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Bill of Rights
The First Amendment and Supreme Court Decisions
Humeer Bader
HIS/301
April 23, 2013
Charles Ward

The First Amendment and Supreme Court Decisions
By week number 3 of History 301, it has been established that the United States Constitution is th supreme law of the land and that it essentially instruct how the U.S. government should operate. Specifically, Article V of the U.S. Constitution details the amendment process and how an amendment may become part of the constitution (Patteson) Furthermore, the first ten amendments are collectively known as the Bill of Rights and they were drafted in order to guarantee certain freedoms and safeguards in order to protect the American people from an intrusive government (). The first amendment reads as follows: “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” (). In other words, 3 provisions of the first amendment include the right to freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom to peaceably protest. According to Patterson (2009), the first Amendment if the most fundamental of all amendments and it paves the way for other constitutional rights. This makes sense because one must have the freedom to believe and express themselves as they wish in order for other amendments to be possible.

References

Amending the constitution . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thisnation.com/textbook/constitution-amend.html

A More Perfect Union: The Creation of the U.S. Constitution. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_history.html

Patterson, T. (2009). The american democracy. (9th edition). McGraw-Hill.

The bill of rights: Its history and significance. (n.d.). Retrieved from



References: Amending the constitution . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thisnation.com/textbook/constitution-amend.html A More Perfect Union: The Creation of the U.S. Constitution. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_history.html Patterson, T. (2009). The american democracy. (9th edition). McGraw-Hill. The bill of rights: Its history and significance. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/billofrightsintro.htm

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