First Amendment Advantages

The First Amendment is arguably one of the most important and influential amendments that sustains the idea of a free society. This amendment focuses on the idea of freedom of speech. Founding father, Benjamin Franklin, once said, “freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government: when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved”. It can be very easy for a person to disagree with another person and want to deny free speech. One prime example of the First Amendment protecting freedom of speech is in the Supreme Court case Tinker vs. Des Moines of 1969. This case ruled that students wearing black arm bands to protest the Vietnam War was considered symbolic speech and protected by the First Amendment.

The Free Exercise Clause protects people from having to abandon their religious practices to receive benefits. This substantiates a free society because people can receive the help they need from the government without being forced to give up their religious beliefs. The next right given to people through the First Amendment is freedom of the press. This is the right to give opinions on platforms like talk shows, news casts, and magazines without the government’s censorship. A Supreme Court case that showcases this right is Garrison vs. Louisiana in 1964. This case ruled that as long as a person in a newspaper gives their opinion without completely disregarding the truth, they cannot be punished and are protected under the First Amendment. The next right is to peacefully assemble which is holding public meetings without the interference of the government. A Supreme Court case that endorses this right was Village of Skokie vs. National Socialist Party. The National Socialist (Nazi) Party was marching while wearing uniforms resembling Nazi soldiers along with armbands with swastikas on

Women made use of the right to petition and assembly in their long struggle to win the right to vote, to serve on juries, to own property, and to gain opportunities for education and employment. In the early 1800s, women and girls who worked in textile mills organized the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association. They started a petition which gained over two thousand signatures and sent it to Massachusetts legislature urging laws limiting the work day to ten hours and requiring safety devices on dangerous equipment. Although this specific petition was not successful, it sparked a drive within the movement. “Try Again” was the motto used by this association and other women’s rights movements. Women in New York petitioned with ten thousand signatures asking for the right to vote and to own property. Women were not only concerned with their own rights, but the rights of minorities as well. For this reason, they also petitioned in 1865 for a thirteenth amendment to the Constitution which would abolish slavery. Civil rights movements in the 1950s and 1960s utilized their rights to petition and assembly. In 1963, civil rights movers marched in the March on Washington for jobs and freedom. Eventually both women and minorities gained their equal rights to vote and participate as full citizens of the U.S. Although equality has been achieved legally, marches and