A Look At The Constitution & The Bill Of Rights Series: “The Frst Amendment.” (Part 1 of 2)

Let’s Talk About The First Amendment

Whether in a debate, or when they’re protesting, and especially when they are arguing on Social Media, or even some of those in Congress itself; many, who are discussing it, have no idea what it actually says, let alone what it actually means. And most of them have never even seen or read it.

What they have heard, over the course of their lives, becomes fact in their minds. And most of the time, what they believe they know about it is incorrect. And so, skewed ideas get passed around, then changed and restated as fact, over and over again. Until what’s left over, hardly resembles the original at all.

So Lets break it down and take a look for ourselves…after all, knowledge is power.

What is the Bill Of Rights?

The Bill of Rights is the first Ten Amendments to the Constitution. It spells out Americans’ rights in relation to their government.

It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual (the founders believed an individual’s rights were more important than the rights of the community as a whole, and that those rights must be protected.) —like freedom of speech, press, and religion. It also sets rules for due process of law and reserves all powers not delegated to the Federal Government to the people or the States.

And it specifies that “the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Not only do you have your individual rights, but no one else, not even the Government, can deny, infringe or disparage those rights. And you cannot do that to anyome elses rights either.

At this link: you can look at a transcription of the first of ten amendments to the Constitution in its original form. The amendments, (“Bill of Rights,”) were ratified December 15, 1791.

What does the first amendment say exactly?

Amendment I

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.

Let’s Break it down.:

1.) The first part is important. The Freedom of Religion clause, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

When the pilgrims first came to America, they were fleeing from an oppressive King and religious persecution.

A great account of the Pilgrims, and why they first came here, is found at the “All About History” website.

From their report:

The Pilgrims were English Separatists who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620. The Pilgrims, fleeing religious persecution, broke away from the Church of England because they felt the Church violated biblical principles of true Christians. Due to persecution and economic distress, they believed they had to break away from the Church of England to form congregations which were more in keeping with divine requirements. Coming out of the recent Reformation, the pilgrims believed the Church of England had not come far enough. The Church was under strict rule of the State so their actions were considered treasonous and these Separatists had to flee their homeland. 

Determined and very courageous men and women committed themselves (in all aspects of their lives) to life based on the Bible and a relationship with God. They brought their only known culture and spiritual values to the New World and attempted to establish an improved foundation of English society on an unfamiliar new continent.

In short, they wanted to be able to practice their religion the way they wanted to without interference from the King or the Church of England.

Great Idea, but there was one main flaw that our founders saw in the way the original Colonies had practiced their religions. And that was the formation, (establishment,) of “state” religions. The majority of Colonies had their own denomination of Christianity and if you wanted to live in a particular colony, you too had to worship in their way.

And so, what has now become known as the “establishment” and “Freedom of Religion” clause, was put into the first amendment.

Congress can make no law that establishes a “state” religion. And no matter what, they cannot prevent you from worshiping God in anyway you see fit…or to not worship God at all, if you so choose.

It is the Freedom “of” Religion clause; not The Freedom “from” Religion clause. There is no “Separation of Church & State” in the Constitution, this term was taken from a speech, and now it is popularly used as if it is constitutional statute…it is not. They simply did not want a particular religion to be mandated by the state.

In fact there are many founding documents that show the founders believed religion was an important part of self governance and that Government did not give its people certain rights, it protected their rights given to them by their “creator” which is why these rights can never be taken away by anyone.

Below is a great 5 minute video, created by PragerU that explains more. Their full page on this subject, including Facts & Sources this can be found here.

Also for more in depth studying , you can download their Study Guide:

The Freedom of Speech

2.) The Freedom of Speech clause. What does the 1st amendment say about speech, exactly?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech

According to this paper from Cornel University Law School, Free Speech under the Constitution is defined as this:

“The most basic component of freedom of expression is the right of freedom of speech. The right to freedom of speech allows individuals to express themselves without government interference or regulation. The Supreme Court requires the government to provide substantial justification for the interference with the right of free speech where it attempts to regulate the content of the speech. Generally, a person cannot be held liable, either criminally or civilly for anything written or spoken about a person or topic, so long as it is truthful or based on an honest opinion, and such statements”.

According to The Constitution Center,

Although the First Amendment says “Congress,” the Supreme Court has held that speakers are protected against all government agencies and officials: federal, state, and local, and legislative, executive, or judicial. The First Amendment does not protect speakers, however, against private individuals or organizations, such as private employers, private colleges, or private landowners. The First Amendment restrains only the government.

Again no “government” can infringe on your right to free speech, because they did not give you that right. It was given to you by your God or “Creator.”

The Supreme Court has also recognized that the government may prohibit some speech that may cause a breach of the peace or cause violence. 

So applies the famous example, “You cannot yell FIRE in a crowded theater.”

And speech that is “a call to action” such as a riot or to cause violence against someone else, is not protected in the free speech clause. However there is no clause that defines any kind of speech as “Hate Speech” or “Wrong Speech” the Fredom of Speach clause does not protect you from being offended by someome elses speech.

You might not believe it if you listen to today’s liberal Social Justice Warrior youth, or walk around for five minutes on any of our extremely liberal college campuses…but it is.

PragerU has another great 5 minute video on the offense of free speech below. The page with the video and facts & sources is at this link

Another great article on this subject was done by The National Review. You can read it by clicking on the following title link, ‘Free Speech’ Means Just That

To read Part 2, in our Constitution Series : A Look At The Constitution & The Bill Of Rights: “The Frst Amendment Click Here:

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