The First Amendment Of The Constitution

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The Founding Fathers of the United States put into place a series of laws that protects the rights of the individual from the power of an ever expanding government. These laws, collectively known as the Constitution, protected future Americans from the invasive and tyrannical governments of the eighteenth century. More than two-hundred years later, the Constitution is more vital than ever in protecting the rights of every American from the government that we, the people, elect. The First Amendment of the Constitution protects the peoples rights of expression. Expression that in the British controlled colonies could have led to execution. In United States History laws have been passed that limit these rights, but through the power of the Supreme Court these principles have remained intact. One could say Thomas Jefferson was obsessed with the principles of freedom of speech and freedom of religion. He had already implemented these principles in Virginia 's constitution, and he was the founding father who persuaded to propose a Bill of Rights. The conception of The First Amendment would become Jefferson 's top priority. The amendment in it 's entirety reads, " Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or Pure speech is strongly protected from government regulation. Speech-plus includes actions and words. Common examples include demonstrations and protests. Speech-plus does not receive the same protection as pure speech because actions can cause physical harm. Speech-plus is legal as long as participants do not obstruct traffic, endanger the public, or illegally trespass. Symbolic speech usually does not involve verbal speech. It involves actions that have been determined forms of expression. This includes actions such as flag burning. This form of speech is highly controversial and has been argued in notable cases such as Texas v.

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