Civil Rights, Freedom, and the Role of Government
Debates over civil rights in the United States often involved competing claims about the
definition of freedom, and about the proper role of government. Write an essay analyzing and
discussing the ways that these competing claims about freedom and the role of government
shaped the debates over civil rights from World War Two through to the end of the 1960s.
In your essay, consider the different attitudes to the idea of freedom expressed by participants in
the debate over civil rights. Do you see examples of negative liberty and positive liberty in
the documents? What connections do the different documents draw between the civil rights
movement, the concept of freedom, and the proper role of government?
Compare and contrast the documents, looking for similarities and differences. Did supporters of
the civil rights movement all share the same attitudes to freedom and the role of government?
What about opponents of the civil rights movement?
In writing your essay, make use of ALL of the following sources.
