Importance Of Freedom Of The Press

     The first and inargueably the most significant of the amendments to our Constitution is the First Amendment. The amendment that established our freedoms as citizens of our new confederation. The First Amendment insured, among other things, freedom of speech and of the press. Since the establishment of these rights, they have often been in question. People have debated over, "What is too much freedom?", and "When is this

The freedom of press sounds like one of the things we shouldn’t be focused on, especially with everything else that is going on in our world. Why exactly is this an important freedom? I have always found it to be a little bit strange that we are protecting the right to say hateful things about people you barely know. It doesn’t sound like it should be as important as things like torture or murder. Sometimes words can hurt, but they can also be used to do great things.

Created September 25,1978 and ratified December 15, 179, the Bill of Rights was imputed into society as a tool to establish law,order, and morality. James Madison, a political theorist, was known as the father of the Bill of Rights. One of the most important amendments in the Bill of Rights is the right to freedom of speech, expression and media. In the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment 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.” The First Amendment guarantees the citizens of America that they have the right to freely express themselves about anything, including political arguments and views. This amendment also guarantees the press/media the right to overtly publish their ideas on any topic in the newspaper. The purpose of this amendment is to assure America’s people that they shouldn’t worry about being censored or punished for the expression of their feelings because they are human just as everyone else.

We read novels, textbooks, road signs, and billboards every single day, but there is so much more to this freedom. It allows us to read and write novels that help us connect with our inner selves. It allows us to look at controversial topics through multiple views and choose which side to believe, rather than being told what to believe. The rights that this freedom gives us also come with responsibility. We must be willing to keep ourselves educated, otherwise, this freedom is wasted. The freedom of press is a one that all Americans should be grateful for.

Under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution of December 1791, guaranteed the civil liberty of freedom of speech. It outlined that congress is not allowed to make any laws that may bridge a citizen’s freedom of speech, religion, press, and the right to assemble. This style of liberty gives all Americans the opportunity to express their thoughts openly without being shut down by the government. For example, there have been a great deal of protest the current president. Although, he is the president and should be respected Americans still have the right to display their opinions

The government can not censor the press, even if what is published is against the government. The free press helps to protect citizens’ rights and hold the government in check. Also in accordance to the First Amendment, people have the right to join any organization of their choosing and come together as a group, peaceably. The last right that the public has is the right to present the government with petitions or letters that tell of their unhappiness and complaints against the government. This is a right that our founding fathers did not have back in England. When they declared independence from the King, they laid out all of their grievances for the world to see. In contrast, our citizens today do no have to wait for a historical event to vent their frustrations.

The First Amendment one that is watered down, serves as example of the freedom we as Americans have. It is best known as the amendment that lets us say what we want when we want. There is more to it that gets overlooked. It blocks government from establishing a theocracy, grants the people the right to peacefully assemble and protest the government for a redress of grievances. Our press is independent and is given freedom to publish at will. Our freedoms embolden us to speak out and organize for progress and against society's wrongs. Sometimes groups will organize to speak out but will sink to extreme measures as a means of expression. The first amendment has seen challenges in recent months. “Donald Trump referred to the press, and I'm quoting his exact words, as "dishonest, disgusting, and scum."Just ten days ago, you might have heard in a press conference, President Donald Trump said that the "press is out of control."(Chemerinsky, 553). To clashes between different ideologies on college campuses with some initiating riots. The first amendment grants many freedoms, however it does not grant protection from consequence.

American citizens were not pleased with the fact their rights were being violated. The Sedition Acts made it illegal for newspaper editors to criticize the government. The government imposed punishments for editors who violated this law. This act violated the freedom of the press, which is under the First Amendment. Stated in Document F, “the liberty of conscience and the press cannot be canceled, abridged, restrained, or modified by any authority of the United States.” By even appointing these acts, it meant the federal government was exercising a power that was never given to them in the first place. Document F states, “Alien and Seditions Acts, passed at the last session of Congress; the first of which exercises a power nowhere delegated to the federal government”. The administration’s foreign policy was not protecting Americans, rather violating their

The First Amendment, in substance, does not provide absolute protection for all forms of speech, press, assembly, petition and association. It is not absolute. As a balance for interest of speech against competing government interest, an evolution of balancing tests were created and modified by the Supreme Court hence the Free Speech Clause.

During the Revolutionary period, the founding fathers set forth many goals and values to shape American politics. They saw the great potential that America possessed to become a united nation and leading economic power. Even though the U.S. was in debt as a result of the Revolutionary War, the founding fathers did not approve of debt and warned future generations of its danger. The founding fathers also warned future generations of the importance of an isolationist policy to prevent foreign entanglements. Throughout American history, freedom of the press has been continually threatened. Therefore, American politics today does not uphold the goals and values the founding fathers set forth for America during its creation because of national debt, current foreign affairs, and freedom of the press.

The first amendment ensures the general population's flexibility of press, religion, discourse, and gathering. Particularly freedom in the USA truly matters to individuals and this amendment is fundamental to them. Individuals can say what they think openly and they can express their emotions. Moreover, they have the privilege to realize what's occurring in the nation and the administration should not control the data from the media.

In the past, there has always been conflict between the free press and the government. This conflict was very evident in the Pentagon Papers case, also known as New York Times Co. v. United States. Historically, the Supreme Court has disagreed on the limitations that can be placed on the First Amendment. The Supreme Court faced these issues in the case of The New York Times. The newspaper obtained a copy of a Defense Department report that explained government deception in the Vietnam War. The Pentagon Papers emerged when the American people disagreed on the United States involvement in the war. Under the First Amendment, The New York Times argued

In the book Freedom for the Thought that we Hate, author Anthony Lewis takes a simply phrased law, the First Amendment and shows how complex freedom of speech really is once put into the real world of freedom, as we know it. He shows through his rejections of absolutism, strong support towards freedom restriction, and objective analysis of Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, that the United States press is unlike any other in the world.

The rights of Americans have been tried over and over and no matter the opponent, we have the right to speech and press as long as there isn’t “clear and present danger.” The case of Schenck V. the United States fought that the Espionage Act didn’t grant freedom of speech when he was convicted of “conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act by attempting to cause insubordination in the military and to obstruct recruitment.”(www.oyez.org). On March 3, 1919, the courts ruled in favour of the United States to keep the act and withstand the convictions. They strive to prevent evil or dangerous things that could threaten the government or people. (www.britannica.com). A similar case consisted of Yates V. The United

Freedom of the press is part of the five main freedoms represented in the first amendment of the constitution of the United States. The constitution was ratified in 1791 putting freedom of the press in full development. Since then many cases have evolved with this freedom, and the freedom had some role of developing future amendments and technology in modern day. Freedom of the press had a history even before its ratification, it helped to solve many court cases, and is used throughout modern times.