Summary: The Most Important Amendments

In 1790 to 1820, when the bill of rights was constructed; two of the most important amendments, the first and second amendment, was ratified. Introduced by James Madison on December 15, 1791. The first amendment made a huge impact when it was ratified in 1791 because as states "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". This allowed for social, political, and religious movements regardless of either side to rise up without prosecution from the government. Especially during moral panics separating religion and the state from making laws based on

In 1951, the US supreme court upheld the convictions of 12 communist party members convicted under the Smith Act were not protected by the first amendment. Speech supporting the upthrow of the federal government is not protected. Another example is in 1971, under the New York Times v. United States, the US supreme court upheld the publication of Pentagon Papers. They state that this case establishes that the press has almost absolute immunity from pre-publication restraints. There are many other cases such as the black rights movement and the feminist movement.
The second amendment, the right to bear arms states that "a well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed". This allowed for the people of the nation to arm themselves for self-defense and to defend against a tyrannical government. Part of the reason for the second amendment was the dictator rule of the British Parliament. In 1871, the NRA was constructed by a pair of Union