The First AmendmentCreated by: Miss Priester

History

What are they?

The Parts

Heroes

Did You Know?

Activities

Resources

What are they?

History

Where did the first amendment come from? Why were they created? Our founding fathers felt that as Americans we should be able to have certain rights and freedoms. They worked to create these 10 amendments found in the Bill of Rights to stop citizens from being religiously persecuted, protesters from being silenced, the press from being criticized by the government, and many others freedoms that we enjoy today.

Click the links below to understand more.

Watch video Are the Bill of Rights

Necessary?

Read First Principles

Article

Establishing the Bill of Rights

History

Click the video to begin.Click the video again to pause.

Are the Bill of Rights

Necessary?

Are the Bill of Rights Necessary?

History

As America won it’s fight for freedom, several important people in our history decided that a new form of government needed to be created. One of the ideas they came up with was the U.S. Constitution. This document was set up to be a system of checks and balances that included a strong executive branch, a representative legislature and a federal judiciary. The Bill of Rights was introduced to the U.S. Constitution in 1789. It was felt by many of the delegates such as James Madison and George Mason, that the Bill of Rights would help defend the rights of U.S. citizens and keep the federal government from interfering in their business. Because the Constitution specified what the government could do, but did not say what it could not do, the Bill of Rights was created.

History of the First Amendment

The Parts

James Madison

George Mason

Thomas Jefferson

The First Amendment was approved by Congress during its first session in 1789

It was created in response to concerns that the Constitution did not sufficiently protect individual liberties.

It became part of the Constitution in 1791 along with the nine other amendments.

The First Amendment was intended to restrain only federal power.

The 1925 U.S. Supreme Court decision Gitlow v. New York, decided that state governments, as well as the federal government, are prohibited from restricting free expression under the Constitution.

James Madison

The Parts

Drafting the Bill of Rights were, in Madison’s words, “extremely difficult and fatiguing.” Members of the Continental Congress challenged each other to duels at different points during debates. Having been chosen to represent Virginia in the Continental Congress and although the youngest delegate, he played a major role in the decisions of that body. Madison believed strongly in the Constitution and argued with other Virginians, Patrick Henry, George Mason, and Richard Henry Lee about it’s benefits. He, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, created a series of essays that came to be known as The Federalist Papers that talked about political theories that backed up the Constitution. However, Madison also felt that the Constitution needed a Bill of Rights too, so helped to write them in 1789.

George Mason

Thomas Jefferson

History"A pure democracy is a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person.” ~ James Madison

George Mason

The Parts

George Mason was one of the three delegates from Virginia who felt that the rights of citizens needed to be protected. He would cutoff his right hand, he said, before he would sign a constitution that did not include a Bill of Rights. Becoming frustrated, he left the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and being bitterly disappointed, became one of the Constitution's most vocal opponents. Mason was one of the richest planters in Virginia and was a justice in the Fairfax County Court system. In 1759 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. Throughout his career Mason strongly held to his belief in the rule of reason and in the centrality of the natural rights of man.

James Madison

Thomas Jefferson

History"The Eyes of the United States are turned upon this Assembly and their Expectations raised to a very anxious Degree." ~ George Mason

Thomas Jefferson

The Parts

In 1787, Jefferson was serving as the U.S. Ambassador to France. He and good friend James Madison wrote letters to each other talking about the benefits of a Bill of Rights being added to the Constitution. Jefferson felt especially strong about the freedoms of speech, press, and religion, once writing that the people are entitled to these freedoms against every government on Earth. During his time as a senator in the Virginia General Assembly, Jefferson opposed the view that churches should be supported by state taxes, but instead that churches should be able to support themselves. In 1779, when Jefferson served in the Virginia House of Delegates, he first introduced a bill on religious liberty. Many people disagreed with him, but together with Madison, the bill finally passed in 1786, three years before the first amendment would be added to the Consititution.

James Madison

George MasonHistory"The most sacred of the duties of a government is to do equal and impartial justice to all its citizens. ~ Thomas Jefferson

The Three Virginians

The Parts

It couldn’t have been just a coincidence that these three men were Virginians or felt strongly about the way our government should be governed. Jefferson, Madison, and Mason were all well educated, studied law, and believed in the rights of man.

The three Virginians didn’t always agree but with their varying backgrounds, Madison’s in political theory, Jefferson’s in religion and writing, and Mason’s in community affairs and leadership, helped establish and contribute to the freedoms we are allowed to have today.

The Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason strongly influenced Thomas Jefferson when he wrote the Declaration of Independence.

The Declaration of Independence also became the foundation for the Bill of Rights, written by James Madison.

James Madison

George Mason

Thomas Jefferson

The Parts

Speech

Religion

Assembly

Petition

Press

Click on the appropriate link for more information.

Heroes

Freedom of Speech

Religion

Assembly

Petition

Press

Disagree with someone who has a different opinion than you

This is the right to freely express yourself through all types of expression whether it’s by creating photographs, paintings, writing songs, making up dances, or dressing how you want.

Say any political belief

Protest (without getting out of control)

Say things about someone that are true

Burn the flag

Say racist and hate slogans

As an individual you can….

What are the limits to the freedom? Heroes

Freedom of Speech Limits

Religion

Assembly

Petition

Press

Use extremely crude language in a public form

Even though the freedom of speech is there to protect you when you want to say your opinion, there are some things that this freedom will not let you do.

Threaten to blow up airplanes, schools or the president

Use disrespectful, vulgar language in schools

Commit hate crimes

Create too much social chaos

As an individual you can’t….

Heroes

Freedom of Religion

Assembly

Petition

Press

Speech

You have two freedoms granted by the First Amendment regarding Religion.

The Establishment Clause and The Free Exercise Clause No official religion can be

established Allows for the separation of

church and state The government cannot

give financial aid to churches

Can’t interfere with a person’s practice of their religion

But, religious actions and rituals can be limited

You are protected under this clause, even if your religion is small and not well known.

Heroes

Freedom of Assembly

Religion

Petition

Press

Speech

Protest Parade (with a permit)Parade chanting hate slogansGang members can congregate in public

Once thought of as the lesser of the five fundamental freedoms, Assembly has gotten some major respect from the Supreme Court...

This freedom has helped Americans win the right to vote, fight for their civil rights and protest wars. This freedom allows you to:

Heroes

Freedom of Petition

Religion

Assembly

Press

Speech

Once upon a time if you didn’t like the king’s decisions you couldn’t say anything... and if you did... you would land yourself in hot water...

No really, they would boil you.

The Declaration of Independence in itself was an example of a petition, because it was a bold statement telling the world just why the U.S. was rebelling against its king in England.

You may sue the government for wrongs You cannot be punished for exposing wrongs by the

government The courts decide the wrongs

Here’s how you are protected:

Heroes

Freedom of the Press

Religion

Assembly

Petition

Speech

Do you like blogging on myspace and facebook? That’s your right, because of this part of the first amendment.

Zenger was a NYC newspaper publisher who had to defend himself against libel charges in 1735.

The Trial of John Peter Zenger is seen as the cornerstone court case for the freedom of the press.

Because of this freedom, you can sit in your room and share your thoughts on your blog and not worry that the government will come after you for what you say.

What can’t you do?

Heroes

The Press…

Religion

Assembly

Petition

Speech

Can CannotPrint any political position

Make fun of people, especially politicians

Expose wrongs by the government

Say things you might not agree with

Libel– intentionally injuring a person’s reputation by false facts

Disclose defense-security secrets

Detail how to make certain weapons

Heroes

First Amendment Heroes

Did You Know?

Meet some First Amendment Heroes

Our founding fathers thought about citizen’s rights when setting up the government we would be ruled by. However, throughout our country’s history, citizens have come to the forefront to continue to fight for their rights and civil liberties. They’ve helped make the government change laws and make the country truly stand for the home of the brave. Can you think of any citizens who could be considered a First Amendment hero? Here are some things to consider:

Did this person do something that was unpopular at the time? How did people react?

Did the person’s views come to be shared by a larger number of Americans? By a majority of Americans?

Do you think that exercising his or her First Amendment rights caused this person — or his or her family — to change? In what ways?

Know These Heroes?

Did You Know?

How You Can Be A First Amendment Hero

Martin Luther King,

Jr.

Rosa Parks Cesar Chavez

Were some of these people included in your list of First Amendment heroes? Why would they be considered a hero? Coincidentally, each of these people stoodup for the freedoms of speech, assembly, and petition. Would you do the same?Take a minute to explore each person’s role in the fight for the First Amendment.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

How You Can Be A First Amendment

Hero

Rosa Parks

Cesar Chavez

In 1955, black leaders in Montgomery, Ala., launched a boycott of city buses because the bus company’s management and its drivers treated black passengers harshly. Black people always had to sit in the back of the bus and were not even allowed to sit if white people needed their seats. The leaders of the bus boycott picked a young newcomer as their spokesman. Martin Luther King Jr. was the minister of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. King’s leadership sustained the Montgomery bus boycotters through 13 months and made King the most influential figure of the civil rights era.

He would lead speeches, marches, and conventions that would lead to a major social revolution and transform the ways social equality in America. His home was bombed. He was attacked and even stabbed. He spent many nights alone in jail. He received countless death threats. However, through him, the doctrine of nonviolence became the civil rights movement’s philosophy. Over and over, King preached the difficult message of peaceful confrontation. Demand your rights, he urged, but love your enemies.

Rosa Parks

Cesar Chavez

Martin Luther King,

Jr.

On a chilly December afternoon in Montgomery, Alabama, a black woman named Rosa Parks boarded a bus after a long and tiring day. She deposited a dime in the fare box and took an empty seat behind the painted line that marked the “colored section” of the bus. At the next stop two white men climbed on board. The bus driver turned and called out to the seated black people at the back of the bus, “Give them your seats.”      Three black passengers rose obediently,

moved farther to the rear, and stood,

but Rosa Parks refused to budge. The driver hailed a police car, and Rosa Parks was arrested. Like electricity, word of Rosa Parks’ arrest spread through Montgomery’s black community. She was not the first black person to defy the city’s rules on the buses. a plan and hurried it into action. Mrs. Parks was arrested on a Friday. Nixon proposed that all blacks boycott the city’s buses on the following Monday. The one-day boycott was a huge success. The Montgomery boycott was the first mass attack on the old segregationist South.

How You Can Be A First Amendment

Hero

Cesar Chavez

Martin Luther King,

Jr.Rosa Parks

César Chávez was born in Arizona in 1927. His parents were farmers and business owners. But in 1937, the family lost its farm because of a bad business deal. By 1938, the Chávez family had joined some 300,000 migrant workers; they traveled all over California, picking whatever was in season. César Chávez worked part time in the fields while he was in school. After graduation, he began to work full time. He kept noticing that the labor contractors and the landowners exploited the

workers. He tried reasoning with the farm owners about higher pay and better working conditions. But most of his fellow workers would not support him for fear of losing their jobs.

Chávez became a part-time organizer for the Community Service Organization working to get farm workers to register to vote. He was so successful that he registered more than 2,000

workers in just two months. At the age of 35, he left his own well-paid job to devote all his time to organizing the farm workers into a union. With a strong leader to represent them, the workers began to demand their rights — fair pay and better working conditions. Without these rights, no one would work in the fields. After several years, changes in the California labor laws began to happen making a difference in the way migrant workers worked.

How You Can Be A First Amendment

Hero

How You Can Be A First Amendment Hero

Did You Know?

Speak out when you see injustices. Be tolerant of the ideas of others; allow others to speak their minds. Use words, not violence, to fight against ideas and actions with

which you disagree. Have confidence in your ideas; don’t be afraid to express

them.

You, as a student can exercise your rights in a number of ways. Brainstorm some ideas on paper for how you can accomplish this. Here are some ideas to help:

Did You Know?

Activities

One of the sayings that students like to use most is, “It’s a free country!” That saying came from the first amendment because our founding fathers wanted citizens to be as free as possible!

James Madison was the only delegate to attend every session of the Constitutional Convention.

Most of the freedoms in the first amendment came from four other documents that had already been written, which include: the Magna Carta, 1215; the Petition of Rights, 1628; the Writ of Habeas Corpus, 1679; and the English Bill of Rights, 1689.

Three delegates, Mason, Randolph, and Gerry, refused to sign the Constitution because it did not originally include a Bill of Rights.

Activities

Resources

Constitutional Convention Simulation - At this site, you can talk with delegates at the constitutional convention, find James

Madison’s missing notes, complete a crossword puzzle on the Constitution and much more!

Bill of Rights Video – Watch this video about the history of the Bill of Rights at

the Bill of Rights Institute

Constitution Relay Game – Play this game and see how much you know about the

Constitution and the Bill of Rights

First Amendment Quiz – Try this 15 question quiz from the Illinois First Amendment Center and see how

much knowledge you know!

Resources

Conclusion

George Mason BiographyJames Madison BiographyThomas Jefferson Center

Rosa Parks BiographyCesar Chavez Foundation

Martin Luther King, Jr. Home PageFirst Amendment CenterThe Charters of FreedomDo You Have the Right?

Ben’s Guide to the US Government for Kids A Brief History of the Bill of RightsIllinois First Amendment CenterVirginia Declaration of RightsPeopling the American Past

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