a long way when it comes to civil liberties and the rights of its citizens, there is still much room for improvement. We have yet to achieve the goals expressed in the Constitution because several cases continue to be brought to court in which people's rights are taken away and many others in which people are discriminated against. Once a person gets used to a certain lifestyle, it is difficult to change their mentality. True civil rights and freedoms will only come once America and the citizens who reside within it change the way they see the world and realize that everyone is created equal with certain undeniable rights – the way it was meant to to be..