What does the First Amendment say summary?
The First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. It forbids Congress from both promoting one religion over others and also restricting an individual’s religious practices.
What is the significance of the US Supreme Court opinion that words creating a clear and present danger are not protected by the First Amendment?
The Court ruled in Schenck v. United States (1919) that speech creating a “clear and present danger” is not protected under the First Amendment. This decision shows how the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Amendment sometimes sacrifices individual freedoms in order to preserve social order.
Why did Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes decide that Schenck’s speech did not deserve First Amendment free speech protection?
The Schenck case Holmes argued that this abridgment of free speech was permissible because it presented a “clear and present danger” to the government’s recruitment efforts for the war. The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic….
What is protected by the First Amendment?
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.
How is the First Amendment relevant today?
It protects our right to express our deepest beliefs in word and action. Yet most Americans can’t name the five freedoms it guarantees – religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. It is through exercising our First Amendment freedoms we can ensure our democracy lives up to its highest ideals for all Americans.
What rights does Amendment 8 protect?
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution states: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” This amendment prohibits the federal government from imposing unduly harsh penalties on criminal defendants, either as the price for obtaining …