Eric Moore

February 27th , 2020

Freedom Of Speech

In the United States, the First Amendment ensures the opportunity of speech.

The First Amendment was embraced on December 15, 1791, as a major aspect of the

Bill of Rights—the initial ten revisions to the United States Constitution. The Bill of

Rights gives established assurance to certain individual freedoms, including abilities to

speak freely, get together and worship. The First Amendment doesn't indicate what

precisely is implied by the right to speak freely of discourse. Characterizing what kinds

of discourse ought to and shouldn't be secured by law has fallen to a great extent to the

courts. While freedom of speech pertains mostly to the spoken or written word, it also

protects some forms of symbolic speech. Symbolic speech is an action that expresses

an idea. Flag burning is an example of symbolic speech that is protected under the First

Amendment. Gregory Lee Johnson, a youth communist, burned a flag during the 1984

Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas to protest the Reagan administration.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in 1990, reversed a Texas court’s conviction that Johnson

broke the law by desecrating the flag. Texas v. Johnson invalidated statutes in Texas

and 47 other states prohibiting flag burning.

When Isn’t Speech Protected?

Not all speech is protected under the First Amendment. Forms of speech that aren’t

protected include Obscene material such as child pornography, plagiarism of

copyrighted material, defamation (libel and slander, and threats. Speech inciting illegal
actions or soliciting others to commit crimes isn’t protected under the First Amendment,

either.

The Supreme Court decided a series of cases in 1919 that helped to define the

limitations of free speech. Congress passed the Espionage Act of 1917, shortly after the

United States entered into World War I. The law prohibited interference in military

operations or recruitment. Later Charles Schenck was arrested under the Espionage

Act after he distributed fliers urging young men to dodge the draft. The Supreme Court

upheld his conviction by creating the “clear and present danger” standard, explaining

when the government is allowed to limit free speech. In this case, they viewed draft

resistance as dangerous to national security. American labor leader and Socialist Party

activist Eugene Debs also were arrested under the Espionage Act after giving a speech

in 1918 encouraging others not to join the military. Debs argued that he was exercising

his right to free speech and that the Espionage Act of 1917 was unconstitutional. In

Debs v. the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the

Espionage Act.

Freedom Of Expression
The Supreme Court has deciphered creative opportunity extensively as a type of free

discourse. Much of the time, the opportunity of articulation might be confined just if it will

cause immediate and fast approaching mischief. Yelling "fire!" in a packed theater and

causing a rush would be a case of immediate and impending mischief. In deciding

cases involving artistic freedom of expression the Supreme Court leans on a principle

called “content neutrality.” Content neutrality means the government can’t censor or
restrict expression just because some segment of the population finds the content

offensive.

Free Speech In Schools

In 1965, understudies at an open secondary school in Des Moines, Iowa, sorted

out a quiet dissent against the Vietnam War by wearing dark armbands to combat the

battling. The students were suspended from school. The chief stated that the armbands

were an interruption and might prompt a threat to the understudies. In 1969 in Tinker v.

Des Moines Independent Community School District the Supreme Court held that

students in public schools do not leave their First Amendment rights upon entry of the

school. This means that you can express your opinions orally and in writing - in leaflets

or on buttons, armbands or T-shirts. You reserve an option to communicate your

sentiments as long as you do as such in a manner that doesn't "really and generously"

disturb classes or other school exercises. If you hold a dissent on the school steps and

square the passage to the structure, school authorities can stop you.

The Supreme Court didn’t budge, it was then ruled in favor of the students’ right

to wear the armbands as a form of free speech in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent

School District. The case set the standard for free speech in schools.The sorts of

discourse the administration thinks about risky enough to warning and subject to

restriction, reconnaissance, examination, indictment and out and out end include: abhor

discourse, tormenting discourse, prejudiced discourse, conspiratorial discourse,

treasonous discourse, undermining discourse, combustible discourse, incendiary

discourse, radical discourse, hostile to government discourse, conservative discourse,

left-wing discourse, fanatic discourse, politically off base discourse, and so on. The free

expression guarantees are not limited to political speech. They also cover speech about

science, religion, morality, and social issues as well as art and even personal gossip.

Freedom of the press confirms that the government may not restrict mass

communication. It does not, however, give media businesses any additional

constitutional rights beyond what nonprofessional speakers have.

Conclusively
Freedom of petition protects the right to communicate with government officials. This

includes lobbying government officials and petitioning the courts by filing lawsuits unless

the court concludes that the lawsuit lacks any legal basis. It protects a person’s freedom

to associate with others in groups that express messages, such as advocacy groups or

political parties. It also protects those groups’ freedom to exclude people whose

presence may interfere with the group’s speech. That was the basis for the Supreme

Court’s decision in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000).

Works cited
https://www.britannica.com/topic/First-Amendment

https://law.justia.com/constitution/us/amendment-01/04-freedom-of-expression-speech-and-
press.html

hhttps://www.aclu.org/other/your-right-free-expression

https://www.history.com/topics/united-states-constitution/freedom-of-speech