African palm civet (Nandinia binotata)
ROBERT C. HERMES FROM THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS
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civil liberty ► Claiborne I 411
forms the basis of the legal systems of The Netherlands, Belgium, Lux¬ embourg, Italy, Spain, most of France’s former possessions overseas, and many Latin American countries. German civil law prevails in Austria, Switzerland, the Scandinavian countries, and certain countries outside Europe, such as Japan, that have westernized their legal systems. The term is also used to distinguish the law that applies to private rights from the law that applies to criminal matters. See also criminal law; tort.
civil liberty Freedom from arbitrary interference in one’s pursuits by individuals or by government. The term is usually used in the plural. Civil liberties are protected explicitly in the constitutions of most democratic countries. (In authoritarian countries, civil liberties are often formally guaranteed in a constitution but ignored in practice.) In the U.S., civil liberties are guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution’s 13th Amendment prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude; the 14th bars the application of any law that would abridge the “privileges and immunities” of U.S. citizens or deprive any person of “life, liberty, or property...without due process of law” or deny any person equal protec¬ tion under the law; and the 15th guarantees the right of all U.S. citizens to vote. The related term civil right is often used to refer to one or more of these liberties or indirectly to the obligation of government to protect certain classes of people from violations of one or more of their civil lib¬ erties (e.g., the obligation to protect racial minorities from discrimination on the basis of race). In the U.S., civil rights are protected by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subsequent legislation. See also American Civil Liberties Union.
civil religion Set of quasi-religious attitudes, beliefs, rituals, and sym¬ bols that tie members of a political community together. As originally for¬ mulated by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the concept referred to the virtues that citizens need to serve the state. The concept was later elaborated by the American sociologist Robert N. Bellah (b. 1927), who found in the U.S. a strong sense of “American exceptionalism” and reverence for secular elements such as the national flag, the Constitution, the Founding Fathers, the annual holiday calendar, and the concepts of individualism and self- reliance. Another form of civil religion is presented by the example of Confucianism, where the nation is subordinated to a moral order.
Civil Rights Act of T 964 Comprehensive U.S. law intended to end discrimination based on race, colour, religion, or national origin. It is gen¬ erally considered the most important U.S. law on civil rights since Recon¬ struction (1865-77). It guarantees equal voting rights (Title I); prohibits segregation or discrimination in places of public accommodation (Title II); bans discrimination, including sex-based discrimination, by trade unions, schools, or employers that are involved in interstate commerce or that do business with the federal government (Title VII); calls for the desegregation of public schools (Title IV); and assures nondiscrimination in the distribution of funds under federally assisted programs (Title VI). A 1972 amendment, the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, extended Title VII coverage to employees of state and local governments and increased the authority of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which was created in 1964 to enforce Title VII provisions. The act was proposed by Pres. John F. Kennedy in 1963 and strengthened and passed into law under Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson. See also civil rights movement.
civil rights movement Movement for racial equality in the U.S. that, through nonviolent protest, broke the pattern of racial segregation in the South and achieved equal rights legislation for blacks. Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), African American and white supporters attempted to end entrenched seg¬ regationist practices. When Rosa Parks was arrested in 1955 in Montgom¬ ery, Ala., an African American boycott of the bus system was led by Martin Luther King, Jr., and Ralph Abernathy. In the early 1960s the Stu¬ dent Nonviolent Coordinating Committee led boycotts and sit-ins to desegregate many public facilities. Using the nonviolent methods of Mohandas K. Gandhi, the movement spread, forcing the desegregation of department stores, supermarkets, libraries, and movie theatres. The Deep South remained adamant in its opposition to most desegregation mea¬ sures, often violently; protesters were attacked and occasionally killed. Their efforts culminated in a march on Washington, D.C., in 1963 to sup¬ port civil rights legislation. Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson persuaded Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a victory that was followed by the Voting Rights Act in 1965. After 1965, militant groups such as the Black Panther Party split off from the civil rights movement, and riots in black ghettos and King’s assassi¬
nation caused many supporters to withdraw. In the succeeding decades, leaders sought power through elective office and substantive economic and educational gains through affirmative action.
civil service Body of government officials employed in civil occupa¬ tions that are neither political nor judicial. In well-ordered societies, they are usually recruited and promoted on the basis of a merit-and-seniority system, which may include examinations; elsewhere, corruption and patronage are more important factors. They often serve as neutral advis¬ ers to elected officials and political appointees. Though not responsible for making policy, they are charged with its execution. The civil service originated in the earliest known Middle Eastern societies; the modern European civil services date to 17th- and 18th-century Prussia and the electors of Brandenburg. In the U.S., senior officials change with each new administration. In Europe, regulations were established in the 19th century to minimize favouritism and to ensure a wide range of knowledge and skills among civil service officers. See also Chinese examination sys¬ tem; SPOILS SYSTEM.
Civil Service Act, Pendleton See Pendleton Civil Service Act
Civil War See American Civil War
Civil Wars, English See English Civil Wars
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) (1933^42) U.S. unemploy¬ ment program. One of the earliest New Deal programs, it was established to relieve unemployment during the Great Depression by providing national conservation work primarily for young unmarried men. Recruits lived in semimilitary work camps and received $30 a month as well as food and medical care. Projects included planting trees, building flood barriers, fighting forest fires, and maintaining forest roads and trails. It employed a total of 3 million men during its existence.
Cixi \'ts9-'she\ or Tz'u-hsi known as the Empress Dowager (b.
Nov. 29, 1835, Beijing, China—d. Nov. 15, 1908, Beijing) Imperial con¬ sort who controlled the Chinese Qing dynasty for almost half a century. A low-ranking concubine of the Xianfeng emperor (r. 1850-61), Cixi bore his only son, the future Tongzhi emperor, in 1856. After the emperor’s death, Cixi joined a triumviral regency that governed in the name of her son, who was only 6 at his accession. During that period the Taiping and Nian rebellions were put down and the government was briefly revital¬ ized. When Cixi’s son died in 1875, Cixi violated the laws of succession and had her adoptive nephew enthroned. The regency thus continued, with Cixi becoming sole regent in 1884. In 1889 she nominally relinquished control but returned in 1898 to undo a set of radical reforms and had her nephew imprisoned in his palace. She supported the unsuccessful Boxer Rebellion, which had disastrous consequences for China. In 1902 she began to implement the reforms she had earlier reversed. Before she died, she ordered her nephew poisoned. See also Zeng Guofan; Zhang Zhidong.