Isabella Carter
The first amendments to the U.S. Constitution, also known as the Bill of Rights, were proposed by James Madison in 1789. Madison proposed a list of amendments that would follow Article VII of the Constitution, in response to criticisms that the document lacked a bill of rights. On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments, 10 of which were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. These first 10 amendments make up the Bill of Rights, which was created to limit government power and protect individual liberties.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date the first amendments were proposed | 25 September 1789 |
| Number of amendments proposed | 12 |
| Date the amendments were ratified | 15 December 1791 |
| Number of amendments ratified | 10 |
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What You'll Learn
The First Amendment and the Bill of Rights
The First Amendment is part of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights, which comprises the first ten amendments. On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed twelve amendments to the Constitution, ten of which were ratified on December 15, 1791.
The First Amendment prevents Congress from making laws that establish a national religion or restrict the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. It is worth noting that initially, the First Amendment only applied to laws enacted by Congress, and its provisions were interpreted more narrowly than they are today.
The inclusion of the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights in the Constitution was driven by the need to address criticisms of the lack of adequate guarantees for civil liberties and individual freedoms. The Constitution was ratified by all thirteen states, but some, like Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York, proposed amendments to be added to the Constitution as part of their ratification. James Madison, seeking election to the House, agreed to support amendments as a representative from Virginia, and he proposed several amendments during the First Federal Congress on June 8, 1789.
The First Amendment has been interpreted by the Supreme Court as protecting the right to receive information and ideas, regardless of their social worth, and to be generally free from governmental intrusion into one's privacy and control of one's thoughts. This interpretation was affirmed in cases such as Stanley v. Georgia (1969) and Cohen v. California (1971), where the Court upheld the right to free speech, even when it included the use of expletives. The First Amendment has also been cited in Matal v. Tam (2017), reinforcing the principle that speech cannot be banned simply because it expresses offensive ideas.
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The First Congress proposes 12 amendments
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution. The original draft of the Bill of Rights, which included what is now the First Amendment, was initially in the third position. The first two articles were not ratified by the states, so the article on disestablishment and free speech was moved to first place. The First Amendment was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights.
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prevents Congress from making laws that establish a religion or prohibit the free exercise of religion. It also protects the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. These rights and liberties are considered fundamental and lie at the foundation of free government by free men. The First Amendment has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to protect the right to receive information and ideas, regardless of their social worth, and to be generally free from governmental intrusion into one's privacy and control of one's thoughts.
The inclusion of the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights was partly a response to criticisms of the Constitution for its lack of adequate guarantees for civil liberties. Supporters of the Constitution in states where popular sentiment was against ratification, including Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York, successfully proposed that their state conventions ratify the Constitution and call for the addition of a bill of rights. James Madison, who was seeking election to the House, reluctantly agreed to support amendments as a representative from Virginia. He proposed several amendments to be interwoven into the text of the Constitution, and his draft of the First Amendment read:
> The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or on any pretext, infringed.
The House debated, reworded, and changed the amendments, and on August 24, 1789, the House passed 17 proposed amendments. The Senate then made several more changes, and the House and Senate reconciled their differences. The House approved the amendments on September 24, and the Senate agreed on September 25, 1789, with two-thirds of Congress passing a final version with 12 proposed amendments.
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Ratification of the first 10 amendments
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution. The 12 articles of amendment approved by Congress were officially submitted to the Legislatures of the several States for consideration on September 28, 1789.
The following states ratified some or all of the amendments: New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Connecticut, Georgia, and Massachusetts.
However, only ten of the proposed 12 amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. These ratified Articles (Articles 3–12) constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, or the U.S. Bill of Rights. Article 1 was never ratified, and Article 2 was ratified as the 27th Amendment in 1992.
The first 10 amendments of the Constitution, or the U.S. Bill of Rights, add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms. This includes freedom of speech, the right to publish, practice religion, possess firearms, assemble, and other natural and legal rights. The amendments also include explicit limitations on the government's power, declaring that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved to the states or the people.
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The right to freedom of speech
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution, 10 of which were ratified on December 15, 1791, and came to be known as the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states that:
> Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...
The First Amendment protects the right to receive information and ideas, regardless of their social worth, and to be generally free from governmental intrusions into one's privacy and control of one's thoughts. The right to freedom of speech includes the right not to speak, such as the right not to salute the flag, as well as the right to use certain offensive words and phrases to convey political messages. In Cohen v. California (1971), the Court reversed the conviction of a man wearing a jacket reading "Fuck the Draft" in the corridors of a Los Angeles County courthouse, characterizing the jacket as protected political speech despite the use of an expletive. The Court commented that "one man's vulgarity is another man's lyric."
The First Amendment also protects the right of students to wear black armbands to school to protest a war, as ruled in Tinker v. Des Moines (1969), and to contribute money (under certain circumstances) to political campaigns, as ruled in Buckley v. Valeo (1976). In addition, the First Amendment protects the right to advertise commercial products and professional services, with some restrictions, as ruled in Virginia Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Consumer Council (1976) and Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1976).
However, the right to freedom of speech is not absolute. For example, the Supreme Court has held that students do not have the right to make obscene speeches at school-sponsored events, as ruled in Bethel School District #43 v. Fraser (1986), or to advocate illegal drug use at such events, as ruled in Morse v. Frederick (2007). The First Amendment also does not protect speech that incites imminent lawless action, such as "fighting words," which are likely to provoke a violent reaction.
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The right to freedom of religion
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment includes two provisions concerning religion: the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause.
The Establishment Clause prohibits Congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion." In other words, it prevents the government from establishing or sponsoring a religion. Historically, this meant prohibiting state-sponsored churches, such as the Church of England. Today, the interpretation of what constitutes an "establishment of religion" is governed by the three-part "Lemon" test set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971). Under this test, the government can assist religion only if:
- The primary purpose of the assistance is secular.
- The assistance neither promotes nor inhibits religion.
- There is no excessive entanglement between church and state.
The Free Exercise Clause protects citizens' right to practice their religion without interference from the government. This means that citizens are free to exercise their religion as they see fit, as long as their practices do not conflict with "public morals" or a "compelling" governmental interest.
The First Amendment also protects the right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. These rights have been interpreted to include the freedom to receive information and ideas, regardless of their social worth, and to advocate for various causes, even if the ideas expressed are offensive or controversial. The Supreme Court has characterized these rights as fundamental personal liberties that are essential for a free government.
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Frequently asked questions
The first 10 amendments, also known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791.
Twelve amendments were initially proposed by the First Congress of the United States on September 25, 1789.
Ten of the proposed 12 amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791.
During the ratification of the US Constitution, one of the biggest criticisms was its lack of a bill of rights.
