The Actions And Speech Are Protected By The First Amendment Essay

ISSUE: Does having members who opt out of a union continue to pay agency fees violate the First Amendment to the Constitution?

These newspapers suggested that the Catholic Church, as well as the British Parliament, had a hidden agenda of destroying the freedoms the colonists had created for themselves. These suspicious attitudes led to the creation of republicanism, or the idea that government authority was conditional and must be limited by the people. Under this institution, the governed people would have the opportunity to rebel against their government if they feel they are abusing their powers. This idealism would be taken into account during the creation of the Constitution. The American people agreed that republicanism would fit well in their society, though they knew they must gain independence from the British tyrants first.

The American Revolution was a war of independence between 1775 and 1783 caused by a myriad of political, economic, social and religious disputes between British and American colonies. Political representation for colonists was put into question when economic factors such as taxes came into play. A major factor that drove reform during the American Revolution was the freedom of religion. People were being limited in their participation, were forced to pay taxes on the official church and had to obey church laws. Colonists began to fight against these restrictions and eventually gained rights for people of different religion and as a result of the American Revolution, religious minorities experienced benefits such as the liberty of religion

The American Revolution taking place first in 1765, was mainly because there was a want for a free and open government. After the battles of Lexington and Concord they colonies were debating whether fighting for independence or reconciliation was the best way to protect their liberties as colonies. If and when people decided that independence was the best option, they were still hesitant about openly seeking this freedom. Though Congress was sending out declarations that the colonies were loyal to King George, they were also preparing for war with the British, which was much of a contradiction. The British also prepared for war and even recruited slaves to fight for them. Many

Before America was America people fought a war where theoretically they should not have won. After the war ended, they came out victors, but at the price of losing thousands of men. “We are fallen into the most unhappy times, when even innocence itself is nowhere safe!” (Boston Gazette, February 1770). This excerpt shows that the people in the colonies were angry and wanted change. There was sufficient cause for the American colonists to take up arms and rebel against the British government because people have the right to privacy, and Britain was not giving it to them.

On April 19, 1775, the citizens of the british colonies of america started a revolution against Great Britain by signing the Declaration of Independence. The decision to do so was supported by what the american people felt was a severe lack of freedom from the British government. the beginning of the American Revolution, the british colonies in America were very harsh on their citizens in terms of freedom. Citizens of these colonies were not allowed to verbally disparage the government and were forced to share religious beliefs with the Church of England. In rebellion, the american people took a stand against Great Britain, and declared themselves as the United States of America.

Over time the Supreme Court has decided that certain aspects of freedom of speech are more important than others. For example, if someone used their First Amendment rights to lie about things they knew were false, threatened to commit a crime, insult another person, or used overly explicit content, the courts have moral grounds to prosecute those persons. It makes sense that if someone’s freedom of speech lessened another person’s right to freedom of religion or freedom of opinion by instilling fear, that is an unfair use of the First Amendment. These parameters, although not specifically outlined in the Bill of Rights are very important to protect everyone’s right to feel safe believing the things that they do.

Another cause of the American Revolution was the desire of the colonists to have freedom of religion and the determination of England that the colonist must remain true to the Church of England. Puritans, a religious group who came to the colonies seeking freedom of religion, wanted to remain a part of the Church of England, but develop their own style of worship. Another more radical religious group, Separatists, wanted a complete break from the Church of England. The goal of both of both the Puritans and the Separatists was to have the freedom to express religious beliefs without fear of persecution by the church or government. England remained firm that the colonist must follow the practice of the Church of England with no variation ("Annenberg Learner," 2013).

During the 18th and 19th century, or to be more precise, The Great Awakening was a response to the Enlightenment. Against the Enlightenment that is. That being so, it ended up being a major cause of the revolution in the long run. Not only that but the new religious messages that were emerging were increasingly more democratic overall becoming, in the U.S, messages of greater quality. “Old lights” and “New lights” sprung up and began disagreeing with each other. The effects of the Great Awakening caused religion to have an infringing position on the states. Thus, the people thought it best if the two ideals (Religion and the State) were separate from one another so people aren’t governed by other people’s feelings on religion.

The separation of church and state was becoming a popular policy with the colonists. Furthermore, the majority of colonists soon decided they wanted the government to have nothing to do with their beliefs. Unfortunately, government passed laws to keep the church in order, however that only fueled the colonists to have a separation of church and state.

Enlightenment ideas helped the Americans fight against British rule and create a new nation. With the fight for their new nation came the Declaration of Independence. This document is based on the beliefs of John Locke. John’s teachings mostly focused on self-government and natural rights. John Locke Believed that everyone was created equal with the same three natural rights. The Declaration of Independence argued for natural rights and equality as well. The Declaration of Independence was influenced by Locke’s idea of Equal rights and self-government. They liked the idea of a Democracy, the rule of the people. The United States’ Declaration of Independence states. The American colonist separated from Britain because King George 3rd was not governing the people correctly. For example, he created “Taxation without Representation”. Taxation without Representation is when the American Colonist were being taxed unfairly. John Locke believed the government was there to protect the people, and if they were not being protected they have the right to rebel against the ruler. This is exactly what the American colonist did. The document by the colonies declaring separation from Britain, stated. John Locke’s beliefs of self-government influenced the colonies to rebel and become it’s own

Religion played a big role in the cause of the American independence movement and eventually the American Revolution. It had such a big role because because, the majority of colonists were associated with some form of Christianity. Christianity encourages its members to be free and that those who are faithful to Him, God will set free, from tyrants, oppressors, and other forms of enemies. Another way it had such a big role in causing the American Independence movement, and revolution, is that Pastors, in sermons that they preached, encouraged the colonists to fight for their freedom and that God wanted them to fight. This pushed many people to choose a side and mostly to choose the side of the Patriots. This is also seen in the sermons of many

In 2015, Presidential candidate Donald Trump proposed that he would consider shutting down mosques in the United States. Now being president, he created an executive order mandating the closure of all mosques which is a violation of The First Amendment of the Constitution which states that the “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The First Amendment states Congress will have no right to prohibit or create laws against free speech, press, or religion. This documents in written word that all forms of speech and press are legal in the United States. Therefore,

Freedom of speech is protected by the United States Constitution under the First Amendment. Americans have the right to voice their opinions and ideas without fear of retribution or suppression from the government. Commercial speech is speech, usually in the form of a commercial or advertisement, where a company is trying to influence a person to buy a product or service. Commercial speech has less protection than normal speech.