Freedom Of Speech: The First Amendment

777 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How the bill of rights affects us

“Congress shall make no law respecting establishment or Religion, or prohibiting the Free Exercise thereof, or abridging the Freedom of Speech, or of the Press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Even though many Americans may argue that the First amendment allows us too much freedom, it’s the most important amendment as it protects our right to Freedom of Speech, Press, and Religion. It helps offer support for the other 9 amendments and without it, we’d be forced to conform in other beliefs that we don’t concur with. For example, in “Rereading America” on page 561, a photo is displayed of a protester holding a sign with Obama disguised as the “Joker” followed by the quote, “The Doctor will see you know”. This photo displays Americans using their Freedom of Speech to protest Obamacare. Over many years, Freedom of Press has been tested in our legal system. In 1931, Freedom of Speech and concept of prior restraint was determined by the court case Near v. Minnesota. Newspaper editor James Near criticized local officials by associating them with gangsters. Under the state law, anyone who published defamatory news articles …show more content…

But you can’t give credit to the other amendments without the right as it sets for the base of the Bill of Rights. You can google, “What is the Bill of Rights for?” and it will state that it was created to help protect individual liberties and prohibit certain powers on government powers. And where are our individual liberties stated? The First Amendment. Our First Amendment should be the most important as without we couldn’t follow the other 9 amendments. It allows our own opinions to be said without concern of retribution against them from the Government. Without our basic and essential rights stated, the other 9 amendments would have almost no meaning to

Show More
Related

  • Breaking The Spell King's Approach To Civil Disobedience

    630 Words  | 2 Pages

    In America the Amendment 1 of the U.S. Constitution gives the American people the right to peaceably assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Most notably Amendment 1 is known for and most often cited as giving the Freedom of Speech. Even before this amendment was ratified people in the U.S. were protesting, as in the Boston Tea Party. Protesting has been a way to effect change in America. A question to ask is this: is there a right way or wrong way to protest.

    Read More

  • Modern Interpretation of The First Amendment

    1663 Words  | 4 Pages

    The first Amendment of the United States Constitution says; “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”[1] Our fore fathers felt that this statement was plain enough for all to understand, however quite often the United States government deems it necessary to make laws to better define those rights that are stated in the Constitution. Today the framers would be both encouraged and discouraged by our modern interpretation the First Amendment the United States Constitution.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Amendments To The Constitution And The Bill Of Rights

    1026 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Bill of Rights the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, ratified in 1791 and guaranteeing such rights as the freedoms of speech, assembly, and worship. These were the basic principles of the Bill of rights. These were the principles that American people was fighting for in the Revolutionary war. In the summer of 1787 thirteen delegates got together and came up with the Constitution. As things progressed they found out that the Constitution was deeply flawed and they needed to find a way to correct the problems that they had.

    Read More

  • The Second Amendment: Why It Is Important to Our Country

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    On December 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights was ratified effective by Congress. These first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America promised the states certain rights and freedoms which could not be infringed by the government. After all, the founding fathers knew from experience that men in their weakness were often tempted by power. They had become all too familiar with this when under the control of King George in England. Therefore, in order to protect the future people of their beautiful country, they promised certain liberties which could not be taken away. Every single one of these freedoms is important for the United States of America. However, the second amendment is especially important to our nation because it allows the people to protect their freedom and defend themselves and the common good against an overreaching government.

    Read More

  • Constitutional Law and its Contemporary Challenges: Speech, Search and Warrants

    2532 Words  | 6 Pages

    Constitutional Law was created as the chosen way to preserve the United States of America Constitution, ratified by Congress in 1783, in respect to its meanings, use, and enforcement, for free government, and equal justice under the law for all Americans. However, as times and generations have passed, the U.S. Constitution remains the supreme law of the land. Among the most contemporary and controversial elements are the challenges of evolving interpretations of the freedom of speech, and search warrants, which have both had a major impact on society. In particular, we explore speech not protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, as well as some circumstances when a search warrant is not required for a valid search. A conclusion is drawn and outlined based on research conducted to offer a concise in-depth observation of the above topics.

    Read More

  • Freedom of Speech

    1581 Words  | 4 Pages

    Imagine a time when one could be fined, imprisoned and even killed for simply speaking one’s mind. Speech is the basic vehicle for communication of beliefs, thoughts and ideas. Without the right to speak one’s mind freely one would be forced to agree with everything society stated. With freedom of speech one’s own ideas can be expressed freely and the follower’s belief will be stronger. The words sound so simple, but without them the world would be a very different place.

    Read More

  • The Importance of The Bill of Rights in Society Today

    621 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the Second Constitutional Convention wrote the Constitution in 1787, there was a controversy between the federalists and the anti-federalists surrounding whether or not to have a Bill of Rights. The anti-federalists claimed that a bill of rights was needed that listed the guaranteed rights that the government could never take away from a person i.e. “inalienable rights.” A Bill of Rights was eventually deemed necessary, and has worked for over 210 years. There are many reasons why the ten amendments are still valid to this day, and the best examples are the First Amendment, concerning the freedom of religion, the Fifth Amendment, and the Sixth Amendment.

    Read More

  • Importance Of The 4th Amendment

    1407 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Bill of Rights are the first ten Amendments to the Constitution. The Bill of Rights works to provide constitutional protection for the individual and to limit government power. The First Amendment and the Sixth Amendment protects the individual by allowing religious and political freedom, and by promising a public and speedy trial. The Fourth Amendment protects the individual’s privacy and limits the reach of the government into people’s homes and personal belongings. The three essential Amendments from the Bill of Rights are: the First Amendment- Religious and Political freedom: the Fourth Amendment- Search and Seizure: and the Sixth Amendment-Criminal Court Procedures.

    Read More

  • Informative Essay: The First Amendment Rights

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    The First Amendment was written because at America's inceptions, many citizens demanded a guarantee of their basic freedoms. The First Amendment protects five basic rights. The First Amendment protects the freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion,

    Read More

  • The Bill of Rights

    1280 Words  | 3 Pages

    Furthermore, these seven amendments that I have covered are not all fundamental rights that the Federal government has given to us. The Supreme Court uses selective incorporation to determine which one they believe the framers intended us to have, but I believe that they should all be fundamental rights. That’s the whole reason I believe the Bill of Rights was drafted in the first place. The states and the individual people wanted to be protected with all these rights. In the end, the Bill of Rights and Constitution is an ongoing issues in our courts today and will be because everyone has their own interpretation of the language that was used.

    Read More

  • The First Amendment

    886 Words  | 2 Pages

    The First Amendment is the first section of the Bill of Rights and is often considered the most important part of the U.S Constitution because it guarantees the citizens of United States the essential personal freedoms of religion, speech, press, peaceful assembly and the freedom to petition the Government. Thanks to the rights granted by the First Amendment, Americans are able to live in a country where they can freely express themselves, speak their mind, pray without interference, protest in peace and where their opinions are taken into consideration, which is something not many other nationalities have the fortune of saying. The Founding Fathers were the framers of the Constitution of the U.S., and the responsible for the elaboration of the First Amendment. The majority of the Founding Fathers were enlightenment thinkers who were in love with liberty, and thought that basic political rights were inevitable for man’s nature. After having experienced the tyranny from their mother countries, the Founding Fathers carefully constructed the Constitution of the United States in a way where tyranny was avoided and a government for the people, by the people and of the people was developed, which is clearly reflected in the Constitution. At the time of inception of the United States, the Founding Fathers created the First Amendment in order to ensure that the government would not interfere with Americans’ basic civil rights. The rights outlined on the First Amendment were considered so important by these leaders that many states refused to ratify the Constitution of the United Sates until there was a conjecture of amendments that would protect individual rights in the future.

    Read More

  • Freedom Of Speech

    1364 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the United States, free speech is protected by the First Amendment in which it states, “Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion … or abridging the freedom of speech.” Now, nearly 250 years into the future, the exact thing that the Founding Fathers were afraid of is starting to happen. Today, our freedom of speech is being threatened through different forces, such as the tyranny of the majority, the protection of the minority, and the stability of the society. Now, colleges and universities in the United States today are also trying to institute a code upon its students that would bar them from exercising their right to speak freely in the name of protecting minorities from getting bullied. This brings us into

    Read More

  • First Amendment and Free Speech

    1528 Words  | 4 Pages

    This paper will examine the first amendment’s right to free speech based on three different Supreme Court cases and how there are varying examples of free speech. In the case of Snyder v. Phelps, Snyder sued Phelps, the Westboro Baptist Church, for intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy by intrusion upon seclusion, and conspiracy because the church set-up protest outside of his military son’s funeral service (Chen et al., 2010). Another side of free speech involves a case which allow schools to restrict speech that is promoting illegal drug use. To examine this view this paper will look at the case of Morse v. Frederick. Lastly, this paper will look into the case of Texas v. Johnson. At the end of a protesting march Johnson burned an American flag. The research for this paper will allow the reader to examine some of the different ways that free speech can be expressed, to what extent it may or may not be expressed and possibly where free speech may or may not be prohibited.

    Read More

  • The First Amendment: The Freedom Of Speech?

    629 Words  | 2 Pages

    What if people were punished, put in jail, or even killed, just for expressing their opinions?

    Read More

  • Censorship In Schools Essay

    1440 Words  | 3 Pages

    The First Amendment of the Constitution is the most important and debatable of them all. The First Amendment states; “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, of prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

    Read More

More about Freedom Of Speech: The First Amendment

Open Document