Liberty in United States

Liberty Definition

(Lat. Uier, free; Kbertas, freedom, liberty). Freedom from restraint; the faculty of willing, and the power of doing what has been willed, without influence from without. As used in the constitution means not only freedom of the citizen from servitude and restraint, but embraces the right of every man to be’ free in the use of his powers and faculties, and to adopt and pursue such calling as he may choose, subject only to the restraints necessary to secure the common welfare. 231 111. 346; 193 lU. 345; 185 111. 139; 161 111. 296; 217 111. 248; 155 Mass. 117; 109 N. Y. 389; 16 Wall. 36; 113 Pa. St. 431; 33 W. Va. 179. A privilege held by grant or prescription, by which some men enjoy greater privileges, than ordinary subjects. A territory with some extraordinary privilege. A part of a town or city; as, the Northern Liberties of Philadelphia. See “Faubourg.” ‘ Civil liberty is the greatest amount of absolute liberty which can, in the nature of things, be equally possessed by every citizen in a state. The term is frequently used to denote the amount of absolute liberty which is actually enjoyed by the various citizens under the government and laws of the state as administered. 1 Bl. Comm. 125. The fullest political liberty furnishes the best possible guaranty for civil liberty. Lieber defines civil liberty as guaranteed protection against interference with the interests and rights held dear and important by large classes of civilized men, or by all the members of a state, together with an effectual share in the making and administration of the laws, as the best apparatus to secure that protection, including Blackstone’s divisions of civil and political under this head. Natural liberty is the right which nature gives to all mankind of disposing of their persons and property after the manner tibey judge most consonant to their happiness, on condition of their acting within the limits of the law of nature, and so as not to interfere with an equal exercise of the same rights by other men. Burlam. Nat. Law, c. 3, § 15; 1 Bl. Comm. 125. It is called by Lieber “social” liberty, and is defined as the protection of unrestrained action in as high a degree as the same claim of protection of each individual admits of. Personal liberty consists in the power of locomotion, of changing situation, or removing one’s person to whatever place one’s inclination may direct, without imprisonment or restraint, unless by due course of law. 1 Bl. Comm. 134. Political liberty is an effectual share in the making and administration of the laws. Lieber, Civ. Lib. Liberty, in its widest sense, means the faculty of willing, and the power of doing what has been willed, without influence from without. It means self-determination, unrestrainedness of action. Thus defined, one being only can be absolutely free, namely, God. So soon as we apply the word “liberty” to spheres of human action, the term receives a relative meaning, because the power of man is limited; he is subject to constant influences from without. If the idea of unrestrainedness of action is applied to the social state of man, it receives a limitation still greater, since the equal claims of unrestrained action of all necessarily involves the idea of protection against interference by others. We thus come to the definition, that liberty of social man consists in the protection of unrestrained action in as high a degree as the same claim of protection of each individual admits of, or in the most efficient protection of his rights, claims, interests, as man or citizen, or of his humanity, manifested as a social being. See “Right.” The word “liberty,” applied to men in their political state, may be viewed with reference to the state as a whole, and in this case means the independence of the state, of other states; or it may have reference to the relation of the citizen to the government, in which case it is called “political” or “civil” liberty; or it may have reference to the status of a man as a political being, contradistinguished from him who is not considered master over his body, will, or labor, the slave. This is called “personal” liberty, which, as a matter of course, includes freedom from prison.

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(Lat. Uier, free; Kbertas, fre
edom, liberty). Freedom from restraint; the faculty of willing, and the power of doing what has been willed, without influence from without. As used in the constitution means not only freedom of the citizen from servitude and restraint, but embraces the right of every man to be’ free in the use of his powers and faculties, and to adopt and pursue such calling as he may choose, subject only to the restraints necessary to secure the common welfare. 231 111. 346; 193 lU. 345; 185 111. 139; 161 111. 296; 217 111. 248; 155 Mass. 117; 109 N. Y. 389; 16 Wall. 36; 113 Pa. St. 431; 33 W. Va. 179. A privilege held by grant or prescription, by which some men enjoy greater privileges, than ordinary subjects. A territory with some extraordinary privilege. A part of a town or city; as, the Northern Liberties of Philadelphia. See “Faubourg.” ‘ Civil liberty is the greatest amount of absolute liberty which can, in the nature of things, be equally possessed by every citizen in a state. The term is frequently used to denote the amount of absolute liberty which is actually enjoyed by the various citizens under the government and laws of the state as administered. 1 Bl. Comm. 125. The fullest political liberty furnishes the best possible guaranty for civil liberty. Lieber defines civil liberty as guaranteed protection against interference with the interests and rights held dear and important by large classes of civilized men, or by all the members of a state, together with an effectual share in the making and administration of the laws, as the best apparatus to secure that protection, including Blackstone’s divisions of civil and political under this head. Natural liberty is the right which nature gives to all mankind of disposing of their persons and property after the manner tibey judge most consonant to their happiness, on condition of their acting within the limits of the law of nature, and so as not to interfere with an equal exercise of the same rights by other men. Burlam. Nat. Law, c. 3, § 15; 1 Bl. Comm. 125. It is called by Lieber “social” liberty, and is defined as the protection of unrestrained action in as high a degree as the same claim of protection of each individual admits of. Personal liberty consists in the power of locomotion, of changing situation, or removing one’s person to whatever place one’s inclination may direct, without imprisonment or restraint, unless by due course of law. 1 Bl. Comm. 134. Political liberty is an effectual share in the making and administration of the laws. Lieber, Civ. Lib. Liberty, in its widest sense, means the faculty of willing, and the power of doing what has been willed, without influence from without. It means self-determination, unrestrainedness of action. Thus defined, one being only can be absolutely free, namely, God. So soon as we apply the word “liberty” to spheres of human action, the term receives a relative meaning, because the power of man is limited; he is subject to constant influences from without. If the idea of unrestrainedness of action is applied to the social state of man, it receives a limitation still greater, since the equal claims of unrestrained action of all necessarily involves the idea of protection against interference by others. We thus come to the definition, that liberty of social man consists in the protection of unrestrained action in as high a degree as the same claim of protection of each individual admits of, or in the most efficient protection of his rights, claims, interests, as man or citizen, or of his humanity, manifested as a social being. See “Right.” The word “liberty,” applied to men in their political state, may be viewed with reference to the state as a whole, and in this case means the independence of the state, of other states; or it may have reference to the relation of the citizen to the government, in which case it is called “political” or “civil” liberty; or it may have reference to the status of a man as a political being, contradistinguished from him who is not considered master over his body, will, or labor, the slave. This is called “personal” liberty, which, as a matter of course, includes freedom from prison.

This definition of Liberty is based on The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary. This entry needs to be proofread.

Liberty (freedom) Modern Problems

Introduction to Liberty

Since these revolutions, the principal problem with respect to national liberty has arisen in connection with the struggles of small states and colonial areas to be free from foreign political or economic control and to achieve full sovereignty. Closely related to this problem has been that arising from the efforts of national or racial minorities, such as the French residents of Québec, Canada, to win political and cultural autonomy within a country.

With respect to individual liberty in the modern era, the problem has been one of preserving and extending civil rights, such as freedom of speech and freedom of the press (see Civil Rights and Civil Liberties; Press, Freedom of the; Speech, Freedom of). As nations grew in size and social complexity, governments claimed greater powers to restrain individuals and groups, extending these powers over wider spheres. Those who criticize this development believe that it has gone so far as to threaten the very existence of individual liberty. Others believe that only if government is granted such powers can the complex problems of an increasingly automated, mobile, and populous world be solved. Most important, governments must be more concerned with individuals and groups that are actively demanding full exercise of the rights that constitute liberty in the 20th century.

A challenge to traditional concepts of liberty was offered by the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Soviet state that resulted held, in accordance with Marxist theory on which it was based, that all previous codes of liberty were ideologies of the ruling classes or of classes aspiring to power, and did not benefit the vast majority of the population. True liberty was possible only by the elimination of class exploitation. The success of the revolution raised hopes for a new era of human freedom. But the subsequent evolution of a terrorist dictatorship under Joseph Stalin led many people to assume that socialism, which is based on collective ownership of the means of production, leads inevitably to dictatorship.

Other menaces to liberty arose in the first half of the 20th century in the form of the totalitarian governments of Italy, Germany, and Spain. In these countries civil liberties were destroyed, the rights of the individual were completely subordinated to the requirements of the government, and those who did not agree with these policies were terrorized into submission. Freedom was restored in Italy and to West Germany (now part of the united Federal Republic of Germany) at the end of World War II, and to Spain in 1975, after the death of the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.” (1)

Concepts

In relation to Rights to Life, Liberty and Property, there are definitions in the American legal dictionary (see the entries) about the following topics:

• Naturalization
• Dual citizenship
• Right of expatriation
• Property rights
• Contract clause
• Police powers
• Eminent domain
• Regulatory taking
• Due process
• Procedural due process
• Substantive due process
• Search warrant
• Racial profiling
• Exclusionary rule
• Immunity
• Grand jury
• Indictment
• Plea bargain
• Petit jury
• Double jeopardy
• Community policing

liberty Background

Resources

See Also

• Rights to Life
• Liberty
• Property

liberty Background

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about
  Liberty in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Liberty