Test your knowledge of the

First Amendment & Free Speech

FREE
SPEECH
in America.

quiz!
What constitutes Speech and why is it so
important? Are there limits to Free Speech?
More importantly should there be?

INSTRUCTIONS:
Check only one answer per question. See below for an “assessment” of your responses.

First Amendment

1. The first amendment specifically directs

the activities of... 2. The First Amendment says about
speech...
A Congress A No law can be written to abridge it
B House of Representatives B No law can be written to abridge it, ex-
C The entire Federal Government cept specific unprotected forms of speech
D The States C Only Congress may limit it
E All of the above D Hate speech is unprotected

3. What does an amendment’s number

indicate? 4. The purpose of the Constitution is...

A Its significance or legal power within the A To limit a person’s rights within the
hierarchy of law framework of society
B It has no known significance B To establish all the rights enjoyed by a
citizen
C Its popularity among its authors
D The general order in which it was drafted C To limit government from abridging
and ratified by the states some rights, but not all
D To explicitly denote what freedoms are
granted to citizens
E None of the above

5. The First Amendment says about the

press... 6. The rights outlined in the Bill of Rights
are...
A The government may not infringe on A Granted by The Federal Government
press freedom
B Granted by Congress
B The press is a class, distinct from citizens C Granted by the Universe in Perpituity
in general
C Only Congress may censor the press D Accepted as natural or imbued through
the creator/God
D The press may report anything that isn’t
false, slanderous or hateful
E None of the above

7. I think the Bill of Rights serves our

present day interests...
A Extremely well
B Very well
C Well
D Sufficiently
E Poorly
F Very Poorly
G Extremely Poorly

Effects of Free Speech

8. Some forms of speech should be

prohibited to prevent... 9. The law recognizes that the effects of
speech may...
A Violence A Have a measurable impact on society
B Emotional Trauma B Have a measurable impact on culture
C Hate C Possibly encourage illegal action
D None of the above D Discriminate against a protected class of
E All of the above people

10. I have personally been harmed in some

way by speech... 11. Free Speech can at times...

A Once A Communicate information to another

individual
B 2-10 times
B Cause harm to an individual
C 10+ times
D Daily C Abridge another person’s speech or right
to speech
E Never
D Cause another person to commit violence
E None of the above

Forms of Speech

12. The following is NOT a legally recognized

form of speech... 13. Which example should be considered a
distinct form of speech?
A Advocacy of illegal action A Hate Speech
B Politically Incorrect Speech B Racist Speech
C Commercial Speech C White Supremacism
D Obscenity D Anti-Semetism
E None of the above E Cyber-Bullying
F None of the above

Limits to Speech

14. Some limits to free speech may be

neccessary if... 15. Under current law, what form of speech is
unprotected?
A It might cause harm to another individual A Deliberate and malicious libel or slander
B It defames government or is deemed B Speech that is proven to have caused
treasonous breach of the peace or violence
C It negatively impacts a protected class of C Libel or slander of a government official
citizen
D Unpatriotic speech
D It is unethical or immoral E None of the above
E Hell freezes over. Speech should never be
limited
F It is offensive

16. The speech of citizens and that of the

press is... 17. What form of speech should be protected
without limit?
A Treated very differently by the first A All currently protected forms of speech.
amendment
B All forms of speech without limitation
B Unequal. The speech of the press is whatsoever.
unlimited. C All forms of speech except Hate Speech.
C Unequal. The speech of the press is far D Only speech that doesn’t offend others.
more restrictive.
E All forms of speech except Racist Speech.
D Treated essentially the same

18. The degree to which a protected form of

speech is protected depends upon...
A The forum in which it is expressed
B The potential it has to offend another
person or group
C Whether a person intended it to be
offensive or not.
D How much it serves or disserves the
public’s interest.

ASSESSMENT:
Surprise! Now you get to learn whether you’re a decent American, a total prick or somewhere inbetween. If you didn’t already
know, the Bill of Rights and especially the right to free speech is more important than hurt feelings. If you think speech should be
limited under the law then you’re either very confused or a total asshole.

Check the key below for the correct (or non-prick) responses. In a couple instances there were more than 1 correct response, indi-
cated below. Maybe you got lucky? Or maybe you’re a decent American after all!

1-A, 2-A, 3-D, 4-E, 5-A, 6-D, 7-ABCD, 8-D, 9-C, 10-E, 11-A, 12-E, 13-F, 14-E, 15-A, 16-D, 17-AB, 18-A