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The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference. It prohibits any laws that establish a national religion, impede the free exercise of religion, abridge the freedom of speech, infringe upon the freedom of the press, interfere with the right to peaceably assemble, or prohibit citizens from petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted into the Bill of Rights in 1791. The Supreme Court interprets the extent of the protection afforded to these rights. The First Amendment has been interpreted by the Court as applying to the entire federal government even though it is only expressly applicable to Congress. Furthermore, the Court has interpreted the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as protecting the rights in the First Amendment from interference by state governments. Freedom of ReligionTwo clauses in the First Amendment guarantee freedom of religion. The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from passing legislation to establish an official religion or preferring one religion over another. It enforces the "separation of church and state." However, some governmental activity related to religion has been declared constitutional by the Supreme Court. For example, providing bus transportation for parochial school students and the enforcement of "blue laws" is not prohibited. The Free Exercise Clause prohibits the government, in most instances, from interfering with a person's practice of their religion. Freedom of Speech / Freedom of the PressThe most basic component of freedom of expression is the right to freedom of speech. Freedom of speech may be exercised in a direct (words) or a symbolic (actions) way. Freedom of speech is recognized as a human right under article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The right to freedom of speech allows individuals to express themselves without government interference or regulation. The Supreme Court requires the government to provide substantial justification for the interference with the right of free speech where it attempts to regulate the content of the speech. Generally, a person cannot be held liable, either criminally or civilly for anything written or spoken about a person or topic, so long as it is truthful or based on an honest opinion and such statements. A less stringent test is applied for content-neutral legislation. The Supreme Court has also recognized that the government may prohibit some speech that may cause a breach of the peace or cause violence. For more on unprotected and less protected categories of speech see advocacy of illegal action, fighting words, commercial speech and obscenity. The right to free speech includes other mediums of expression that communicate a message. The level of protection speech receives also depends on the forum in which it takes place. Despite the popular misunderstanding, the right to freedom of the press guaranteed by the First Amendment is not very different from the right to freedom of speech. It allows an individual to express themselves through publication and dissemination. It is part of the constitutional protection of freedom of expression. It does not afford members of the media any special rights or privileges not afforded to citizens in general. Right to Assemble / Right to PetitionThe right to assemble allows people to gather for peaceful and lawful purposes. Implicit within this right is the right to association and belief. The Supreme Court has expressly recognized that a right to freedom of association and belief is implicit in the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Freedom of assembly is recognized as a human right under article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This implicit right is limited to the right to associate for First Amendment purposes. It does not include a right of social association. The government may prohibit people from knowingly associating in groups that engage and promote illegal activities. The right to associate also prohibits the government from requiring a group to register or disclose its members or from denying government benefits on the basis of an individual's current or past membership in a particular group. There are exceptions to this rule where the Court finds that governmental interests in disclosure/registration outweigh interference with First Amendment rights. The government may also, generally, not compel individuals to express themselves, hold certain beliefs, or belong to particular associations or groups. The right to petition the government for a redress of grievances guarantees people the right to ask the government to provide relief for a wrong through litigation or other governmental action. It works with the right of assembly by allowing people to join together and seek change from the government. Last Updated in March of 2020 by Elvin Egemenoglu.
Almost immediately after beginning to meet in 1789, the first Congress, led by James Madison, began to consider amendments to the Constitution proposed by the state ratifying conventions. George Washington and Madison had personally pledged to consider amendments because they realized that some amendments would be necessary to reduce pressure for a second constitutional convention that might drastically alter and weaken the new federal government. Fastening on Anti-Federalist criticisms that the Constitution lacked a clear articulation of guaranteed rights, Madison proposed amendments that emphasized the rights of individuals rather than the rights of states， an ingenious move that led to cries that these amendments—now known as the “Bill of Rights”—were a mere diversion.
Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, December 20, 1787
In the final days of debate at the Constitutional Convention, die-hard opponents, such as Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814), a delegate from Massachusetts, launched a failed effort to call for a second convention to secure the rights of citizens. Continued vocal demands for a bill of rights forced James Madison to propose amendments to the Constitution almost immediately after the Convention met in 1789.
James Madison. Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787. Manuscript. James Madison Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (77.00.01) [Digital ID# us0077_01p1] Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/demand-for-a-bill-of-rights.html#obj4
Bill of Rights Rejected at Constitutional Convention
In the final days of the Constitutional Convention, as delegates rushed to complete work on the final draft of the Constitution, George Mason of Virginia and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts proposed that the Constitution be “prefaced with a bill of rights.” On September 12, 1787, after little debate, the proposal was unanimously rejected by the delegates as unnecessary to protect individual rights.
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In the final days of the Constitutional Convention, as delegates rushed to complete work on the final draft of the Constitution, George Mason of Virginia and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts proposed that the Constitution be “prefaced with a bill of rights.” On September 12, 1787, after little debate, the proposal was unanimously rejected by the delegates as unnecessary to protect individual rights. James Madison recorded Benjamin Franklin’s doubts five days later.
James Madison. Notes of Debates in the Constitutional Convention, September 17, 1787. Manuscript copy in the hand of John C. Payne. James Madison Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (077.00.03) [Digital ID#s us0077_01p2, us0077p2] Read the transcript Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/demand-for-a-bill-of-rights.html#obj6
Many supporters and opponents of the proposed amendments to the federal Constitution known as the “Bill of Rights” considered them a diversion from substantive changes to the Constitution. Aedanus Burke (1743–1802), an anti-federalist Congressman from South Carolina, asserted on August 15, 1789 that they were “little better than whipsyllabub, frothy and full of wind” and were like “a tub thrown out to a whale, to secure the freight of the ship and its peaceable voyage.”
Aedanus Burke. Speech in The Congressional Register; or, History of the Proceedings and Debates of the First House of Representatives of the United States of America. New York: Harrisson and Purdy, 1789–1790. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (78.01.00) [Digital ID# us0078_01] Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/demand-for-a-bill-of-rights.html#obj8
Amendments Sent for Ratification
From hundreds of proposed amendments to the Constitution, Congress gave final approval to twelve amendments. The ten that were sanctioned became known as the Bill of Rights. Copies prepared under the direction of John Beckley (1757–1807), clerk of the House, were sent to President George Washington on September 25, 1789, for dispersal to the states for ratification. Amendments three through twelve were approved and went into effect on December 15, 1791, when Virginia became the eleventh state to ratify them. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Georgia did not vote to ratify. Although Amendment Two was rejected in the 1790s, it later became the twenty-seventh amendment to the Constitution.
Proposed Amendments to the Federal Constitution (Bill of Rights), September 1789. Manuscript engrossed and signed by John James Beckley. Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (84) [Digital ID# raadf010] Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/demand-for-a-bill-of-rights.html#obj12 Back to Top
James Madison (1751–1838), an Orange County, Virginia, planter, was a strong proponent of a strong central government to replace the Articles of Confederation. Often credited with being the A “Father of the Constitution” of 1787, Madison was a leader in the House of Representatives, established the Jeffersonian-Republican Party with Thomas Jefferson, and in 1809 succeeded him as president of the United States. Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/demand-for-a-bill-of-rights.html#obj18 Back to Top
American liberty or freedom was often presented as a beautiful young woman. In this popular 1796 allegory by Edward Savage (1761–1817), a maiden in the form of the Goddess of Youth (Hebe) offers food to an eagle, symbol of the United States, while she treads on chains, a scepter, key, and other implements of tyranny. A liberty cap, mounted on the pole of an American flag, floats in the sky behind her, visible through the clouds of war that spew lightning to drive the British fleet from Boston harbor. Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/demand-for-a-bill-of-rights.html#obj20
The first Federal Congress met at New York from March 4–September 29, 1789. It established procedures for dealing with the President, passed laws establishing the executive departments (State, War, Treasury) and the federal judiciary, and set the tariff on imports, which supplied most of the revenue of the federal government. This copy bears George Washington’s signature on the title page and is open to the proposed amendments that would form the Bill of Rights. Articles three through twelve were ratified by three-fourths of the states.
Acts Passed at a Congress of the United States of America, Begun and Held at the City of New York . . . . New York: Francis Childs and John Swaine, 1789. Law Library, Library of Congress (084.03.00) [Digital ID# us0084_03] Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/demand-for-a-bill-of-rights.html#obj22
In this letter to David Humphreys (1753–1808), soldier, diplomat, poet, and confidant of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson voices his concern that the new federal Constitution lacks a bill of rights and fails to set term limits on the presidency. Jefferson favored the addition of a declaration of rights as a supplement to the basic constitutional document—the method of amendment chosen by Congress later in 1789. Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/demand-for-a-bill-of-rights.html#obj23
In this letter, partly written in cipher to protect its contents from prying eyes, James Madison reports that opposition to the General Assessment Bill, which would provide state funding for all Protestant ministers, was growing. The leaders of the various sects continued to shift their ground on the measure, causing Madison and other supporters of a separation between church and state a great deal of anxiety. Madison played a leading role in opposition to the General Assessment Bill and drafted the key remonstrance against it that circulated throughout the state of Virginia. Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/demand-for-a-bill-of-rights.html#obj24
George Washington is represented in this engraving with Martha Custis Washington (1731–1802) and two of their grandchildren, George Washington Parke Custis (1781–1857) and Eleanor (Nelly) Parke Custis (1779–1852), during his presidency. The group, which posed for artist Edward Savage (1761–1817) while in New York City, is shown around a table gazing at a map of the newly formed District of Columbia. Washington’s personal servant, an African American slave named William Lee, stands in the background. Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/demand-for-a-bill-of-rights.html#obj25 Back to top |
The u.s. constitution was approved without the addition of a bill of rights. true false
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