Freedom of Speech

AuthorDaniel Brannen, Richard Hanes, Elizabeth Shaw
Pages157-163

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The First Amendment says "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech." Along with the First Amendment freedoms of religion, assembly, and the press, the freedom of speech is part of the larger freedom of expression. It is the right to think, believe, and learn what we want, share our thoughts with others, and listen to what others have to say.

Throughout history governments have restricted the freedom of speech. They feared that the free flow of ideas would threaten their power and lead to social disorder. In 1621 free speech restrictions in England by King James I led Parliament to issue a declaration of freedoms. During the French Revolution in 1789, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man included the freedom of expression. When Americans drafted a Bill of Rights for the new U.S. Constitution in 1789, this history influenced them to include the freedom of speech in the First Amendment. (Adopted in 1791, the Bill of Rights contains the first ten constitutional amendments.)

The Bill of Rights applies only to the federal government, so state governments did not have to recognize freedom of speech for a long time.

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Then in 1868, after the American Civil War (1861–65) ended, the United States adopted the Fourteenth Amendment. Part of it says states may not "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." In Gitlow v. New York (1925), the U.S. Supreme Court decided that free speech is a "liberty" that is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. Because of this, state governments today must allow freedom of speech.

The arguments for free speech

The U.S. Constitution protects free speech for many reasons. Free speech is essential for people to develop as individuals. It allows people to learn and explore what they want, which allows each person to be unique and special. It also spreads knowledge to more people, which helps Americans become better informed.

Free speech is also essential to the U.S. form of government. The United States's political leaders are elected by the people. Citizens could not make intelligent decisions on election day if they could not learn about the various candidates. Free speech also helps Americans stay informed about what their political leaders are doing, both good and bad.

Finally, free speech is essential for social change. For example, slavery was legal when the United States was formed. It took decades of discussion about the evils of slavery to spark the American Civil War, which ended slavery. If the government had been allowed to stop people from talking about the evils of slavery, it might have taken even longer to build a strong opposition.

Many types of speech

Supreme Court cases deal with three kinds of speech: pure, symbolic, and speech plus conduct. Pure speech is the most basic kind of First Amendment speech. It covers words that are written or spoken. Pure speech includes books, magazines, newspapers, radio, television, the Internet, motion pictures, public speeches, and much more. Pure speech is so important that the First Amendment prevents the government from regulating it based on its content, meaning the message it contains. For example, a state could not pass a law preventing people from writing books about legal ways to avoid taxes.

This is true even when speech is hateful or offensive. For example, in Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), the Ku Klux Klan held a rally to protest

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