ABSTRACT
Civil rights are those rights that citizens are entitled to expect in a free society. They include the right to vote, the right to equality of opportunity and the right to receive the protection of the law. However, for the majority of Americans their history is a history of the struggle to achieve civil rights. It could be argued that in the ‘Land of the Free’ only white, Protestant males of North European origin, who spoke English and possessed capital were truly free to enjoy their civil rights. All other groups were disadvantaged and had to fight institutional racism and sexism in order to achieve their freedom.
