THE FIRST AMENDMENT

"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."

PROPOSED SEP. 25, 1789

REASONS FOR THE FIRST AMENDMENT

• Founding fathers believed that the open, free exchange of ideas was needed for a representative democracy to survive.
• Ben Franklin: " Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."

ARGUMENTS FOR PASSAGE

• Americans demanded a guarantee of their basic freedoms.
• As citizens were tired of previous religious oppression in Europe, they demanded the freedom to worship freely in the new country.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST PASSAGE

• Letting citizens freely express their minds may result in uncivil reactions when trying to maintain a civil society.
• In modern day citizens wonder if the first amendment should cover things like pornography, flag-burning, hard-core rap lyrics, tobacco advertising, and hate speech.