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First Amendment

Introduction
Do people ever wonder how this country came about or how it was established, or what people went through to get the country to where it is today? Most people think, “I can say what I want, all day long, if I want”. Nevertheless, those people are extremely wrong! People tend to go too far. It is assumed that everyone has freedom of speech, until that freedom is violated by someone else. This paper will address the freedom of speech as it is addressed in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Background
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution 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” (First Amendment, 2008). The original 45 words of the First Amendment have not changed. With this in mind, the First Amendment is a set of principles that tends to change meaning as the citizens of the United States challenge the implications, and as the courts interpret the definitions.
The English settlers who came to America brought English law with them. Inconsistencies arose between premise and practice, and between the law as written and the law as applied (First Amendment, 2008). Settlers had come to America to get away from the religious persecution and strict English laws. The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787 (2008). Many of the Constitution’s founding fathers felt that the addition of specific freedoms was unnecessary. This exclusion was later revealed to be in error and the first ten amendments were created. The first ten amendments to the Constitution, known as The Bill of Rights, went into effect on December 15, 1791. Finally, the states had the individual power to protect its citizens from the power of the federal government (First Amendment, 2008).
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