Chris Samuel

First Amendment Midterm

North Carolina A&T State University

Guffey, JOMC 393

In the United States, the First Amendment of the constitution reads “congress shall make

no law respecting an establishment or 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.” In simplest terms, this says that the

government has no control over what an individual can say, do or what religion they practice.

Any person is able to do anything they want as long as it is legal.

 Originally, the first constitution for America was the Articles of Confederation. The

Articles of Confederation did not have a bill of rights or freedom of expression. The creators of

the original document believed it wasn't necessary. Eventually, the Articles of Confederation

would change into the Constitution.

For many countries, a similar version or even a constitution does not exist, and are not

fortunate to have the right to express themselves. The freedom to disagree with the government

and even the president is completely legal in the United States, and neither the legislative or

executive branch of government can tell anyone otherwise.

The first amendment alludes to speech and the right to say basically whatever. If the

president makes a decision or an executive order, a citizen can disagree or protest what the

president says or decides without any jail time. Whether it is on social media or print media, a

person’s opinion is not illegal to share, no matter how harsh the rhetoric is in the writing or

speech. In a corporation, it might be illegal or against company policy or speak out against

management, in a worker can lose their job. In the political realm, any criticism is allowed for

anyone in government with no consequences due to America’s non barbaric legal system.

Speakers are not protected by the First Amendment, although the Supreme Court does.

The government is the only group that is restrained from trying to get full any kind of control.

Private organizations, landowners, etc. is what the First Amendment is against. This restraint is

necessary due to individuals owning their own land, masters or businesses as well.

With speech, verbal and body language is not the only type of speech the amendment

refers to. Speech can include social media or broadcasting and other ways of expression.

Symbols can also be a part of speech, without saying anything.

In certain cases, if the law is involved with the policing or enforcing a person or groups

protest or message, the Government will tend to target it, which violates the First Amendment.

Any citizen is allowed to criticize an act or law by the government, which they do not have
control over. Laws that shun the citizens can create debate amongst the public., protesting or

even rioting which are all legal in the United States. Laws that want to control what the people

should know are thought to be problematic or worrisome for the people due to a lack of knowing.

There are three cases in which the government can legally restrict certain types of speech.

The cases are if the Supreme Court considers the types of speeches have minor value, if the

speaker has government ties, and without regard to the message behind the speech.

Some examples of the rules come in notable court cases. In 1964, the case of New York
Times v. Sullivan, New York City Public Safety Commissioner, L.B. Sullivan sued the New York

Times for defamation. Sullivan claimed that the paper put minor incorrect information about him

and his subordinates and asked them to remove it. Sullivan lost the case to a unanimous decision

in favor of the New York Times. Sullivan did receive $500,000 in damages due to the article.

In 1968, the case of Pickering v. Board of Education, a teacher at Lockport Central High

School in Will County, IL named Marvin Pickering wrote a letter to the editor of the Lockport

Herald that complained about the handling of the school funds and the increased school taxes.

The school felt that the letter was detrimental and nearly terminated Pickerington. Pickerington

would later sue in the Circuit Court of Will County, claiming his letter was protected under the

First Amendment. After the case , the Supreme Court had an 8-1 ruling in favor of the School

Board, claiming Pickerington’s letter did not prove to have any false statements or reckless

claims.

In 1939, the case of Schneider vs State of New Jersey, four cities banned publicly passing

out pamphlets by hand. Those cities included Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Worcester, MA. and

Irvington, NJ. Defendants, including Clara Schneider argued the ordinances violated their Free

Speech Clause in the First Amendment. The cities claimed that the ban was to prevent littering

and keep the streets of the city clean. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the

ban violated the First Amendment. The Supreme Court agreed that the cities' message about

keeping the streets clean were fine, but did not justify the restriction of passing out pamphlets to
citizens willing to listen or help out with their cause.

All three court cases are involved with one of the three ways the government can limit or

restrain the First Amendment. There are exceptions, but those are prime examples.

Another element in the First Amendment is the freedom of religion. In the United States,

there is no official religion, just like there is no official language. Citizens can practice any

religion, due to different types of worship centers in the country. Common religions practiced in
the United States include Christianity, Judaism, Catholicism, Islam and others.

A case that involves religion in school was a case in 1995, Rosenberger v. University of

Virginia. A student at the University of Virginia named Ronald W. Rosenberger, wanted the

university to fund $5,800 to subsidize the publishing cost of Wide Awake: A Christian

perspective at the University of Virginia. The university refused to provide funding due to the

“publication promoting a certain belief”. The Supreme Court ruled in a narrow 5-4 decision in

favor of Roseberg stating that all promoted speech must be treated equally, no matter what the

funding situation is on the university’s campus.

Different types of religion are practiced throughout America due to it being very spread

out, and the government is not allowed to give any restrictions even if it's in public schools or

universities. Other countries have official religions due to it being tied with that country’s

government or ruler, with not that much safe space to practice any other religion. Arrests and

even executions are possible if an individual publicly practices another religion.

In the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, it states that church and state must

be separated to satisfy it. Organized public prayer was practiced in the United States until 1962,

when the Supreme Court ruled that the act was unconstitutional, due to it being tied to a certain

religion, Christianity. The pivotal case of Engel v. Vitale, determined the Supreme Court's

decision. The Board of Education in New Hyde Park, NY directed that teachers in the classroom

direct a prayer each morning before class. Parents of 10 children in the school board challenged
it , then afterwards the Supreme Court ruled that it was indeed unconstitutional.

Proposed restrictions do occur in the United States, but citizens are quick to bring it to

trial. Whether it is with religion, speech, or symbols. The purpose of the case or cases being

brought to the Supreme Court is to be protected and not feel controlled by the government or

anyone.

Overall, the First Amendment protects an individual's freedom of speech, press and
religion to avoid self governance or give total authority to the government. Legal action is

always within the rights of the law if one’s First Amendment rights are violated, but the Supreme

Court has to have the unanimous decision to determine if they make legal sense in their case.

Under three circumstances the government can interfere or somewhat restrict the First

Amendment. Outside of those circumstances, most cases tend to be off limits for the government

to protect the individual or group of people.

Works Cited

History.com First Amendment, December 4, 2017 History.com Editors

https://www.history.com/topics/united-states-constitution/first-amendment
Mtsu.edu The First Amendment Encyclopedia

Pickering v. Board of Education

David L.Hudson, Jr. August 2017

https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/648/pickering-v-board-of-education

Rosenberger v. Rector and the visitors of the University(n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved February 27, 2020

https://www.oyez.org/cases/1994/94-329

Freedom of the Speech and the Press, from Interactive Constitution, 2020

Geoffrey R. Stone

Eugene Volokh

https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/amendment-i/interps/266

Longley, Robert. (2020, February 11). School Prayer : Seperation of the Church of Church and

State

https://www.thoughtco.com/seperation-of-church-and-state-3572154