First amendment | Definition of First amendment at …

The First Amendment is the first amendment to the Bill of Rights, which includes the original 10 amendments drafted immediately after the Constitution of the United States was ratified in 1788. Here, amendments are changes or additions to the Constitution that arent part of the original document.

In 1787, members of the Constitutional Convention gathered in Philadelphia to revise the founding document of the country, the Articles of Confederation. They decided to create a new one instead, and by September, theyd drafted the Constitution. Getting the new document approved, however, was another story. Many opposed this new Constitution because it didnt specify the rights of the people. The Constitution was only passed after Congress promised to add a list of rights afterwards.

Its this proposed list of rightsthe Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791that yielded the First Amendment. Compared to some other amendments, its quite short. The full text reads:

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.

The freedoms this amendment protectsreligion, speech and the press, assembly, and petitionare called the First Amendment freedoms or rights, both officially and colloquially invoked in the US.

Due to its brevity and ambiguity, issues regarding the interpretation of the First Amendment have been perennial points of debate throughout American history. The specific application of these rights, like other rights, has been a matter often judged by the Supreme Court. For instance, cases have determined that the First Amendments free speech clause doesnt protect fighting words, which is defined as speech intended to cause injury or breach of the peace, and that school libraries cant remove books because school officials disagree with their content.

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First amendment | Definition of First amendment at ...