The First Amendment has five parts to it; freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. This amendment was passed by Congress on September 25, 1789 and it was ratified by the states on December 15, 1791. The 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 to peacefully assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Overall, the First Amendment protects one’s right to express themselves in America. What this means is that Congress cannot establish a nationwide religion, and that the people have the right to speak and write freely. This is important …show more content…
To start, freedom of religion was important to the framers and the citizens because they had dealt with religious persecution before America separated from Britain. They wanted the ability to practice their religion of choice freely, without the fear of being punished. Also, many wished for religion to be separate from the government, an idea presented by Thomas Jefferson. This would mean that the government would never be able to define one religion for the country, which had previously happened when Britain ruled the colonies. To add, freedom of speech was very important to George Washington and he greatly influenced it being included. In 1783 he said, “If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be lead, like sheep to the slaughter.” This reveals that freedom of speech is vital to the citizen’s rights. In 1534, the monarchs in England restricted what could be printed. Although we still have some restrictions of what content is allowed on the media, opinions, thoughts, and ideas can all be presented clearly through press. Lastly, freedom to assemble and to petition the government was added so that the government could not take away the citizen’s rights to assemble and petition, which was done in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party. The Intolerable Acts took away the citizen’s rights to assemble more than once a year without the government’s permission. Therefore, the framers thought it appropriate to make …show more content…
If one was not able to talk freely, it would be difficult for individuals with different opinions and thoughts to say or do things to show the way they feel. If freedom of speech was never accepted, other parts of the Constitution may not have been written, because people wouldn’t have been able to talk. There is a current controversy surrounding freedom of religion and Muslims in America. Some stereotypes say that the Muslim religion goes hand in hand with terrorism. Some people also believe that Muslims shouldn’t be allowed in America, but freedom of religion protects that opinion, because it’s one’s right to believe in whatever they would like. This amendment allows us to express ourselves and our opinions, which makes America full of
The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.” Freedom of Speech helps those who need help and can ask the public without worry of getting in trouble. This amendment was included in the Constitution because now people e the right to advertise their work to others and have protests to things that they believe is right for the country. The amendments were important to the framers of the Constitution. The Freedom of Speech was important to the framers because of, “its diffusion of liberal sentiments on the administration of Governments.”
According To the article The Bill of Rights, states "Congress cannot pass laws That Establish a specific religion for Americans, forbid Americans from practicing Their own religions, or interfere With Americans' freedom of speech, press, the right to gather peacefully, or the right to express disagreement With the government ". Delegates from 13 states gathered in Philadelphia to sign an agreement to conduct The Bill of Rights or also known as the 10 Amendments, as these states wanted to make some additions to the constitution to make sure that the government would not to abuse their power against citizens. The convention of many states wanted all people in the United States were free to be what they wanted to be, as long as they do not break the law. Therefore the first amendment was established. In this way people could have an opinion and have the right to express themselves, even if it is talking about the government.
This essential right is protected by law, and listed immediately in the text. This truly highlights just how important it is to be able to speak, write, and share ideas freely. Information should not be denied based off of one group’s views. Our founding fathers stood up for this right, one that does not include censorship of any kind. To have a law that goes against this principle invalidates the law itself.
This amendment safeguards American’s rights to freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. By protecting our freedom of religion, the government cannot force a religion on the people and allows us to choose and practice any religion that we want to, how we want to. Since I grew up in a practicing Christian household, I can truly appreciate and place great worth in this amendment for defending my right to believe in what I want to believe in. Through protecting our freedom of speech, it allows us to speak out and voice our opinions on the government and express our feelings about political figures, laws, regulations, etc. By also protecting our right to assemble and petition, Americans can request for changes and adjustments
In the late 1700’s, James Madison wrote the first Ten Amendments that are listed in the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights were written to ensure American citizens that they have freedoms and rights that the government can 't infringe. Out of the Ten Amendments, I believe that the First and Eighth Amendment are the most significant. The First Amendment grants us freedom of speech, religion, press, petition, and for people to assemble peaceably.
The Importance of the 1st Amendment In 1787 our founding fathers assembled the constitution of the United States of America. Of this which contains the most important document to the American citizen, the Bill of rights. The first Amendment states: “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” These freedoms granted by the Bill of Rights are often known as freedom of expression. These rights are most important to a truly free society. The first amendment provides us with new ideas and dismisses the fear of punishment
The first amendment may seem like something that is generally understood among all of those who use it, but this may not be the case. While most citizens of the United States of America would certainly say that they understand and can comprehend what the first amendment means, an underlying lack of knowledge, upon what is presumed to be the most important of all the amendments, can still be discovered. “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 to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” The specific piece of the first amendment that is particularly important
Based on the first amendment which states that “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.”. We the citizens of the United States have the freedom to choose and practice our religion, freedom of speech, freedom of press and freedom of petition. Although this amendment seems to be beneficial for the general public it actually does more harm than good. I do not believe that there is in fact a such thing as freedom. Freedom means the power to act, speak or think as one warns without hindrance or restraint.
The first amendment is very important for United State citizens. Freedom of speech is one of the most important rights. Freedom of speech grants us rights to say what we want without getting in trouble with the law. This law is important because it allows us to express our opinions. Freedom of religion is another right that is very important.
Chapter 4 of the book We the People talks about Civil Liberties, this chapter mainly talks about the Rights that were placed in the Constitution (not in the Bill of Rights), it also talks about the Bill of Rights and it describes the rights protected by the Bill of Rights. It also talks about specific rights that work close together with the Bill of Rights and Amendments rights. One of the first Amendments that is described in great detail is Freedom of Speech and Religion. The first Amendment protects US citizens right to talk about almost any topic in the United States. I said almost any topic because there are some forms of speech that aren’t protected by the First Amendment (these forms of speech can be limited or prohibited), some of the forms of speech that aren’t protected by the First Amendment are Fighting Words and Hate Speech, Student Speech, Libel and Slander speech.
The First Amendment was written because American citizens demanded a guarantee of their freedom. This led to James Madison writing the First Amendment. The First Amendment was established when the Founding Fathers wanted to guarantee that the Americans ' basic civil liberties would not be threatened by the government. The First Amendment was confirmed, along with nine other amendments,to the constitution of the United States. The First Amendment states “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.”
The First Amendment saves people's everyday speech rights. In fact, according to Ala.org in 1989,”This case presented the question of whether the First Amendment prevents a school board from removing a previously approved textbook from an elective high school class because of objections to the material's vulgarity and sexual explicitness.” A schools text book was to sexual and had vulgar refrences and the svhool thought the highschoolers did not need to read it. The school didn't the the book needed to be at the school and they are allowed to take away the textbook.
The citizens of the US have expressed their thoughts and concerns through free speech. This has allowed much-needed change to happen because people were able to express and defend the changes that needed to be made through the freedoms in the first amendment such as the freedoms of speech, assembly and petition. One instance of free speech being used to make changes in society was when women were finally granted the right to vote after many protests and petitions and gatherings related to passing the 19th amendment. The 19th amendment would likely have been passed much later or not at all if there hadn’t been so many people protesting and petitioning the government to pass it. “Signed into law on August 26, 1920, the passage of the 19th Amendment was the result of decades of work by tens of thousands across the country who worked for change.
The 1st amendment is fundamental in a democracy, it gives each individual their opinion about a certain subject and gives the people the "power" to speak out when they find something wrong. For example, they can speak what they find wrong with our Representatives, without the retaliation or censorship of the government. You might think that you can go down the street and say whatever you like without anybody telling you can't. Hold your horse right there be aware that you can say what you want but there is certain things that the 1st amendment doesn't cover. The Supreme Court has some cases where it decided where the 1st amendment was appropriate and where it wasn't.
As human beings, we are all born with an entitlement of freedom of speech or synonymously known as freedom of expression as it is a basic human right. It is stated in the Federal Constitution and it is important for us human beings to protect our rights to freedom of speech and expression as it is the backbone for a democratic society. Having the right to express oneself freely without any restrictions is an essential part of what it means to be a free human being. Article 10 in the Federal Constitution states that; (a) every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression; (b) all citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms; (c) all citizens have the right to form associations.