The Evolution Of The First Amendment Essay -- essays research papers

The Evolution of the number one Amendment     The source amendment states, "Congress sh any(prenominal) do no law respecting anestablishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof orabridging the granting immunity of speech, or of the press or the right of the nationpeaceably to assemble, and to petition the presidential term for a redress ofgrievances.(encyclopedia)     The inhabitants of the North American colonies did not imbibe a legalright to express antagonist to the British government that ruled them.Nonetheless, throughout the late 1700s, these early Americans did vocalize theirdiscontent with the crown. For example they strongly denounced the Britishparliaments en moldment of a serial publication of tax levies to pay off a large nationaldebt that England incurred in its Seven Years War with France. In paperarticles, pamphlets and through boycotts, the colonists embossed what would becometheir battle cry "No taxation without representation" And in 1773, the hatful of the Massachusetts Bay Colony demonstrated their outrage at the tax ontea in a dramatic act of civil disobedience, the Boston Tea Party.(Eldridge,15)     The stage was set for the birth of the First Amendment, which form eachyrecognized the natural and inalienable rights of Americans to think and speakfreely. The first Amendments early years were not entirely auspicious.Although the early Americans enjoyed great freedom compared to citizens of othernations, even the Constitutions framer once in power, could resist the string lure to circumvent the First Amendments clear mandate. Before the 1930s,we had no legally protected rights of free speech in anything like the form wenow go it. Critics of the government or government officials, calledseditious libel, was oftenly made a crime. every(prenominal) state had a seditious libellaw when the Constitution was adopted. And deep down the decade of the adoption ofthe First Amendment, the founding fathers in congress initiated and passed therepressive Alien and Sedition act (1798). This act was used by the prevalentFederalists party to prosecute a number of prominent Republican newspapereditors.(Kairys,3) When Thomas Jefferson was elected president in 1801 they alsoprosecuted their critics. More than 2,000 people were prosecuted, and manyserved substantial prison te... ...o preserve freedom ofexpression have taught us anything, it is that the first target of governmentsuppression is never the last. Whenever government gains the power to decidewho can speak and what they can say, the first Amendment rights of all of us arein danger of being violated. But when all people are allowed to express theirviews and ideas, the principles of commonwealth and liberty are enhanced. Americandemocracy should mean more than the right to picket when you are actually upset orpissed at the system and to vote every four years in elections d evoid of contentor context. modify will require, as it has in the past, recognition that freespeech and democracy are political, not narrowly legal, issues. And it willalso require an expansion of our understanding of such rights to includepublic access to the various great deal media.BibliographyEldridge, Larry D. A Distant Heritage The Growth of Free Speech in EarlyAmerica. parvenu York New York University Press, 1994.Kairys, David. The Politics of Law In These Times. New York. Patheon Press, 1991.McWhirter, Darien A. Freedom of Speech, Press, and Assembly, Phoenix AZ OryxPress, 1994.The World Book Encyclopedia.1995.