Where to Draw the Line The First Amendment of the U.S. constitution boldly states that “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.” As members of society, we witness this privilege utilized in both positive and negative ways through our daily lives. But, what happens when this liberty is abused and the emotions of certain groups are damaged in response to this “freedom?” Through his essay, “Protecting Freedom of Expression at Harvard,” scholar and former president of Harvard University, Derek Bok, expresses his firm claim that “Hanging a Confederate flag in public view or displaying a swastika in response is insensitive and unwise because any satisfaction it gives students is far outweighed by the discomfort it causes
The founding Fathers of this great nation, compelled on behalf of its citizens throughout, created, drafted, and adopted the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Representing will and determination, both documents serve as a testament of freedom and the pursuit to obtain liberty and justice for all citizens. Both documents address the “people” but neither of them elaborates the meaning of the word “people” based upon gender. Men protected their freedoms with both the U.S. Constitution and The Declaration of Independence, while simultaneously using them to suppress the freedom of women, just as Judge Hunt did in the case against Susan B. Anthony. As the Judge seen fit to instruct the court, he openly acknowledges the
Let it be clear, that this mundane attempt to strip citizens of their peaceful anonymity will never again be repeated, and that the government never harbored any wicked plans for world domination. We are already in the midst of financial crisis, not to mention a political crisis – we cannot under any circumstances afford to also face a systemic crisis of this caliber. This is a matter that can only be solved through complete reforms of all of our corrupt institutions, because if the U.S wants to continue leading the world, it must first and foremost lead by example. - So rest assured that preventive measures will be taken. We are The United Sates of America, we are a nation founded on the pillars of justice and liberty for all, it is about time we start owning up to that!
He believed in “Life, Liberty, and Property.” One of the main framers that John Locke influenced majorly was a classical liberal and that was Thomas Jefferson. (Stephenson 119) Jefferson once states, “Our liberty depends upon the freedom of the press.” He played a big role in the creation of the Bill of Rights, which are all about equality and being liberal. He was the one who contacted Madison and told him to ratify the constitution because it lacked a bill of rights and the failure to provide for rotation in office. James Madison was the father of the Constitution and drafted the Bill Of Rights, which is all about equality. To make the people feel equally powered with the government and Madison was a liberal.
Could a mere pamphlet written by a lowly corset maker named Thomas Pain have been the inspiration of one of our nation’s most precious and highly regarded documents? In 1776 many people had already decided that independence from Great Britain was best for the American colonies but were afraid to speak such a thing out loud. Most were still undecided on the matter or couldn’t separate themselves from what they believed was their mother country. Thomas Pain saw this and anonymously published his pamphlet “Common Sense” in January of 1776. Through this pamphlet he addressed those issues and made it possible for public support of independence to gain ground.
Jefferson stated in his speech, “having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered,” I again refer to the First Amendment for the freedom of religion, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;” The freedom of religion allows all the people in America to practice their own religion without being criticized and spat at. If you are Baptist or Catholic you can practice without being yelled at or put to death like they did in the Victorian Ages where if you didn’t believe in the Queen’s or King’s religion you could be put to
A Democratic-Republican supporter George Hay of Philadelphia argued that any kind of legislation against a protected freedom, in this case freedom of the press and opinion, is “extremely forbidden by the constitution” (Doc. 7). Democrat-Republicans Thomas Jefferson and James Madison quietly rebelled against the Alien and Sedition Acts by drafting the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. They argued that the
Let’s assume for the sake of argument it does protect an individual right, it is no more absolute than freedom of speech or any other right in the Constitution. No right is absolute; the government is always allowed to restrict the right if it can satisfy Constitutional strict scrutiny and show the restriction is narrowly tailored to promote a goal of compelling importance. Ironically, the very first federal appellate court in recent history to hold that there was an individual right to bear arms under the Second Amendment, the Fifth Circuit, then went on to nevertheless uphold the particular restriction that was being challenged! Mainly, that the guy was under a restraining order for domestic abuse and he wasn’t allowed to possess a gun. The court said the Second Amendment protects your right, but this regulation doesn’t violate your right.
The Cigarette Ad Revolution We live in a country where we occasionally find ourselves blindfolded by censorship. Of all the amendments, the government chooses to bend the cornerstone of our American being: the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of religion, press, and most importantly, speech. In “Cigarette Ads and the Press,” writer Ira Glasser argues against the government’s censorship of cigarette advertising. According to him, the government holds so-called exemptions allowing them to bypass the Constitution’s First Amendment by condemning tobacco ads as messengers of death. He says the “terrible erosion of First Amendment Rights [is excused by] the tendency of courts to allow illegitimate government claims of danger to justify
Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence, and Revolutionary Ideology Bibliographic Essay Jeffrey L. Littlejohn Revolutionary America April 26, 1996 1 We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness: that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as