What is the first amendment simplified

Adopted in 1791, the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects many of the civil rights associated with life as an American, including free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press. It also addresses the right to protest peacefully and petition the government. It was added to the Constitution along with nine other amendments, which together became known as the Bill of Rights.

The First Amendment states:

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.

In essence, First Amendment rights protect an individual's religious freedom, the free press, and free expression from interference by the federal government. Through more than two hundred years of court cases, the U.S. Supreme Court has been tasked with interpreting the First Amendment to determine the breadth of these fundamental rights.

What happens when a law seems to uphold the First Amendment's establishment clause but strains the free exercise clause? Does the First Amendment protect obscenity? What actions are protected by freedom of expression? Can public schools restrict a student's free speech?

This collection of articles can help you learn about how the Supreme Court answered all these questions and more concerning First Amendment freedoms.

Learn More About the First Amendment

History of the First Amendment

Although the rights embodied in the First Amendment were not included in the original draft of the United States Constitution, they were essential in its ratification. After the Constitutional Convention, several states, including New York, refused to ratify the new Constitution because it lacked a Bill of Rights. Legislatures in these states only agreed to sign off on the new plan for the United States government if Congress promised to add protections for freedom of speech, religion, and the press.

James Madison agreed to write this Bill of Rights, which included the First Amendment, the Second Amendment right to bear arms, and due process rights. He based his draft on the Virginia Declaration of Rights written by George Mason. The Bill of Rights originally included 19 amendments, but seven were rejected by the Senate and the House of Representatives. 

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the freedom of speech, religion and the press. It also protects the right to peaceful protest and to petition the government. The amendment was adopted in 1791 along with nine other amendments that make up the Bill of Rights—a written document protecting civil liberties under U.S. law. The meaning of the First Amendment has been the subject of continuing interpretation and dispute over the years. Landmark Supreme Court cases have dealt with the right of citizens to protest U.S. involvement in foreign wars, flag burning and the publication of classified government documents.

Bill of Rights

During the summer of 1787, a group of politicians, including James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, gathered in Philadelphia to draft a new U.S. Constitution.

Antifederalists, led by the first governor of Virginia, Patrick Henry, opposed the ratification of the Constitution. They felt the new constitution gave the federal government too much power at the expense of the states. They further argued that the Constitution lacked protections for people’s individual rights.

The debate over whether to ratify the Constitution in several states hinged on the adoption of a Bill of Rights that would safeguard basic civil rights under the law. Fearing defeat, pro-constitution politicians, called Federalists, promised a concession to the antifederalists—a Bill of Rights.

James Madison drafted most of the Bill of Rights. Madison was a Virginia representative who would later become the fourth president of the United States. He created the Bill of Rights during the 1st United States Congress, which met from 1789 to 1791 – the first two years that President George Washington was in office.

The Bill of Rights, which was introduced to Congress in 1789 and adopted on December 15, 1791, includes the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

First Amendment Text

The First Amendment text reads:

“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.”

While the First Amendment protected freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition, subsequent amendments under the Bill of Rights dealt with the protection of other American values including the Second Amendment right to bear arms and the Sixth Amendment right to a trial by jury.

Freedom of Speech

The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech. Freedom of speech gives Americans the right to express themselves without having to worry about government interference. It’s the most basic component of freedom of expression.

The U.S. Supreme Court often has struggled to determine what types of speech is protected. Legally, material labeled as obscene has historically been excluded from First Amendment protection, for example, but deciding what qualifies as obscene has been problematic. Speech provoking actions that would harm others—true incitement and/or threats—is also not protected, but again determining what words have qualified as true incitement has been decided on a case-by-case basis.

Freedom of the Press

This freedom is similar to freedom of speech, in that it allows people to express themselves through publication.

There are certain limits to freedom of the press. False or defamatory statements—called libel—aren’t protected under the First Amendment.

Freedom of Religion

The First Amendment, in guaranteeing freedom of religion, prohibits the government from establishing a “state” religion and from favoring one religion over any other.

While not explicitly stated, this amendment establishes the long-established separation of church and state.

Right to Assemble, Right to Petition

The First Amendment protects the freedom to peacefully assemble or gather together or associate with a group of people for social, economic, political or religious purposes. It also protects the right to protest the government.

The right to petition can mean signing a petition or even filing a lawsuit against the government.

First Amendment Court Cases

Here are landmark Supreme Court decisions related to the First Amendment.

Free Speech & Freedom of the Press:

Schenck v. United States, 1919: In this case, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Socialist Party activist Charles Schenck after he distributed fliers urging young men to dodge the draft during World War I.

The Schenck decision helped define limits of freedom of speech, creating the “clear and present danger” standard, explaining when the government is allowed to limit free speech. In this case, the Supreme Court viewed draft resistance as dangerous to national security.

New York Times Co. v. United States, 1971: This landmark Supreme Court case made it possible for The New York Times and Washington Post newspapers to publish the contents of the Pentagon Papers without risk of government censorship.

The Pentagon Papers were a top-secret Department of Defense study of U.S. political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. Published portions of the Pentagon Papers revealed that the presidential administrations of Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson had all misled the public about the degree of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Texas v. Johnson, 1990: Gregory Lee Johnson, a youth communist, burned a flag during the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas to protest the administration of President Ronald Reagan.

The Supreme Court reversed a Texas court’s decision that Johnson broke the law by desecrating the flag. This Supreme Court Case invalidated statutes in Texas and 47 other states prohibiting flag-burning.

Freedom of Religion:

Reynolds v. United States (1878): This Supreme Court case upheld a federal law banning polygamy, testing the limits of religious liberty in America. The Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment forbids government from regulating belief but not from actions such as marriage.

Braunfeld v. Brown (1961): The Supreme Court upheld a Pennsylvania law requiring stores to close on Sundays, even though Orthodox Jews argued the law was unfair to them since their religion required them to close their stores on Saturdays as well.

Sherbert v. Verner (1963): The Supreme Court ruled that states could not require a person to abandon their religious beliefs in order to receive benefits. In this case, Adell Sherbert, a Seventh-day Adventist, worked in a textile mill. When her employer switched from a five-day to six-day workweek, she was fired for refusing to work on Saturdays. When she applied for unemployment compensation, a South Carolina court denied her claim.

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971): This Supreme Court decision struck down a Pennsylvania law allowing the state to reimburse Catholic schools for the salaries of teachers who taught in those schools. This Supreme Court case established the “Lemon Test” for determining when a state or federal law violates the Establishment Clause—that’s the part of the First Amendment that prohibits the government from declaring or financially supporting a state religion.

Ten Commandments Cases (2005): In 2005, the Supreme Court came to seemingly contradictory decisions in two cases involving the display of the Ten Commandments on public property. In the first case, Van Orden v. Perry, the Supreme Court ruled that the display of a six-foot Ten Commandments monument at the Texas State Capital was constitutional. In McCreary County v. ACLU, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that two large, framed copies of the Ten Commandments in Kentucky courthouses violated the First Amendment.

Right to Assemble & Right to Petition:

NAACP v. Alabama (1958): When Alabama Circuit Court ordered the NAACP to stop doing business in the state and subpoenaed the NAACP for records including their membership list, the NAACP brought the matter to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled in favor of the NAACP, which Justice John Marshall Harlan II writing: “This Court has recognized the vital relationship between freedom to associate and privacy in one's associations.”

Edwards v. South Carolina (1962): On March 2, 1961, 187 Black students marched from Zion Baptist Church to the South Carolina State House, where they were arrested and convicted of breaching the peace. The Supreme Court ruled in an 8-1 decision to reverse the convictions, arguing that the state infringed on the free speech, free assembly and freedom to petition of the students.

SOURCES

The Bill of Rights; White House. History of the First Amendment; The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Schenck v. United States; C-Span.

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The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution addresses what happens to the presidency and vice-presidency if the president and/or vice president dies, resigns or becomes incapacitated or disabled. Passed by Congress on July 6, 1965, the 25th Amendment was ratified by the states on February 10, 1967. Invoking the 25th Amendment has always been controversial, especially Article 4, which allows for removal of a president who is deemed incapacitated by any kind of illness—including mental illness—or injury.

Presidential Line of Succession

Prior to the 25th Amendment, presidential succession procedures existed, but they were vague and didn’t cover every contingency. Assumedly, the vice president would become president if the president died or resigned.

However, it wasn’t clear what should happen if the president was temporarily incapacitated or if the vice president was incapacitated. The 25th Amendment sought to address these concerns.

The original Constitution allowed for the vice president to become acting president if the president died, resigned or became debilitated, but it didn’t state who had the power to declare the president unfit to serve or prevent the president from returning to office.

In addition, it didn’t specify if an acting president should take over the “Office of the President” or only perform presidential duties until the president returned or a qualified replacement was found.

READ MORE: US Presidents Who Became Ill or Incapacitated While in Office

Presidential Succession Act

The Constitution also didn’t indicate who would assume the vice-presidency if the vice president became president, died or was debilitated. It only said that Congress could declare, “what Officer shall then act as President.”

In February 1792, Congress passed the Presidential Succession Act, placing the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate in the line of succession.

In 1886, Congress removed the President Pro Tempore and the House Majority Leader from the line of succession and replaced them with members of the presidential cabinet in order of rank, beginning with the Secretary of State.

In 1943, the 20th Amendment cleared the way for the vice-president elect to become president if the president-elect died or was debilitated. In 1947, Congress reinstated the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore to the line of succession ahead of the president’s cabinet members.

Whether all these changes were done in the best interest of American citizens, or to take advantage of a crisis and control who ruled the White House, is still a matter of debate.

Succession Confusion Before the 25th Amendment

Until the 25th Amendment, each administration came up with its own plan to handle presidential and vice-presidential vacancies and reinstatement. This ambiguity led to confusion, ambiguity and in some cases, deceit.

For instance, in 1841, President William Harrison became the first president to die in office; vice president John Tyler succeeded him. Harrison’s cabinet gave Tyler the title, “Vice President Acting President,” but Tyler wanted more.

He moved into the White House, had himself sworn in as president and assumed full presidential powers, including giving an Inaugural Address. Despite some controversy, Congress eventually confirmed Tyler’s presidency.

In 1919, after having a series of strokes and ignoring warning signs of ill-health and neurological problems, President Woodrow Wilson had a massive stroke from which he never recovered during his presidency.

When his Cabinet suggested the vice president take over, Wilson’s wife Edith and his doctor, Cary Grayson, conspired to keep his condition a secret from both Congress and the public, leaving the United States without a competent leader.

After suffering heart problems and a mild stroke, President Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote a confidential letter to Vice President Richard M. Nixon instructing him on what to do if he was incapacitated. Eisenhower identified Nixon as the person who should determine his inability to perform his duties.

The letter wasn’t legal, however, and although Nixon became acting president when Eisenhower had a heart attack in 1955 and again when he had surgery in 1956, Nixon was never sworn in as president during Eisenhower’s terms.

What Is the 25th Amendment?

The need for a succession amendment came to light when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, and there was confusion about whether Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson had also been injured and, if so, who would take their places in the line of succession.

On January 1, 1965, less than two years after the assassination of Kennedy, joint resolutions were introduced in the House and Senate recommending a succession amendment. By April, the House and Senate had approved their own versions and a committee created to resolve their differences.

On July 6, Congress passed a joint resolution and forwarded it to the states for ratification. The 25th amendment was ratified on February 10, 1967. President Johnson signed the 25th Amendment into law on February 23, 1967.

The amendment has the following four sections:

Section 1 states that if the president dies or resigns, the vice president shall become president.

Section 2 states that in the event of a vice-presidential vacancy, the president will nominate a vice president who will be confirmed by a majority Congressional vote.

Section 3 states that if the president tells the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House in writing that he is unable to perform his presidential powers and duties, the duties shall fall to the vice president as acting president until the president notifies them in writing otherwise.

As acting president, the vice president is not sworn in as president; the president keeps his designation and the right to return.

25th Amendment Section 4

Section 4 stipulates that when the vice president and a majority of a body of Congress declare in writing to the president pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House that the president is unable to perform the duties of the office, the vice president immediately becomes acting president.

The president can then submit a written declaration to the contrary and resume presidential powers and duties—unless the vice president and a majority body of Congress declare in writing within four days that the president cannot perform his duties, in which case Congress will vote on the issue.

Section 4 of the 25th Amendment has never been used, although the Reagan administration came close. On March 30, 1981, after President Reagan was shot and undergoing surgery, his administration prepared the necessary papers to invoke the 25th Amendment and make Vice President George H.W. Bush acting president.

The papers were never signed, despite some members of Reagan’s administration, Congress and even his doctor advising otherwise.

In 1987, Ronald Reagan was described as inattentive, distracted, lazy and inept by several concerned members of his staff, who suggested invoking Section 4 to remove him from office.

His new chief of staff, Howard Baker, soon determined he was anything but incapacitated and took no action against Reagan. (Reagan was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.)

Has the 25th Amendment Been Invoked?

Portions of the 25th Amendment have been invoked several times.

In 1973, Spiro Agnew became the first vice president to resign due to scandal after being charged with political corruption. The 25th Amendment required then-President Richard Nixon to nominate a new vice president for Congressional approval. Nixon appointed Gerald Ford and Congress approved the nomination.

In August 1974, the 25th Amendment compelled Vice President Gerald Ford to become president after Nixon resigned. This left the vice presidency unoccupied, so Ford invoked the 25th amendment again and nominated Nelson Rockefeller to fill the vacancy.

On July 13, 1985, President Ronald Reagan used the 25th Amendment to transfer power to Vice President George H.W. Bush while he underwent surgery for colon cancer.

On June 29, 2002, President George W. Bush invoked Section 3 of the 25th Amendment prior to going under anesthesia for a colonoscopy and briefly made Vice President Dick Cheney the acting president. He did the same again when he had another colonoscopy in 2007.

25th Amendment and Donald Trump

During Donald Trump's term, some initiated dialog about invoking Section 4 of the 25th Amendment against him. Still, the 25th Amendment exists to protect the democratically-elected President and the line of succession. It makes it difficult to unseat a President without proven just cause and majority consensus.

Sources

An Ailing Ike: How Eisenhower’s Health Affected His Role in the 1960 Election. Archives.gov.
Is it Time to Talk About the 25th Amendment? CNN.
John Tyler. The White House. List of Vice Presidents Who Served as “Acting President” Under the 25th Amendment. The American Presidency Project.

Presidential Succession. United States Senate.