Freedom Of Speech In The United States

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The Founding Fathers established the United States of America under the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Of those liberties included the freedom of speech. The freedom of speech was not originally stated in the Constitution of the United States, but was later added in the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights. However, because of the vagueness of the First Amendment, the interpretation of freedom of speech has changed over the course of time. The government and American public’s ideals and struggles for free speech and expression has been tested throughout America’s history (Head). The idea of freedom of speech originated in ancient Greece. It is the right of a person to express their opinions without government …show more content…
Because Great Britain attempted to suppress the press in the 13 colonies from voicing their criticism against the British, some colonies such as Pennsylvania and Vermont included the freedom of press and speech in their state constitution after the Declaration of Independence. Even though some states followed Pennsylvania’s lead in adopting freedom of speech, the colonists -- including the Continental Congress -- did not entirely follow it during the American Revolutionary War. Even though the freedom of speech was enacted into law, it did not give colonists an assurance to speak freely. Many state governments prosecuted Tories who supported the British Crown by imprisoning or punishing them. Even when state governments and the Continental Congress endorsed the idea of freedom of speech, they attempted to suppress dissenting opinions during the American Revolutionary War …show more content…
During John Adams’ presidency, the Alien and Sedition Acts was passed into law in 1798 in response to the United States’ fear of being dragged into a European war between France and Great Britain (Siegel). However, the purpose behind the Alien and Sedition Acts were more than just attempts to prevent America being involved in war. It was a political move by the Federalists under President John Adams to attempt to punish and deter Anti-federalists and other dissenters from criticizing the government. The Alien and Sedition Acts would allow the President of the United States to deport immigrants whom they think were a threat to American security, as well as to imprison anyone who criticized the government. The acts were later repealed by Congress four years later
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