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Freedom of speech, of the press, of association, of assembly and petition -- this set of guarantees, protected by the First Amendment, comprises what we refer to as freedom of expression. The Supreme Court has written that this freedom is the matrix, the indispensable condition of nearly every other form of freedom. Without it, other fundamental rights, like the right to vote, would wither and die.  But in spite of its preferred position in our constitutional hierarchy, the nation's commitment to freedom of expression has been tested over and over again. Especially during times of national stress, like war abroad or social upheaval at home, people exercising their First Amendment rights have been censored, fined, even jailed. Those with unpopular political ideas have always borne the brunt of government repression. It was during WWI -- hardly ancient history -- that a person could be jailed just for giving out anti-war leaflets. Out of those early cases, modern First Amendment law evolved. Many struggles and many cases later, ours is the most speech-protective country in the world. The path to freedom was long and arduous. It took nearly 200 years to establish firm constitutional limits on the government's power to punish seditious and subversive speech. Many people suffered along the way, such as labor leader Eugene V. Debs, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison under the Espionage Act just for telling a rally of peaceful workers to realize they were fit for something better than slavery and cannon fodder. Or Sidney Street, jailed in 1969 for burning an American flag on a Harlem street corner to protest the shooting of civil rights figure James Meredith. (see box) THE FIRST AMENDMENT IGNORED Early Americans enjoyed great freedom compared to citizens of other nations. Nevertheless, once in power, even the Constitution's framers were guilty of overstepping the First.
Post your essay. Get expert feedback. For free. We're trying to help students improve their writing the hard way. Do you know students who want critical essay reviews from a professor of English Literature? Click like to share. Click here to sign up and post your own essay. We offer no paid services. All reviews are completely free. Essay On The First Amendment: Free Speech Is Free Speech This is a sample college essay about freedom of speech, and the continuing relevance of the first amendment to the American constitution. For other sample essay please use the search bar. Title: Free Speech is Free Speech Two second-graders, little Timmy and Billy, are playing on the playground during recess. Timmy is playing with his toy car, and Billy comes up and grabs it out of his hands. Timmy starts crying and goes and tells the teacher. The teacher tells Billy to give the car back, and Billy says: “No! I can do whatever I want! This is a FREE country!” Although this example is a little extreme, many Americans know something about the principles of the Constitution of the United States, but they do not understand exactly why the were created. Today, many ponder the usefulness of their freedom of expression when it is almost impossible for their voices to be heard by others without the access to TV networks. Few people realize that the first amendment to the United States Constitution was written to protect citizens from being incarcerated due to their beliefs or thoughts, and not to ensure every American’s voice could be heard by as many people as they would like. Understood in this way, the right to free speech is still valuable, even if getting others to hear your voice without having money or power is difficult. The first amendment to the United States Constitution, concerning Freedom of Religion, Press, [and] Expression, was written over 200 years ago, and ratified on.
by namrata vyas (india) Is freedom of speech necessary in a free society?Nowadays, globalization and multiculturalism has changed the viewpoint of the people by adopting themselves as smarter, quicker and effective communicator. In older days, people used to accept any rules whatever they have been told to them without (taking) anyone’s opinion whether in running government, family or society. They used to respect and behaved as told to them. First, Freedom of thought, views and speech is the most fundamental duty of every person of different nations because without sharing remarks or thinking nobody knows about solution of any cause. Liberty of words shows the power especially in politics or government. Most importantly, everyone has right to think and act for battlement of society without causing harm or prestige of some individual. Second, it is necessary to understand common people’s thought about any norms before it has been made. The Government, which only can be created by people’s opinion and their vote because without them everything can become fuzzy however freedom of speech should be allowed in such necessary circumstances. Furthermore, education, economic factors, medical, agriculture, info-tech and so on are run by common people who do anything to compete with the world. So the society is only govern by their potentiality and capabilities and knowhow of all their desire tendencies which gives rising up gradation for making a nation brighter. So government should know what citizens needs in different field in civilized society.To conclude, people should be free from such hurdles by sharing their speech virtually. I think freedom of speech is most valuable aspects of society to build up in fruitful way. Imposing restriction in speaking may damage and survive longer without getting productive result. Freedom of speech is guaranteed by Constitution of India.
This is a topic which every student should be willing and able to write about. There are few freedoms as important and as relevant as the freedom of speech. Free speech is the catch cry of every democracy. It is only in countries where despots and harsh military regimes control the nation that people are denied free speech. Every peaceful country will guarantee its people the right to free speech. In creating a freedom of speech essay you need to look for an angle or approach to the subject which allows you to define what you mean by free speech and how it can be exercised. The more specific you can make the situation in which you develop your essay, the better and the easier it will be for you to make your point. What should you look for in a freedom of speech essay? A clear and precise definition. The benefits of citizens having freedom of speech. The disadvantages of being denied freedom of speech. The law being such that people feel free to behave a certain way. How freedom of speech relates to other freedoms. In your introduction it is important that the reader understands what you understand by freedom of speech. It is possible to look to the Constitution of democratic countries to find such a definition. Because your essay is about this topic it's most important that you have a clear understanding of its meaning. Explaining the benefits to the citizens of a country where freedom of speech is taken for granted is important in pointing out how those who do not have that freedom are in a difficult situation. This can be explained when listing the disadvantages for citizens in a country where they are denied freedom of speech. Those who would go against the law in such countries are likely to be dealt with harshly. There are many examples in totalitarian regimes where you will be able to explain the disadvantages for such suffering people. It's important to.
We are proud of producing interesting, well -researched and plagiarism-free assignments for college and graduate students. We have a crack team of professional academic and business writers with years of experience in crafting college and graduate papers. No matter how complicated your assignment is and how tight deadline you have we will deliver top quality paper you will like. Our friendly support representatives are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to answer your questions and solve your requests. The Freedom of Speech is one of the most powerful amendments that we have as apart of the United States Constitution. Without this right many ideas, beliefs and inventions would not exist today and the majority of the society would be left in ignorance. This right is given to all American citizens and allows them to speak their minds, beliefs and ideas to anybody of people that are willing to listen to them. Though Freedom of Speech is considered a general terms that applies to all forms of speech, there are a few exceptions to the rule. Limitations on the First Amendment The First Amendment is very powerful and has the ability to promote, protect and even destroy and harm. This power has to have some checks and balances associated with that allow for a somewhat peaceful interaction between American citizens. Slander, libel, obscenity,sedition, copyright infringement and revelation of classified knowledge don’t fall under the umbrella of the First Amendment. Acts of libel are speaking or writing things that defame the name of a person or business. Slander is usually spoken while libel can either be written or spoken. Obscenity is a action or statement made that goes against the moral fiber of the society for a certain time. Sedition is verbal or physical resistance of authority figures and those in office, some of these actions and words can actually cause.
People in the United States of America take pride in living in a country that is known as the land of liberty. As citizens, we have certain rights as individuals. Among these rights is freedom of speech. We usually think of speech just as spoken words. But freedom of speech means much more than merely allowing people to say what they want whenever they want. It means having the freedom to believe what you choose and to openly state your beliefs without being thrown in jail. I believe the First Amendment means and was intended to give all Americans absolute freedom of speech. The First Amendment states; Congress shall make no law restricting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the rights of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.  Supreme Court Justice Hugo Blacks interpretation of the First Amendment is one of the simplest and what I believe to be the most true. Hugo Black points out that the amendment says, Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of speech. No law means no law.  Any attempt by the government to restrict a persons freedom of expression opens the way to destroying that freedom for all. For our own protection, the government must not be allowed to decide which ideas are acceptable. In my interview to Alice Crane, a journalist for the Contra Costa Times, she brought up some very interesting points. People such as Larry Flynt have fought to save their right to express themselves through pornography or other vulgar things that not all people agree with. But people express themselves in many different ways, why should one thing be heard and not the other. It takes all different types of people to make the world go round.  The Larry Flynt trial was a great step to get Essays Related to Freedom of Speech.