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The First Amendment Analysis

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At the core of the First Amendment, a promise is made by The Constitution of the United States, stating “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” (Cornell University Law School, 2015). It is a promise made to all citizens that they will be given the right to practice their beliefs and join together in protest or peacefully assemble. This ability for everyone on the nation - even the minorities - to make themselves heard is an essential part of a functioning democracy (American Civil Liberties Union, 2015). Time and …show more content…

In 1913, between five thousand to eight thousand people assembled on Pennsylvania Avenue and marched past the White House as part of the movement for women’s suffrage, successfully leading to wider support. And in 1963, more than 250,000 people took place in the March on Washington, creating the largest human rights demonstration in U.S. history. The event brought so many together that it pressured the federal government to act against discrimination and create civil rights legislation (Shay, 2012). It’s evident that when officials – and the majority – refuse to listen to what the people have to say, assembling the people that an issue affects is one of the most valuable tools that is available. It brings solidarity to the problem and shows just how important it truly is to so many Americans, as well as bringing more attention of the media and attracting further …show more content…

But that is rarely the truth behind protests (Lerman & Weaver, 2014). When the main goal behind covering a story is to capture the attention of the audience, reporters often focus on the most extreme cases that occur amongst the minority of protests. Occasionally things do go badly during protests, at times groups of specific individuals can get violent. However, projecting the image of violence onto all protesters and their supporters because of the actions of a few unstable individuals fundamentally misrepresents the true majority, and clouds the true nature and importance of public protests (Lerman & Weaver, 2014). The majority of protesters act well within their legal limits, remain peaceful, and do not provoke police. Their only goal is to speak up and have their message be heard. No one should be punished for simply expressing their views (Portland Community College,

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When you think about the first Amendment of the United States Constitution it ensures the peoples privilege opportunity of religion, and flexibility of expression from the government. Because this opportunity of expression comprises the rights to be able to speak freely, get together, and to appeal to the legislature for a change of grievances, and the inferred privileges of affiliation and conviction. The First Amendment has two procurements concerning religion: the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. The Establishment statement forbids the administration from "building up" a religion. The exact meaning of "foundation" is hazy.

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These historic events would not have taken place, had it not been for the small groups of citizens that brought about change. Margaret Mead was correct when she said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The Civil Rights Movement has proved this to be true.

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“Liberty which is essential to its existence, the other, by giving to every citizen the same opinions, the same passions, and the same interests.” One of the many issues is the ability that religion

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Moreover, throughout the large crowds that were planning to join the march, all of them were determined to solve and bring an end to the ongoing inequality. Because of this determination, crowds grew larger to the point where all the news surrounding this subject would state, “100,000 people were planning to march and only the passage of an executive order to ban all racial discrimination in the war industries and armed forces could prevent the march and satisfy the African American community.” (Knauer) Through any roadblocks that the people may have encountered while trying to make the March on Washington happen, they made it very clear that they would do whatever it took and persist for this event to occur. The March on Washington achieved many things, however, it also played a crucial role in solving countless economic rights

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The controversies over the ratification of the Constitution was taxation, too much power to the President, trading, and the lack of Bill of Rights. There were people who agreed to ratify the Constitution the way it is, which were called federalists. Federalists reasoned that Americans should ratify the Constitution because Americans are allowed to ask for additional amendments after they ratify the Constitution. The ability to be able to request additional amendments after supported the Federalist’s point of view because the Anti-federalists may ask for further amendments after which could happen after they ratify the Constitution.

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Another limitation that does not protect citizens under the First Amendment is using fighting words that disturb the peace. In April 1940, Walter Chaplinsky was in downtown in Rochester, New Hampshire handing out literature and speaking publicly about religion. As Chaplinsky continued to talk, the crowd continued to grow, blocking the streets and disturbing the area. The public around him became upset with Chaplinsky as he began to denounce religion as “racket”.

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Does the First Amendment go too far in Protecting the Basic Freedoms of US Citizens? Throughout the history of the US, there have been many situations where it was important that citizens of the US have the freedoms of the first amendment. If citizens didn’t protest for change throughout history, there would be many more issues with the US than the issues and controversies we have today. When the US first became a country, the goal of the framers was to have a country that was mainly run by the people and not by a strong central government such as what they had seen with the king in Britain.

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First Amendment The First Amendment is considered by many to be the most important amendment in the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights includes the first ten amendments of the Constitution of the United States of America. The First Amendment claims “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.” This is broken down into six elements: no official religion, free exercise of religion, free speech, free press, freedom of assembly, and redress of grievances.

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I believe that the author’s thesis is about the issue of censorship and how it impacts our First Amendment. The author presents us a two different perspective of the issue. Such as, our practice of our First Amendment can lead us to a place where someone can create materials that we may find offensive. But are protected by the First Amendment at the same time could have people who want to limit offensive material and therefore, through censorship are limiting the First Amendment rights of others. To demonstrate her point, Susan Jacoby, interviewed a small sample of women to gather their perspective about an image from a Playboy magazine.

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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 to the U.S. Constitution According to the statement above and research, the First Amendment was written to protect freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly and petition. Religious minorities can be persecuted, protesters and media can be silenced, the press cannot criticize government, and citizens cannot mobilize for social change without the First Amendment. After explaining importance of First Amendment, I will explain how we can apply it to student newspapers.

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The First amendment to the US Constitution is known as the bill of rights. The bill of rights is a broad generalization of the freedoms guaranteed to US citizens, these rights include; freedom of speech, freedom or religion, right to bear arms and many more. The Texas Constitution also list outs these rights, except go into much more detail (Maxwell, Crain, & Jones, 2014). For example, in the US constitution, it states that we have the freedom to practice any religion we choose.

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