Why is 1st amendment important

Learn more 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. Van Orden v. Perry Advocacy of Illegal Action. Schenk v. United States Roth v. The freedoms in the First Amendment include the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government.

Freedom of religion allows people to believe and practice whatever religion they want. Freedom of speech and press allows people to voice their opinions publicly and to publish them without the government stopping them. Freedom of assembly allows people to gather in groups as long as they are peaceful. And the right to petition the government makes it possible for people to lobby the government, point out where it does not follow its own laws, and to sue if a wrong has occurred.

The First Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights. To protect individual rights, the framers of the U. Constitution added 10 amendments to the document in , three years after the Constitution was ratified.

For example, a person cannot force the tenets of his or her religion on others while trying to practice that religion. Also, different types of speech have different amounts of freedom.

Political speech is considered different than commercial speech, which includes advertisements. That is where the courts come in. The meaning of the First Amendment has been the subject of disputes over the years and continuing interpretation by the courts. Landmark Supreme Court cases involving the First Amendment have dealt with the rights of citizens to protest U.

Destruction of the property of others is not protected by the First Amendment. Search Search. Previous Next. Ideals and Institutions. Institutions - Why is the First Amendment Important? February 20, Embed share U. Embed share The code has been copied to your clipboard. The URL has been copied to your clipboard. No media source currently available. Direct link kbps MP3 64 kbps MP3.