In November 1999, the U.S. Congress passed the National Park System
New Area Study Act of 2000 (S. 1349) as contained in Public Law
106-113, Appendix C, "National Park Service Studies Act of 1999."
The act instructed the Secretary of the Interior "to direct special
resource studies to determine the national significance of the
sites, and/or areas, listed in Section 5 of this Act to determine
the national significance of each site, and/or area, as well as the
suitability and feasibility of their inclusion as units of the
National Park System." Among the areas to be studied were "Civil
Rights Sites" on a "multi-state" level. As part of its National
Historic Landmarks program, the National Park Service in
partnership with the Organization of American Historians (OAH)
prepared this civil rights framework study to assist the National
Park Service in identifying and prioritizing those areas of history
significant in illustrating the civil rights story. Implementation
of the framework's recommendations will help planners evaluate
proposals by Congress and others for additions to both the National
Park System and the National Trails System, and will also assist
the responsible authorities in states, federal agencies, and Indian
tribes to identify sites for National Historic Landmarks
designation. The period of significance for the study begins in
1776, when Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of
Independence that "all men are created equal." The period ends in
1976, to include the growing civil rights movements of several
minority groups in the dozen years following the passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964. Before 1776, certainly, the rights of
enslaved people, women, American Indians, and immigrants such as
the Scots-Irish were routinely violated within the boundaries of
the present United States, especially with respect to personal
liberty, voting, educational opportunities, property ownership, and
religious affiliation. During this period, however, such rights
were subject not only to the laws of the mother country but also to
the laws and judicial interpretations of the several colonies, some
of which took a more liberal approach than did others. There was no
national government to define or ensure civil rights, much less a
national consensus about what those rights were. It was not until
1776 that a clear statement regarding civil rights rang out, in the
words of the Declaration: "We hold these truths to be self-evident:
That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Although Thomas Jefferson's
words have sometimes seemed to ring hollow, they nonetheless
constitute one of America's shining ideals- an inspiration to the
world-that all citizens have equal rights and stand equal before
the law.
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