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The 1st AmendmentThe 1st Amendment is the most well known to Americans of all the amendments in the Bill of Rights. It contains some of the most familiar phrases in political discussion, such as freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of the press. The 1st Amendment reads like this: "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 1st AmendmentSo what exactly does the 1st Amendment say and how does it apply to people today? Does it have relevance to you today? It sure does. In fact, it affects just about everything you do. This page will address the purposes of the seven clauses of the 1st Amendment.The 1st Amendment has seven sections. This page has a brief description of each section with links to more in depth discussions. Seven Sections of the 1st AmendmentOpening PhraseThe Opening Phrase of the 1st Amendment says "Congress shall make no law." This specifically prohibits Congress from making laws interfering with the rights mentioned in this amendment. It does not however, prohibit the states from making such laws, nor does it prohibit individuals from restricting these rights to those who may be under their influence. Click here to learn more about the Opening Phrase of the 1st Amendment.Establishment ClauseThe Establishment Clause is the part of the 1st Amendment that says Congress shall make no law "respecting an establishment of religion." This is a very crucial part of the American Constitution. It prohibits the government from establishing a state religion or denomination and from directing people what they must believe or how they can express those beliefs.Without the Establishment Clause, the government could choose a state religion and force everyone to participate in it. It could also punish anyone who didn't adhere to its chosen religion. This clause has been the focus of much debate in the last half century. Some Americans believe that the government must make certain allowances for religious expression because Americans are a very religious people. Others believe that whenever the government is concerned, absolutely all religious expression must be suppressed in order to comply with the Establishment Clause. Learn more about the Establishment Clause here. Free Exercise ClauseThe Free Exercise Clause is the part of the 1st Amendment that says Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or "the free exercise thereof." This phrase deals with the restriction on Congress to regulate anyone's religious practices.In general, Congress cannot tell people how they can or cannot express their religious beliefs. Such things as telling people when or how to pray, when they should go to church or to whom they should pray, are off limits to lawmakers. In general, this is the case, but sometimes, minority religious groups may want to practice something that is not generally accepted or that the state has a very strong interest in regulating. In these cases, at times, the Supreme Court has ruled that the Free Exercise Clause does not apply. It does not give free license to any behavior that someone says is their religious belief. For more information on the Free Exercise Clause, please click here. The Freedom of Speech ClauseThe Freedom of Speech Clause is the part of the 1st Amendment that says "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech."This is one of the protections in the Constitution that Americans hold most dear. They value it because it allows them to speak out against government policies they don't like. It also allows them to express the religious beliefs of their choosing. Negatively speaking, many Americans abuse this right by slandering people they disagree with, or using ugly and offensive language, racial epithets or hateful language about people who are different than they are. Generally, freedom of speech is considered to be not only the words people speak, but any type of expression that is used to convey an idea. Such things as picketing, wearing symbols or burning the flag are considered protected forms of speech because they are expressing the ideas of the people participating in them. You can learn more about the Freedom of Speech Clause by clicking here. Freedom of the Press ClauseThe Freedom of the Press Clause states that "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom... of the press." This was a very important principle to the Founding Fathers of America because of the importance the press played during the Revolutionary War.Without the press, the Founding Fathers would have found it very difficult to distribute their views to people in other parts of the country. The press turned out to be a very important instigation in getting Americans to consolidate their views against England and in spreading the concepts that would justify a break with England. English history contained no freedoms for the press whatsoever. All publications were subject to governmental review before publication. Criticisms of the government were strictly prosecuted as sedition. All Americans wanted the right to criticize their government freely as well as discuss other topics whenever they chose. To learn more about the Freedom of the Press Clause please click here. Freedom of Assembly ClauseThe Freedom of Assembly Clause is the part of the First Amendment that reads like this "Congress shall make no law... abridging... the right of the people peaceably to assemble..." This clause is also sometimes referred to as the Freedom of Association Clause. This clause protects the right to assemble in peace to all Americans.The Freedom of Assembly was very important to early Americans because without the right to assemble, they could not coordinate their opposition to the British government. The Freedom of Assembly was recognized to be of utmost importance if the Americans were to be successful in establishing a government of the people. You can read more about the Freedom of Assembly Clause here. Freedom of Petition ClauseThe Freedom of Petition Clause of the 1st Amendment reads like this: "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom... of the people... to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."The freedom to petition the government was very important to early Americans because of their experience with trying to get King George III and Parliament to respond to their grievances. The colonists were so angry about the Monarchy's refusal to acknowledge their grievances that they mentioned this fact in the Declaration of Independence. The freedom to petition the government for redress of grievances has come to include the right to do such things as picketing, protesting, conducting peaceful sitins or boycotts and addressing government officials through any media available. You can read more about the Freedom of Petition Clause here. Thanks for
reading about the First Amendment with
Revolutionary War and Beyond! Read about other clauses of the First Amendment:Opening PhraseEstablishment Clause Free Exercise Clause Freedom of Speech Clause Freedom of the Press Clause Freedom of Assembly Clause Freedom of Petition Clause Amendments:Preamble to the Bill of RightsLearn about the 1st Amendment here. Learn about the 2nd Amendment here. Learn about the 3rd Amendment here. Learn about the 4th Amendment here. Learn about the 5th Amendment here. Learn about the 6th Amendment here. Learn about the 7th Amendment here. Learn about the 8th Amendment here. Learn about the 9th Amendment here. Learn about the 10th Amendment here. Read the Bill of Rights here.
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