On December 15, 1791, Congress adopted the freedom of speech as a constitutional right under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution as a law to protect all American citizens. The law clearly states that “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” (www.law.cornell.edu). Although this law is in effect, there are exceptions to policy and many other categories that are excluded from the freedom, in which the government may enact within a reasonable amount of time, place or manner restrictions on speech. According to the famous speech written by Raphael Cohen-Almagor, it states that freedom of speech is a guiding rule, one of the foundations of democracy, but at the same time, freedom does not imply anarchy, and the right to exercise free expression does not include the right to do unjustified harm to others.
Freedom of expression is also known as an American form of human rights that is intertwined directly to the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution as well. This freedom was granted as the first written constitution of the democratic government for the United States. However, the freedom of expression was characterized by the United States Supreme Court as a fundamental right to grant liberty and to sustain to any principles within existence. There are many supporting elements associated with the freedom of expression. For example, the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association and the freedom of the press are all connected by United States...
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... should be obligated to follow these principles and ethical norms provided by law.
Works Cited
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Beauchamp, T. L. "Affirmative Action." International Encyclopedia of Ethics (online). Ed. Hugh LaFollette. : Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.
Dworkin, R., “Liberalism,” in Public and Private Morality, ed. S. Hampshire (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978), 127.
Feinberg, J. “The Idea of a Free Man,” in Education and the Development of Reason, 161.
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http://philosophyfaculty.ucsd.edu/faculty/rarneson/courses/SCANLONfreeexpression.pdf
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment
http://www.notable-quotes.com/f/freedom_of_speech_quotes.html#CYU4CklVvUSS3IRQ.99
Nye, Howard. PHIL 250 B1, Winter Term 2014 Lecture Notes – Ethics. University of Alberta.
One key to the first amendment of the United states constitution is the right to free speech. Freedom of speech is what separates America than other countries around the world that forbid freedom of speech rights. Freedom of speech has been in our constitution since the year 1791. When James Madison “the father of the constitution” wrote the bill of rights he saw potential and that it would make the country more freedom filled than other countries. The land of the free is what the United States is nicknamed and it 's because of our rights to express ourselves as freely as we desire.
Ethics: The Big Questions , edit ed by James P. Sterba, 259 -275. Malden, Massachusets: Blackwel Publishers Ltd, 1998.
Morgan, Michael L., ed. Classics of Moral and Political Theory. 3rd Edition. Indianapolis. Hackett, 2001.
Imagine a time when one could be fined, imprisoned and even killed for simply speaking one’s mind. Speech is the basic vehicle for communication of beliefs, thoughts and ideas. Without the right to speak one’s mind freely one would be forced to agree with everything society stated. With freedom of speech one’s own ideas can be expressed freely and the follower’s belief will be stronger. The words sound so simple, but without them the world would be a very different place.
The Amendment I of the Bill of Rights is often called “the freedom of speech.” It provides a multitude of freedoms: of religion, of speech, of the press, to peacefully assemble, to petition the government. Religious freedom is vitally important to this day because it eliminates the problem of religious conflicts. Historically, many people died for their beliefs because their government only allowed and permitted one religion. T...
Fryer, Roland G. Jr., and Glenn C. Loury. 2005. "Affirmative Action and Its Mythology." Journal
Freedom of speech has been a controversial issue throughout the world. Our ability to say whatever we want is very important to us as individuals and communities. Although freedom of speech and expression may sometimes be offensive to other people, it is still everyone’s right to express his/her opinion under the American constitution which states that “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press”. Although this amendment gave people the right express thier opinions, it still rests in one’s own hands as how far they will go to exercise that right of freedom of speech.
According to “Freedom of Speech” by Gerald Leinwand, Abraham Lincoln once asked, “Must a government, of necessity, be too strong for the liberties of its people, or too weak to maintain its own existence (7)?” This question is particularly appropriate when considering what is perhaps the most sacred of all our Constitutionally guaranteed rights, freedom of expression. Lincoln knew well the potential dangers of expression, having steered the Union through the bitterly divisive Civil War, but he held the Constitution dear enough to protect its promises whenever possible (8).
Hume, David. An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, trans. Schneewind, Indianapolis: Hackett, 1982, 72.
John Stuart Mill, Patrick Devlin, H.L.A Hart, and Ronald Dworkin each provide varying views on what constitutes morality and what the role of society/the law should be in protecting morality. The discussion of these four philosophers provides insight into this debate, as each philosopher provides a different perspective. For example, Mill being a utilitarian gives him a unique view. I will discuss Mill, Devlin, Hart, and Dworkin and compare their views in order to gain a better understanding of what constitutes morality and how far should society and the law be permitted to interact with morality.
Lukes, S. (2010). The Social Construction of Morality. In S. Hitlin, S. Vaisey (Ed.), Handbook of the Sociology of Morality (pp. 549-560). New York, NY: Springer.
Freedom of Speech has been long debated in our country. In two articles “Tinker v. Des Moines Case Study” and the” Here Is Why It’s Time To Get Tough On hate Speech In America” present a few very compelling points on this topic. Freedom of Speech in America has been over thought and over analyzed. Our freedom should be a loud, but such places as private businesses and schools should have guidelines, if they wish, which clearly states what is appropriate.
The Bill of Rights has gained existence since December 15, 1791. Being supported mainly by anti-federalists, the Bill of Rights upheld what was needed to protect individual liberty. From the ratification we have our first ten amendments. The most important and used today is the first amendment. The amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting… petition the government for a redress of grievances.” This amendment is very powerful but cannot be overly abused. Over time the freedom of speech has been constricted. There are many court cases that display the limitation of free speech. Environmental factors and certain materials are not covered in free speech. To understand our rights and know how and when our rights are limited, we must
First and foremost, in the United States the freedom of expression is guaranteed in the first Article of Amendment to the American Constitution. It states, "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or the press..." This is significant beyond its mere primacy in the U.S. Bill of Rights. It does not establish the freedom of expression, but rather, in recognizing its existence, guarantees it. Freedom of expression has been a part of the American way since long before the American Revolution. Alexis de Toqueville, on touring the United States over 150 years ago recognized this, writing in _Democracy in America, "The Anglo-Americans have enjoyed this liberty ever since the foundation of the Colonies..." Americans have always felt free to express their opinion.