Human rights in the United States comprise a series of rights which are legally protected by the Constitution of the United States, including the amendments,[2][3] state constitutions, conferred by treaty, and enacted legislatively through Congress, state legislatures, and state referenda and citizen's initiatives. Federal courts in the United States have jurisdiction over international human rights laws as a federal question, arising under international law, which is part of the law of the United States.[4]
The human rights record of the United States of America is a complicated matter; first and foremost the Federal Government of the United States has, through a ratified constitution and amendments thereof, guaranteed unalienable rights to citizens of the country, and also to some degree, non-citizens. However, the historical evolution of these rights must be considered as well, as the periphery of the population of the United States who had access to these rights has expanded over time, and in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has not fully expanded complete rights to all human beings within its borders as compared to the international standard set by the United Nations General Assembly, because of social and political issues that stem from the history of the United States.
