How First Amendment rights haveevolved

The right to assemble in peaceful protest is one right granted by the First Amendment. In this photo, Occupy Wall Street

demonstrators stand and cheer in front of the George Washington statue on Wall Street in New York City as they

celebrate the protest's sixth month, March 17, 2012. AP Photo/John Minchillo

The U.S. Constitution was signed in 1789. It is the most important law of the country. The

First Amendment was added to the Constitution two years later. It is a law that protects

several freedoms. They are freedom of religion, speech, press, petition and assembly.

Freedom of petition means that people can tell the government what they want it to do.

Freedom of assembly is the right to march and protest.

Freedom Of Religion

The First Amendment does not allow an official religion in the U.S. This means that

everyone has a right to be whatever religion they want to be. The government cannot tell

people how to pray. It also cannot require prayer.

Public schools cannot hold prayer services. The government cannot give money to

religious schools.

By USHistory.org, adapted by Newsela staff on 02.13.17

Word Count 422

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Freedoms Of Speech And Of The Press

Free speech is one of our most important freedoms. There are limits to free speech.

Judges have to decide what are these limits.

World War I was fought between 1914 and 1918. A man named Charles Schenck was

against the war. He gave out papers asking men to not fight. The government said

Schenck threatened the safety of the country. The Supreme Court agreed. It said free

speech cannot cause danger to the country.

Three Types Of Speech

Judges say there are three kinds of free speech.

1. Pure speech is written or spoken words. They express thoughts and ideas. The

government cannot limit these.

2. Speech-plus is words and actions. Protests are one example of this. Speech-plus is not

as protected as pure speech. Actions can be dangerous. Protesters may not block traffic

or hurt people.

3. Symbolic speech is visual action. These symbols show a person's point of view. Wearing

a black armband in school was used as a symbol of protest in the late 1960s. It was used

to protest the war in Vietnam. In the 1960s some people burned flags. They were

protesting the war in Vietnam. In 1989, the Supreme Court said that people can even burn

an American flag. The media also has freedom of speech. In most cases, the government

cannot stop the media from printing information. It can only do this if the information will

cause danger to the country.

Freedom Of Assembly And Petition

Freedom of assembly and petition are also rights. There are limits to this, though. A protest

cannot stop traffic. It also cannot harm peace and quiet.

The First Amendment is very important and powerful. It protects freedom of religion,

speech, press, assembly and petition.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2

Quiz

1 Based on the article, why is freedom of religion important?

(A) It lets people gather in order to march and protest.

(B) It helps the government give money to public schools.

(C) It gives people the right to choose whichever religion they want.

(D) It means that the government can require people to follow religion.

2 Read the section "Three Types Of Speech."

How is symbolic speech different from pure speech?

(A) Symbolic speech includes visuals that show a person's thoughts.

(B) Symbolic speech includes physical actions that can be dangerous.

(C) Symbolic speech is only used by the media to print information.

(D) Symbolic speech is easy for the government to stop.

3 What do you learn by looking at the article's section titles?

(A) the different kinds of protests protected by the First Amendment

(B) the importance of freedoms protected by the First Amendment

(C) the types of freedoms protected by the First Amendment

(D) the reasons freedom is protected by the First Amendment

4 What is the purpose of the section "Freedoms Of Speech And Of The Press"?

(A) to show that free speech is dangerous for the country

(B) to show what the limits of free speech are

(C) to explain different ways people use free speech

(D) to explain how free speech is protected in the country

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3