First Amendment Research Paper

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Addison Vineyard Mr. Wachsmuth Congressional Hearings 21 May 2024 How Does The Constitution Protect Our Basic Rights? Even though the First Amendment is important and necessary, only around five percent of the U.S. adults surveyed could correctly name all five First Amendment rights, while thirty percent of people could name three or four of the rights. These rights are important to learn, know, and use, but some of them, like freedom of expression, do need limitations. Although the Founders thought that freedom of speech was so important, freedom of expression should be limited because hateful speech could harm others and could take away from people’s safety rights. The Founders made freedom of speech important because freedom of speech allows …show more content…
The First Amendment prevents Congress from placing unreasonable and unfair limits on freedom of speech. That is why the Amendment starts with the phrase, “Congress shall make no law.” The First Amendment was created to be a rule that the government can’t touch. This is important because it gives power from the government back to the people. Freedom of speech, also known as freedom of expression, was created with its importance in mind, but it does need limitations. Freedom of expression is necessary for our Government to function, but it does need its limitations. “Philosopher Alexander Meiklejohn famously offered that freedom of expression is essential for individuals to freely engage in debate to make informed choices about self-government (“Arguments for Freedom: The Many Reasons Why Free Speech Is Essential”).” Freedom of expression allows people to have their own opinions, and speak up to the government freely. It also encourages people to speak out about stuff they believe is unfair or wrong. Amnesty International suggested that all sorts of ideas, even those that might be very insulting, are covered by the freedom of speech or free …show more content…
On the other hand, the person who did the violent action that the speaker called for actually participated in that action, which means their actions can have immediate consequences. Violent actions have strict rules that are set and not disagreeable, but speech protected under the First Amendment can change depending on the situation at hand. So, the speaker and the person who performed the violent action are in the wrong, and the speaker isn’t protected by the First Amendment. The Founders created freedom of speech with the intention of it being an important piece of the First Amendment, but there do have to be limitations on freedom of speech, also known as freedom of expression, because it can be harmful to others if there aren't any limits on the freedom of expression. In conclusion, there should be limitations on freedom of expression about when and what situations should be protected by the First Amendment, and what situations shouldn’t be. Works
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