1. Life without Free Speech
Why would a country like China want to block free speech and access to youtube?
What do you think would happen in this country if our government tried to block a website like youtube?

2. Your First Amendment Rights
We reviewed all 10 amendments in the Bill of Rights. Today, we will focus in on the first amendment, which helps to protect your right to express yourself in different ways.
Fill in your notes as we discuss each protected right listed in the first amendment:

3. What happens when your rights are violated?
The first amendment protects multiple rights: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom to petition the government.
If an American feels that his or her first amendment rights are being violated (abused by the government), he or she may challenge the government in a court of law. The same is true about all other rights protected in the Constitution.

4. RIGHT 1: The Right to Worship Freely
There are two parts to this right. First, the amendment says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”—this means that Congress cannot make any religion the official religion of this country.
Nor can Congress make laws that favors one religion over another. The purpose of this was to create a clear “separation of church and state”—a separation of religion and government.
The Founding Fathers knew that to be fair to all people of the United States, the First Amendment had to prevent any one religion from becoming the dominant religion of the U.S.

5. Right 1 (continued…)
The second part of this right states that “Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise (practice) of religion.” This means that people can believe, or not believe, whatever they want about a religion without fear of being punished.

6. Check your Understanding!
Think back to the different religions of the 13 colonies. Name at least 3 different religions that American colonists practiced.
Why do you think it was so important for them to protect the right to worship freely when they were creating their own system of government?

7. RIGHTS 2 & 3: The Right to Free Speech and a Free Press
The first amendment protects your right to speak and express yourself freely. Before independence, Americans were sometimes put in jail for speaking badly about the British government—the Founding Fathers wanted to prevent this from ever happening again.
Speech does not just include verbally spoken or written words—it also includes “symbolic speech.” For example, it is your right to burn an American flag if you are protesting against something our government is doing. This is not spoken language, but the action of burning a flag is “symbolic speech” and it is protected!

8. Limits on Free Speech
The right to free speech does have some limits—you do not have the right to say things that endanger public safety.
For example, falsely yelling “fire!” or “bomb!” in a crowded public area would not be protected speech—you could get in trouble for putting other people’s lives in danger.

9. Right to a Free Press
Americans also have the right to a free press—at first, this was meant to protect newspapers and magazines that report information. The Supreme Court has decided that a free press also includes books, television, movies, and the Internet.

10. Check your Understanding!
A Supreme Court judge once said that the purpose of free speech isn’t to protect “free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate.” What does this quote mean?
Explain in 2 sentences

11. RIGHTS 4 & 5: The Right to Assemble and Petition
The final 2 rights of the first amendment are the right to assemble (gather together) peacefully and to petition (appeal to) the government.
Remember, during the colonial times, the American colonists tried to petition King George III to change his policies and allow for more representation for Americans—but King George III simply ignored these requests.
To prevent this from ever happening again, the Founding Fathers wanted to protect these rights of the people by including them in the first amendment

12. Right to Assemble and Petition
The right to assemble means that citizens can use public property for meetings and demonstrations.
Examples are parades, protests, political rallies, and marches. As long as these assemblies are “peaceful,” they are protected by the First Amendment.
If a protest gets out of control or people behave violently, the police can arrest those acting violently.

13. Check your Understanding!
Why did the Founding Fathers make sure to include these protections in the First Amendment?