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STANDARDS
Common Core: RH.6-8.1, RH.6-8.2, RH.6-8.4, RH.6-8.7, WHST.6-8.4, RI.6-8.1, RI.6-8.2, RI.6-8.4, RI.6-8.7, W.6-8.4, SL.6-8.1
NCSS: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions • Power, Authority, and Governance • Civic Ideals and Practices
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CIVICS
The First Amendment and You!
The nation’s founders penned the First Amendment to safeguard Americans’ most important individual freedoms. How do these rights apply to your life today?
As You Read, Think About: What might the United States be like without the First Amendment?
Disagree with a new law in your town? You can speak up about it. Worship differently than your friends do? You have the right to follow any faith you choose or none at all. Want the latest scoop? Read as many news sources as you like—or start your own.
We may take these rights for granted, but our nation’s founders did not. Even as they signed the U.S.
So James Madison, the Constitution’s main author, drafted the Bill of Rights to ensure the government didn’t overstep its bounds.
The First Amendment, however, is arguably the most important part of the Bill of Rights. In just 45 words, the First Amendment establishes freedom of speech, religion, and the press, as well as our right to assemble peaceably and
“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,” says Catherine Ross, a law professor at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
So how does the First Amendment apply to your life? Read on to find out. After all, knowing your rights is the best way to make sure you use them.
First Amendment
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.
1. FREEDOM OF SPEECH
Does the First Amendment allow me to say and wear whatever I want at school?
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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. But schools can’t ban personal expression simply because it’s controversial or unpopular. Case in point: In 1965, 13-year-old Mary Beth Tinker was suspended for wearing a black armband to school to protest the
The nation’s highest court ruled in Mary Beth’s favor, saying that she had a right to peacefully express her 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 ruling is still considered the most important of all school-related First Amendment cases.
SKILL SPOTLIGHT: Analyzing Political Cartoons
What point might the cartoonist be making about teens’ right to express themselves at school? Why might a “free speech zone” matter to students?
Jeff Koterba/PoliticalCartoons.com
Words to Know
Constitution: the official document that spells out the structure, powers, and duties of the U.S. government
petition: to make a formal request for something
ratify: to give legal or formal approval, often by a vote
Vietnam War: a conflict in Asia from 1954 to 1975 that pitted North Vietnam and its allies against South Vietnam and its chief ally, the U.S.
2. FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
My town has a curfew for teens. Doesn’t that violate my right to peaceably assemble?
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No. In fact, hundreds of U.S. cities and towns have instituted nightly curfews for teens to help reduce crime. Millions of teens have been arrested for violating them. While the government can’t choose who can gather based on a group’s viewpoint, it can dictate the place, time, and manner in which people assemble.
Curfews have been challenged on various grounds, including that they violate teens’ right to gather. But most courts have upheld them. “The reasoning is that minors have lesser rights than adults, need to be safe, and . . . that the community also needs to be safe from disorderly young people,” Ross says. Still, courts have blocked curfews that are too broad or don’t have enough exclusions—such as for teens who work night jobs.
The First Amendment didn’t apply to state governments until 1868. Before then, only the U.S. government had to follow it.
3. FREEDOM OF RELIGION
The Pledge of Allegiance includes the words “under God.” Can my school make me recite it anyway?
Critics have long argued that including the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance violates the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from establishing a national religion. Still, several courts have ruled over the years that public schools are allowed to lead students in the Pledge anyway—as a patriotic exercise, not as a prayer. And today, schools in 47 states do just that.
But whether you say the Pledge is up to you. In 1943, the Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette that students have the right to opt out—meaning they don’t have to salute the flag or recite the Pledge if they don’t want to, and that decision still stands.
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4. FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
We have to show the principal our school newspaper articles before we print them. Is that legal?
It sure is. The Supreme Court ruled in 1988’s Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier that administrators have the right to preview and
Administrators need to have a legitimate concern such as safety to yank articles, however. In the Kuhlmeier case, the principal pulled articles that he thought invaded some students’ privacy.
5. FREEDOM TO PETITION
Is it wrong to use social media to ask my classmates to lobby school officials?
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In general, your right to complain to the authorities isn’t up for debate. After all, the
How you go about it also matters, as Connecticut teen Avery Doninger found out. In 2007, she wrote a blog post urging fellow students to complain to school officials after they canceled a concert. But she insulted administrators in her post—and the school blocked Avery from serving on the student council as a result. She sued, but the courts eventually sided with the school, saying that Avery’s post had disrupted other students.
Learn from that, Nott suggests. “If your goal is to actually lobby the administration, leave out the insults,” she says. Otherwise, “you’re risking that your message will get lost.”
Words to Know
censor: to examine news, books, or other works to remove any ideas considered offensive or harmful to society
Declaration of Independence: the document that explains why the 13 American Colonies had rebelled against British rule and formed the United States of America
lobby: to try to influence government officials to act or vote in a certain way