Gitlow V Taylork Case Summary

The Amendment I of the Bill of Rights is often called “the freedom of speech.”

Even in the early stages of American history there was an urge to put legally protected freedoms into written government documents. The result was the drafting of the first ten amendments to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, by James Madison. The applications of the personal freedoms described in the Bill of Rights, particularly the freedom of speech, have been challenged repeatedly in American courts of law and elsewhere. These incidents and challenges of authority reflect the defensive American attitude toward the ever-important freedom of expression and the growing significance of personal rights throughout American history.

So the need for more drastic, shock and awe type actions from people desiring to be heard on any particular matter has been brought to the forefront. This is where the Bill of Rights has drastically come into play. At this point the Supreme Court has to protect the freedoms without stripping Americans of their rights entirely but it also has to protect Americans from those who wish to do harm to others under the protection of freedom of speech or expression. Not only does the First Amendment provide for freedom of speech but also freedom of expression which is as equally controversial. By examining the First Amendment and the protections and exclusions it has provided over the years through three highly controversial cases, it will allow the reader some insight into the difficulties surrounding the protection of free speech. The cases that are to be examined are Snyder v. Phelps, Morse v. Frederick and Texas v. Johnson. All of these cases present a different freedom of speech or expression issue that was brought to the Supreme Court and therefore, set a standard for future rulings regarding that particular issue.

1791- 1st Amendment- This Amendment establishes our 5 major rights as citizens; Rights to Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition.

The United States Constitution contains 27 Amendments. These 27 Amendments were all chosen and passed for specific reasons. However, the most important Amendment to the Constitution is the First Amendment, which is also the most relevant to america today. The first amendment protects the freedoms of religion, speech and the press, as well as the right to assemble peacefully and petition the government if necessary. The Founding Fathers of the Constitution created this Amendment to insure that individual's’ rights will not be violated under federal legislature. Today, the First Amendment's’ importance has recently been under fire as many opinions are causing controversy within different media outlets. Although some may disagree, the First Amendment is solely the foundation for basic democracy not only in America, but worldwide. The First Amendment provides Americans the ability to freely express their opinions, protest against the government, and follow individual faith.

One of those was the case Benjamin Gitlow V. People of the State of New York, which happened on June 8, 1925. Benjamin Gitlow, a socialist, was a arrested for publishing and distributing copies of his article “left-wing manifesto”, which called for the establishment of socialism through strikes and the forceful overthrow of government, and was charged with criminal anarchy under New York’s Criminal Anarchy Law of 1902. During his trial Gitlow argued that he was protected under the First amendment was he had the Freedom of Speech and the Freedom of the Press. On appeal the Supreme Court conveyed that the first amendment applied to New York through the Due Process Clause, ensures the rights and equality of all citizens, under the 14th amendment. Meaning New York had to follow Federal Government laws and not their own laws when dealing with Freedom Of Speech and Freedom of the Press which were ratified into the constitution in the year 1971. Although the Court decided Benjamin was still arrested because his speech was not protected under the First Amendment under the “clear and present danger test.” This case was very important because this was the year the first amendment was nationalized and showed how states had to follow federal government

American citizens, provided that they do not insight some form of disturbance or riot (see Chaplinski vs.

The constitution gives you amendments, and the first one gave you freedom of speech, and religion. The first one tells you what you are allowed to do like you can worship the way you want to, you can say what you want to, etc. I am going to give you two examples out of five from the freedoms they give you in the first amendment.

Freedom of speech, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peacefully to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” The First Amendment is a primary tenant among the liberties our forefathers intended to be bequeathed to future generations of Americans. They sought a world better than the one that they were born or immigrated into under British rule.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of expression from government interference. Freedom of expression consists of the rights to freedom of speech, press, assembly, the right to make a

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution gives the American people the right to Freedom of Speech, as stated in the Constitution: “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.” What is Freedom of Speech? It is the right to both verbal and non-verbal communication of thoughts and ideas. The people of America have the right to Freedom of Thought and Freedom of Expression.

The First Amendment to the Bill of Rights states you have the right to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and petition. The part that discusses freedom of speech means that one has the right to speak within certain limits. Also, the right to talk

The first amendment of the constitution is our right to our own opinion. It is a right everyone is born with and everyone has; there are no defects. At Acton Academy we cannot and will not ban our right to our own opinion. Some of you are probably thinking “What is he talking about?” In the session before this one we made a very big mistake. We took a vote on whether we should be allowed to cuss in the Middle School. It went through and from then on we were not allowed to say any words deemed offensive. At that point it seemed harmless and nobody cared, but now I realize that it wasn’t about the cussing part, it was about protecting our right to our opinion. If I could go back in time I would have testified against it.

The First Amendment includes six clauses that cover five basic areas: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances.

The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an established religion, or prohibiting the exercise thereof'; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." This amendment, founded on the strong and open minds of the Founding Fathers, made certain that free speech be incorporated into America's free and democratic society.