This resource offers a curated collection of influential works and authors, all accessible at no cost. It serves as a companion to a course designed to introduce students to the study of civil liberties as protected by the U.S. Constitution. The course emphasizes rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights and incorporated against the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Key topics include freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the freedoms of thought, belief, and association. The course will also explore the right to privacy, the rights of individuals accused of crimes, and the protections afforded by the First Amendment’s Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses. Additionally, we will examine the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as a lens through which to understand civil rights in America.

The focus will be on the broader social, political, and historical contexts that have influenced the development and interpretation of civil liberties over time.