Malcolm Rivera
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment prevents Congress from making laws that infringe on the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. It also prohibits the establishment of a national religion and protects the free exercise of religion. The amendment was proposed by James Madison in response to concerns about the lack of guarantees for civil liberties in the original Constitution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date proposed | September 25, 1789 |
| Date ratified | December 15, 1791 |
| Number of amendments proposed | 12 |
| Number of amendments ratified | 10 |
| Number of states that ratified | 11 |
| State that was the final legislature to ratify | Virginia |
| Subject matter | Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition |
| Author | James Madison |
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What You'll Learn
The First Amendment was ratified on December 15, 1791
On December 15, 1791, ten amendments, including the First Amendment, were ratified and added to the US Constitution. This collection of amendments is known as the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment was originally proposed in 1789 as part of the Joint Resolution of Congress, which was drafted to address Anti-Federalist opposition to the Constitution. The First Congress proposed 12 amendments, but only 10 were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on the aforementioned date in 1791.
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 right to petition for redress of grievances was first included in the 1215 Magna Carta and the 1689 English Bill of Rights. The First Amendment was designed to protect individual liberties and limit government power. It prohibits Congress from making laws that establish a national religion or infringe on religious freedom, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press. It also protects the right to assemble and petition the government.
The First Amendment has been interpreted and applied in various ways throughout US history. For example, in the early years of the republic, American courts struggled to balance the need for a free press guaranteed by the First Amendment with concerns about defamation under common law. The Supreme Court's ruling in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964) fundamentally changed American defamation law by redefining the type of "malice" needed to sustain a libel case.
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It was part of the Bill of Rights
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 Bill of Rights is a founding document written by James Madison, comprising the first ten amendments to the Constitution, including freedom of speech and due process.
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed twelve amendments to the Constitution. Ten of these proposed amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. The ratified amendments constitute the first ten amendments of the Constitution, or the U.S. Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution to address the lack of limits on government power.
The First Amendment prevents Congress from making laws respecting an establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise of religion, or abridging the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. It reflects a consensus that there should be no nationally established church after the American Revolutionary War. The right to petition for redress of grievances was also included in the 1215 Magna Carta and the 1689 English Bill of Rights.
The inclusion of the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights was partly a response to Anti-Federalist opposition to Constitutional ratification. Anti-Federalists objected to the absence of a bill of rights in the Constitution, while Federalists argued for the creation of a stronger national government. The Constitution was officially ratified by the states on June 21, 1788.
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It was proposed by James Madison
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on December 15, 1791. It was proposed by James Madison, who wrote the Bill of Rights, which constitutes the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Madison's proposed 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.
Madison's proposal was a response to concerns about the Constitution's lack of adequate guarantees for civil liberties. The First Amendment prevents Congress from making laws that establish a national religion or infringe on religious freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, or the right to petition the government.
Madison's proposal built on earlier efforts to protect religious freedom, such as Thomas Jefferson's 1777 draft of a Virginia statute for religious freedom, which stated:
> No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever.
Madison's "Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments," written in 1785, also argued for complete religious liberty and against any government support of a religion. Virginia adopted its Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786, disestablishing the Anglican Church as the official church and prohibiting harassment based on religious differences. These developments influenced the religious clauses of the First Amendment.
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It prevents Congress from making laws regarding religion
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on December 15, 1791, along with the first nine other amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment includes the Establishment Clause, which prevents Congress from making laws regarding religion. This clause reflects the consensus that there should be no nationally established church, as was the case in England.
The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from "establishing" a religion, which historically meant prohibiting state-sponsored churches. The precise definition of "establishment" is still debated, and the Supreme Court has set forth a three-part test to determine what constitutes an "establishment of religion".
The First Amendment also includes the Free Exercise Clause, which protects the free exercise of religion. This clause ensures that individuals are free to practise their religion without government interference.
The First Amendment's protection of religious freedom was a response to concerns about the lack of guarantees for civil liberties in the original Constitution. James Madison, who wrote the Bill of Rights, proposed twenty constitutional amendments, including the First Amendment, to address these concerns. The First Amendment was also influenced by the Virginia colonial legislature's Declaration of Rights in 1776, which included the sentence, "The freedom of the press is one of the greatest bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments."
The First Amendment's prohibition on laws regarding religion has been interpreted to mean that the government cannot compel attendance or financial support of a religious institution, interfere with a religious organisation's selection of clergy, or extend benefits to some religious entities without adequate secular justification. It also means that religious organisations or figures acting in a religious capacity cannot exercise governmental power.
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It protects freedom of speech and the press
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on December 15, 1791. It was one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
Freedom of speech means the free and public expression of opinions without censorship, interference, or restraint by the government. The term "freedom of speech" in the First Amendment encompasses the decision about what to say as well as what not to say. The speech covered by the First Amendment includes many ways of expression and therefore protects what people say as well as how they express themselves. For example, in West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette (1943), the Supreme Court ruled that students have the right not to salute the flag. In Tinker v. Des Moines (1969), the Court held that students do not "shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate" and thus could wear black armbands to school to protest a war. In Cohen v. California (1971), the Court ruled that the use of certain offensive words and phrases to convey political messages is protected by the First Amendment.
Freedom of the press means the right of individuals to express themselves through publication and the dissemination of information, ideas, and opinions without interference, constraint, or prosecution by the government. In Murdock v. Pennsylvania (1943), the Supreme Court stated that "freedom of the press, freedom of speech, [and] freedom of religion are in a preferred position." The Court added that a community may not suppress or tax the dissemination of views because they are unpopular, annoying, or distasteful. If such suppression were sanctioned, it would be a “complete repudiation of the philosophy of the Bill of Rights."
The First Amendment's protection of speech is not absolute, and it only applies to state actors. The Supreme Court has struggled to determine what exactly constitutes protected speech. Nevertheless, the First Amendment's guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of the press are fundamental personal rights and liberties that lie at the foundation of free government.
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Frequently asked questions
The First Amendment to the US Constitution was proposed on September 25, 1789.
The First Amendment was 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.
The First Amendment was added to the Constitution to limit government power and protect individual liberties.
