Human Rights

Human Rights in United States

Chronology of Human Rights in the United States

  • 1776: U.S. Declaration of Independence proclaims that “all men are created equal” and endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
  • 1783: Massachusetts becomes the first state to outlaw slavery. The Massachusetts State Supreme Court relies upon the state’s bill of rights to in its judgment.
  • 1786: Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom declares that religion cannot be established or explicitly supported by the government, and that all people have the right to freedom of belief.
  • 1787: The U.S. Constitution is written and ratified by nine states in the following year.
  • 1791: The first ten amendments to the Constitution known as the Bill of Rights, are ratified.
  • 1808: The Slave Trade Act (adopted in 1807) makes the import and export of slaves illegal in the United States. However, the domestic slave trade continues.
  • 1848: Women’s rights activists, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott and others meet in Seneca Falls, New York, to draft a “bill of rights,” outlining the social, civil, and political rights of women.
  • 1861: Start of the American Civil War.
  • 1863: President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation.
  • 1865: On April 7, 1865 Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, ending the Civil War. In December, Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery in the United States.
  • 1868: Congress passes the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits limitation of citizenship rights and affirms the principles of due process and equal protection of the law.
  • 1870: Congress passes the Fifteenth Amendment, which prohibits the use or race, color or previous status as a slave to limit voting rights.
  • 1918: President Woodrow Wilson introduces his Fourteen Points.
  • 1919: The International Labour Organization (ILO) is established.
  • 1920: The Leagues of Nations holds it first meeting. Congress ratifies the Nineteenth Amendment, which grants women the right to vote.
  • 1924: Congress approves The Indian Citizenship Act, which admits all Native Americans born in the United States into full United States citizenship.
  • 1926: The United States is signatory to the Geneva Conference which passes the Slavery Convention.
  • 1929: The Slavery Convention is entered into force for the United States.
  • 1933: Congress begins approving measures of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal,” designed to help the United States recover from the Great Depression.
  • 1934: Congress passes the Indian Reorganization Act, which restores tribal ownership of reservation lands. The United States officially joins the International Labor Organization.
  • 1941: President Franklin D. Roosevelt makes his “Four Freedoms” speech, where he declares freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear as the birthright of every man and woman. President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill draft the Atlantic Charter, which becomes a foundational document for both the Allies war-time goals and the charter of the United Nations.
  • 1945: The United Nations (UN) is established. The United States becomes signatory to its Charter.
  • 1948: The UN General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The United States is signatory to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The Convention becomes effective in 1951, although the U.S. Senate did not ratify the treaty until 1988. The United States is signatory to the Inter-American Convention on the Granting of Political Rights to Women. The U.S. Senate ratifies in 1976.
  • 1949: The United States is signatory to the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. The United States is signatory to four Geneva Conventions (known as Geneva I, II, III, and IV), which address providing medical aid to armed forces, the treatment of POWs, and the protection of civilians during wartime.
  • 1953: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers an address titled: “The Chance for Peace,” where he highlights how war robs a nation of resources that otherwise could be used to advance human rights.
  • 1954: In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court rules that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.
  • 1955. The United States adopts the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. The Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field (Geneva I); the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick, and Shipwrecked Members of armed Forces at Sea (Geneva II); the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (Geneva III); and the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Geneva IV) are ratified by the United States.
  • 1957: The ILO introduces the Convention Concerning the Abolition of Forced Labor. The U.S. ratifies it in 1991. Congress approves the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which sought to protect the voting rights for African-Americans and create a commission to review voting grievances.
  • 1962: The United States signs the Convention on the Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages.
  • 1964: Martin Luther King, Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
  • 1965: The Voting Rights Act authorizes the United States government to appoint examiners to register voters where local officials have made African-American registration difficult.
  • 1966: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights are adopted and opened for signature.
  • 1968: The United States ratifies the updated Protocol on the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees.
  • 1975: President Gerald Ford signs the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).
  • 1977: The United States becomes signatory to the American Convention on Human Rights. The Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs is created within the United States Department of State. Its first reports on human rights are issued that year. President Jimmy Carter’s Inaugural Address establishes advancing human rights as an important part of his Administration’s goals.
  • 1980: The United States is signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
  • 1984: Senate ratifies the International Convention against the Taking of Hostages. The United States signs the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
  • 1986: Congress passes the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986: which imposes economic sanctions on South Africa in protest against the government’s apartheid policy.
  • 1988: The Senate ratifies the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
  • 1990: The Americans with Disabilities Act is signed into law, establishing “a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability.”
  • 1991: President George H.W. Bush resubmits the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention to the Senate for ratification. The Senate ratifies the Convention on September 25.
  • 1992: The Senate ratifies the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
  • 1994: The United States becomes party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
  • 1995: First Lady Hillary Clinton leads the United States delegation to the World Conference on Women in Beijing, China where she declares, “Women’s rights are human rights.”
  • 1999: President William J. Clinton submits the Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour to the Senate for ratification. The Senate ratifies the Convention on August 5, 1999.
  • 2000: The United States leads the UN to adopt the Palermo Protocol, which includes a section that denounces trafficking in persons. Domestically, the U.S. Congress passes the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
  • 2003: The United States becomes party to the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography.
  • 2010: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gives groundbreaking speech on Internet Freedom.

President Selected Human Rights Speeches

President Woodrow Wilson, “Fourteen Points Speech,” Washington, D.C., 1918.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Annual Message to Congress (The Four Freedoms)”, address before Congress, 1941.

Eleanor Roosevelt, “Adoption of the Declaration of Human Rights,” 1948.

Eleanor Roosevelt, “Making Human Rights Come Alive,” Columbia University, 1949.

President Harry S. Truman,”Proclamation 2866 – United Nations Human Rights Day” December 6, 1949

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, “The Chance for Peace,” 1953.

President John F. Kennedy, “Address on Civil Rights,” National Address, 1963.

President Lyndon B. Johnson, “The Great Society,” address at Michigan State, 1964.

President Jimmy Carter, “Inaugural Address,” Washington, D.C., January 20, 1977.

President Jimmy Carter, “University of Notre Dame Commencement,” Notre Dame, May 22, 1977.

President Jimmy Carter, “Farewell Address,” Washington, D.C., January 14, 1981.

President Ronald Reagan,”Remarks on East-West Relations at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berli” West Berlin, June 12, 1987.

President Ronald Reagan,”Remarks at the Site of the Future Holocaust Museum,” Washington D.C., October 5, 1987.

President George H.W. Bush, “Proclamation 6513 – Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human Rights Week, 1992,” Washington D.C., December 8, 1992.

First Lady Hillary Clinton, “Women’s Rights are Human Rights,” Beijing World Conference on Women, 1995.

President George W. Bush, “Remarks on Efforts to Globally Promote Women’s Human Rights,” Washington D.C., March 12, 2004.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, “Remarks at the American University in Cairo,” Cairo, Egypt, June 20, 2005.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,”Transformational Diplomacy,” Georgetown University, January 18, 2006.

President George W. Bush, “Remarks at the 2007 U.S.-E.U. Summit Promoting Peace, Human Rights and Democracy Worldwide,” Washington D.C., April 30, 2007.

President Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on a New Beginning,” Cairo, Egypt, 2009.

President Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President to the Ghanaian Parliament,” Accra, Ghana, July 11, 2009.

President Barack Obama, “Acceptance speech for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize,” Oslo, Norway, 2009.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “Remarks on the Human Rights Agenda for the 21st Century,” Georgetown University, 2009.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “Remarks on Internet Freedom,” Washington D.C. January 21, 2010.

Human Rights Conventions

Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery (25 Sep 1926); and Protocol (7 Dec 1953)

Convention Concerning Forced Labor (28 Jun 1930)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). WWW version via The United Nations via HRWEB

Convention Concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize (9 Jul 1948)

Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide (9 Dec 1948). WWW version via HRWEB.

Convention Concerning the Application of the Principles of the Right to Organize and to Bargain Collectively (1 Jul 1949)

Geneva Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field. WWW version via University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. (12 Aug 1949)

Geneva Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea (12 Aug 1949)

Geneva Convention (III) Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (12 Aug 1949)

Geneva Convention (IV) Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (12 Aug 1949)

Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (21 Mar 1950)

European Convention on Human Rights (4 Nov 1950) and all Protocols, via Council of Europe (ETS 005).

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (28 July 1951)

Convention on the Political Rights of Women (31 Mar 1953)

Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery (7 Sep 1956)

Convention Concerning the Abolition of Forced Labor (25 Jun 1957)

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (7 Mar 1966)

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (16 Dec 1966). WWW version via HRWEB.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (16 Dec 1966) (www version via HRWEB and Optional Protocol

Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (31 Jan 1967)

American Convention on Human Rights (22 Nov 1969); Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights “Protocol of San Salvador” (17 Nov 1988); Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty (7 June 1990).

Convention Concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment (26 Jun 1973)

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (18 Dec 1981). WWW version via HRWEB

Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (10 Dec 1984). WWW version via HRWEB

Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture (9 Dec 1985)

European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Strasbourg 26 Nov 1987)

Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights “Protocol of San Salvador” (17 Nov 1988).

ILO Convention Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries.(27 June 1989)

Convention on the Rights of the Child (20 Nov 1989)

Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty (7 June 1990).

International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (18 Dec 1990)

Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (1992) via University of Saskatchewan.

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (Strasbourg 5 Nov 1992)

Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (29 May 1993)

United Nations World Conference on Human Rights: Vienna Declaration and Action Programme (25 Jun 1993)

Protocol Number 1 to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Strasbourg 4 Nov 1993)

Protocol Number 2 to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Strasbourg 4 Nov 1993)

1994 Draft Declaration of Principles on Human Rights and the Environment

Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons (9 June 1994)

European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (Strasbourg 1 Feb 1995)

Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children (19 Oct 1996)

Council of Europe: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (4 April 1997)

Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, entered into force Nov. 19, 2000.

United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. (15 Dec 2000) Advance copy of the authentic text. Includes the Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children; and the Protocol against the smuggling of migrants by land, sea and air.

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (22 Dec 2000); Ratification status.

Human Rights in State Statute Topics

Introduction to Human Rights (State statute topic)

The purpose of Human Rights is to provide a broad appreciation of the Human Rights legal topic. Select from the list of U.S. legal topics for information (other than Human Rights).

Resources

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