The first amendment is as powerful as a weapon, without it citizens would not have the power to petition or peacefully protest our opinion or thoughts. Meaning that us as a society would be powerless and have no say in our government, or how it’s run. Any person who habitats in this country has the liberty to say how they feel thus having the power to be heard. The constitution was written during the 1700’s, from authors who have personally felt and lived through the inability to be vocal. Many people believed during that time that every citizen is entitled to basic human rights, leading to the framers creating a document which is composed of the first ten amendments now known as “The Bill of Rights”. (“History of the First Amendment.” JEM …show more content…
“The First Amendment in Five Minutes - Video.” Big Think, 12 Aug. 2010, bigthink.com/videos/the-first-amendment-in-five-minutes) the true definition of the first amendment is as such, “The first amendment contains many rights. Which include freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech.” Since the integration of this Amendment there have been many changes. New circumstances involving freedom of speech are constantly being reevaluated by the courts. A circumstance involving Floyd Abrams, one of the many advocates who appeared to the supreme court defending this constitutional …show more content…
Relating to a recent case called Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow (2004). (“Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow.” July 2008, www.oyez.org/cases/2003/02-1624”) This case is still a controversial topic today. Michael Newdow petitioned the Pledge of Allegiance, claiming that the fragment stating “under God” is a violation to his first amendment right. His petition reached thousands of followers and eventually was received at the Supreme Court. The court disagreed with his case and labeled it constitutional. The reasoning behind the final ruling decision was that Mr.Newdow’s daughter has no obligation to participate in the pledge if she does not wish to. An even more recent case was McCullen v. Coakley (2014) which is based on another controversial topic that divides the nation, abortion. (“McCullen v Coakley.” {{meta.SiteName}}, www.oyez.org/cases/2013/12-1168.) This case took place in Massachusetts at a Planned Parenthood center. The state created a law that prevents pro-lifers from protesting about 20 feet from the facility, as there was obviously commotion from the protestors. The Supreme Court named the state law constitutional and defended the decision. Stating how the problem was the location of the protest and not the actual speech
The four basic components of the Fifth Amendment include: double jeopardy, due process, the right to be heard by a jury and safeguards against self-incrimination. Double jeopardy is when the individual can only be tried for a crime once. In the event that they are acquitted and new information surfaces, they cannot be retried again for the same crime. Instead, new charges would have to be filed showing the individual violated another area of the law. (Sundahl, 2011)
The first and inargueably the most significant of the amendments to our Constitution is the First Amendment. The amendment that established our freedoms as citizens of our new confederation. The First Amendment insured, among other things, freedom of speech and of the press. Since the establishment of these rights, they have often been in question. People have debated over, "What is too much freedom?", and "When is this
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
The First Amendment states that “everybody has freedom of speech, press, and religion.” The First Amendment allows us, as U.S. citizens to speak freely about our feelings throughout the government. The First Amendment could possibly be the most important in the whole Bill of Rights. This amendment affects us in our daily life, whether we're teenagers or adults
The first amendment states your basic liberties. It is one of the most important bills in the bill of rights. These basic liberties are freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom to petition the government. This amendment also has a lot of historical significance and there are a lot of court cases today that involve this amendment. There are also quite a few current issues involving the first amendment.
The Constitution is one of the most important document of the United States of America along with the Declaration of Independence. In the Constitution, the founding fathers and the government also included a set of "rights" entitled, The Bill of Rights. In The Bill of Rights, citizens of the U.S. are given rights, amendments, that make the U.S a "free" country today. This system has provided many citizens with rights such as, allowing them to express their religion and free speech and protect their privacy with no officials is allowed to search someone 's belongings unless there is a warrant that states reason. There are many more amendments besides the two listed and each of them are of equal importance to balance the power between the
There are ten Amendments in the Constitution, they are called the Bill of Rights. Each one of the Amendments protects a different right that people liveing the United States have. The Constitution was created in 1791. It took many drafts, but after 116 days on September 17, 1787 the members of Congress finally signed the Constitution (Constitutional FAQ Answer #87, usconstitution.net). James Madison wrote the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights (U.S Founding Fathers, constitution facts.com). Each Amendment, of the Bill of Rights, is important for a different reason. 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” (1st Amendment, cornell.edu). The first Amendment is very important because it protects the U.S. citizen's freedom of religion, freedom of press, and freedom of speech.
When our Nation had regarded themselves as thirteen newly colonies and to separate themselves from Great Britain. Congress had imparted to the state legislature twelve amendments to the Constitution. These Amendments later became the Bill of Rights, the first basic rights that the country was founded to provide. The whole point that the Bill of Rights were made was so that new Federal Government were prevented from impairing human rights and freedom. However, these rights are being undermined through extreme liberalism that happens in the education system predominantly the First Amendment.
The first amendment formed our country and brought us together to be the free country we are. The first amendment talks about how we get the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, Freedom of press. Amendment 1 is the most important Amendment because it doesn’t allow Congress to make laws about respending religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, and abridging the freedom of speech or press.
The Bill of Rights contains 10 amendments that were designed to protect the people and prevent an over powerful government. There are 3 amendments that are absolutely needed in order for the government to protect the people. That being said the 3 amendments that the people absolutely need are the 1st, 10th, and 2nd amendments. We need the 1st amendment because without freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, and petition, there is no personal liberty, and without it, we wouldn’t be allowed to disagree with the government. The 10th amendment prohibits the government from becoming too large and taking over the states, and that’s important because without that, the government could easily take over the United States, and not be punished.
The first amendment is the by far one of the most important amendments in the bill of rights, it grants citizens freedom of speech, press, assembly, and freedom of religion. Without these essential freedoms we would not be able to speak freely, worship freely, and we would not be able to critique our government or those in positions of power, etc. The first amendment states:
Due to the British oppression, every American, including our founding founders, wanted greater protection of their rights. To accomplish this, James Madison drafted the Bill of Rights and by the end of 1791, every state had ratified the first ten amendments. The First Amendment is primary, not just because it is at the beginning, but because it articulates the First Freedom and the nature of that freedom. It 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.” By connecting the freedom of religion with the freedoms of speech and press, the First Amendment showed the people of America what it is to be a human (Bill of Rights).
The First Amendment gives us the essential freedoms we as United States citizens deserve. This amendment gives us Freedom of peaceful assembly, speech, press, religion and the freedom to petition the Government. It is thought to be the most important freedom of the United States. Only because of this right we are able to speak our mind freely, pray without judgment, express ourselves, and protest peacefully. Our Founding Fathers had been Framers of the Constitution and they are responsible for all the rights documented and established in the United States.
It was there to clearly show the rights of the people, so that they could never be taken away. The 1st amendment included freedoms such as freedom of assembly and free speech or the 2nd amendment which is the right for everyone to bear arms. It is often shouted out by gun associations when the government tries to put restrictions on the ownership of guns. The founding fathers put this in place so that it would outline in more the detail the precise freedoms of the people, which also helped to convince the smaller states.
The First Amendment, (the entire Bill of Rights) was not included in the Constitution when it was written 1787. Those supporting the Constitution argued that many state constitutions already protected individual rights and that the failure to list the rights did not mean that they did not exist as natural rights, beyond government authority. Viewing the consequences that could happen and conflict it may stir many officials decided that it was fair to truly go over the matter and sort out all of main focuses of the First