First Amendment



First Amendment

Introduction

Eleven years after the Declaration of Independence detailed the ideals on which the government of the United States would be built; the Constitution established how the government would work. The Constitutional Convention organized in 1787 to decide exactly what would be included in this new plan of government, which was seen as necessary after the previous plan for American government, the Articles of Confederation, proved to be too weak. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention agreed to eliminate much of the threat of treason that had traditionally restrained freedom of speech and the press. Only waging war against the United States and "adhering to" (supporting) the nation's enemies would bring charges of treason under the new Constitution.

However, other issues were not agreed upon so easily. Among these were how the government would protect the rights and liberties of citizens. Some in the Constitutional Convention believed that proposed ideas for individual liberty went too far; others felt they did not go far enough to prevent abuses by government.

The Constitution and Bill of Rights

The Constitution was not ratified by all 13 states until 1789 largely because of these differences, and it was only approved after promises made that rights would soon be added to it. This occurred two years later with the passage of the Bill of Rights.

The process creating the amendments making up the Bill of Rights was among the first duties of the newly formed U.S. Congress. The dozens of ideas considered eventually narrowed down in the House of Representatives to 17 proposed amendments. The Senate reduced that number to 12 amendments by deleting some and combining other proposed amendments.

There was lively debate at the Constitutional Convention over an amendment specifically securing freedom of speech and the press. Virginia delegate James Madison was the leading advocate for this amendment while others, including New York delegate Alexander Hamilton, insisted that it was unnecessary. Hamilton explained that a statutory guarantee of free speech and free press "depend on public opinion, and on the general spirit of the people and the government". Noah Webster of Connecticut echoed Hamilton's viewpoint, stating that rights to free speech and free press are so obvious that to include them in a constitutional amendment would be like providing all Americans the rights to eat and drink.

In the end, it was Madison's point of view that prevailed. "The freedom of the press and rights of conscience, those choicest privileges of the people, unguarded in the British Constitution," said Madison, reminding his opponents that these thoughtless privileges been abused for centuries.

For an amendment to be included in the Bill of Rights, three-fourths of the states had to approve them. On December 15, 1791, Virginia became the 10th state to approve 10 of the 12 amendments, making them law. These amendments to the Constitution provided Americans with more guarantees of freedom than any government had ever granted before.

Led by the First Amendment, the Bill of Rights was now part of a newly expanded and seemingly clearly defined set of ...