First Amendment 101.

• Author: Anastasia, Laura
• Position: INTERNATIONAL - Cover story

The nation's founders drafted the First Amendment to safeguard some of Americans' most important freedoms. What rights does it guarantee you?

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.

Disagree with a new law in your town? You can speak up about it. Worship differently than your friends? You have the right to follow any faith you choose or none at all. Want the latest scoop? Read articles from as many news outlets as you like--or start your own.

We sometimes take these rights for granted, but our nation's founders did not. Even as they signed the Constitution in 1787, some of the Framers worried that the document didn't guarantee Americans' individual freedoms. They wanted to be sure that the new government they'd created didn't overstep its bounds.

So James Madison, who had been the primary author of the Constitution, wrote the Bill of Rights. Ratified in 1791, the 10 amendments that make up the Bill of Rights protect key individual liberties, such as freedom from unreasonable searches and the right to public trials. The first one on the list, however, is arguably the most vital.

The First Amendment establishes Americans' freedom of speech, religion, and the press, as well as the right to assemble peacefully and to petition the government for change (see full text, above). It's just 45 words--the text fits inside a single tweet--yet the First Amendment gives Americans incredible power, says Catherine Ross, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University.

"Freedom of expression is the engine oil that makes democracies function," says Ross. "It gives us the right to criticize the powerful, to demand change, and to learn what is going on in our society so we can organize for political action and be informed voters."

First Amendment freedoms are for all Americans, but the rules sometimes differ for young people--especially in public schools, which are considered an extension of the government. Here's a look at how First Amendment rights really play out in your lives.

1. FREEDOM OF SPEECH

   Does the First Amendment allow me to say and wear whatever I want at school?

   It's not quite that simple. School officials have the right to limit your clothing choices and speech if they think either might interfere with learning. So if you stand up and start yelling in class, mentioning your First Amendment rights won't prevent you from getting detention. (Even outside of school, free expression has its limits. As the late Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, "The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic. ")

   Schools can't ban personal expression simply because it's controversial or unpopular, however. Case in point: In 1965, 13-year-old Mary Beth Tinker was suspended for wearing a black armband to school in Iowa to protest the Vietnam War. She sued the district--and the case eventually landed at the Supreme Court.

   The Court ruled in her favor, saying that she had a right to peacefully express her political views. In the 1969 decision Tinker v.

   Des Moines, the justices declared that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." The groundbreaking ruling is still considered the most important of all school-related First Amendment cases.

   Snapchat banned me! Isn't that a violation of free speech?

   Nope. The First Amendment prevents the government and government institutions--like public schools--from punishing or censoring speech. But in most cases, the rules don't apply to private companies, private schools, or private people like, say, your parents. ("You don't have First Amendment rights at home," notes Ross.)

   These...