This indispensable, one-stop resource examines where Democrats and Republicans stand on current civil rights and civil liberties issues related to voting, free speech, abortion and reproductive rights, guns, and other hot button topics. Both the Democratic and Republican parties claim that they have the best interests of the nation and its people at heart, and they are equally adamant that they have the best policy solutions to address the nation's problems and challenges. Each volume in the Across the Aisle reference series examines the stated policy positions and actual voting/legislative records of the two parties (they are not always the same) on important areas of public policy, both historically and in the present day. This volume sorts through the rhetorical clutter and partisan distortions that typify so many disputes between Republicans and Democrats and provides an accurate, balanced, and even-handed overview of the parties' attitudes and records on vital civil rights and liberties questions.

Thoroughly updated and featuring 75 new entries, this monumental four-volume work illuminates past and present events associated with civil rights and civil liberties in the United States. This revised and expanded four-volume encyclopedia is unequaled for both the depth and breadth of its coverage. Some 650 entries address the full range of civil rights and liberties in America from the Colonial Era to the present. In addition to many updates of material from the first edition, the work offers 75 new entries about recent issues and events; among them, dozens of topics that are the subject of close scrutiny and heated debate in America today. There is coverage of controversial issues such as voter ID laws, the use of drones, transgender issues, immigration, human rights, and government surveillance. There is also expanded coverage of women's rights, gay rights/gay marriage, and Native American rights. Entries are enhanced by 42 primary documents that have shaped modern understanding of the extent and limitations of civil liberties in the United States, including landmark statutes, speeches, essays, court decisions, and founding documents of influential civil rights organizations. Designed as an up-to-date reference for students, scholars, and others interested in the expansive array of topics covered, the work will broaden readers' understanding of-and appreciation for-the people and events that secured civil rights guarantees and concepts in this country. At the same time, it will help readers better grasp the reasoning behind and ramifications of 21st-century developments like changing applications of Miranda Rights and government access to private Internet data. Maintaining an impartial stance throughout, the entries objectively explain the varied perspectives on these hot-button issues, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions. Offers 686 alphabetically arranged entries, ranging from thoroughly updated entries from the first edition to 75 new entries that cover dramatic changes in civil rights and liberties in the last decade Covers the latest events and controversies surrounding civil liberties issues in America Fully explores the scope and limitations of Constitutional rights, a perennially hot topic in American politics and society Includes primary documents with contextual headnotes to enhance understanding of the full importance of the featured document Provides sources for further reading with each entry to help users engage in additional research