First Amendment Essay Example

The First Amendment grants the freedom of religion, assembly, press, petition, and speech. The First Amendment is probably the most well know amendment in our country because of the immense freedoms it provides. People who oppose the First Amendment are a mixed bag, some say that the First Amendment does not do enough to protect our freedoms while others say that the First Amendment is too powerful. However, many people think the First Amendment is good at protecting our freedoms. The first amendment to the Bill of Rights is the most important amendment in my life because it protects us from a corrupt government using the freedom of press, it lets people protest if they think what the government is doing is wrong, and it grantees that people can say what they want to without government interference.

The freedom of press is one part of the First Amendment that ensures that Congress will interfere or censor the press. The press is what keeps the government honest, "A free media functions as a watchdog that can investigate and report on government wrongdoing." ("Freedom of Press") If the government could censor the press this would result in government corruption because noone would be investigating the people who govern and their actions.  In addition to corruption, if there was no one informing the public about what the government was doing then nothing is stopping the government from making decisions that are unpopular with the majority of the people. "'The press was to serve the governed, not the governors.' —U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black in New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)" ("Freedom of Press")

Another aspect of the First Amendment is the freedom of assembly and petition, these grantee anyone in the United States the freedom to peacefully protest. “Two of our least-known freedoms, petition and assembly, are at the heart of our nation’s most profound changes.” (Policinski) If people think something is wrong the First Amendment grants them the right to peacefully protest about it. This is how we change our nation for the better and get elected officials' attention so the issues that matter most to us are heard. "Today, those two freedoms are powering a deep national conversation both in person and online involving millions of us” (Policinski) When the constitution was written our founding fathers wanted us to be able to use the two parts of the first amendment to fight for what we believe in just like they did. 

Free speech is one of the most know freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, more specifically the First Amendment. Our nation is very prosperous, and that property is a direct result of free speech. “After all, prosperity comes from ideas, and new ideas can thrive only in a society in which they are free from suppression.” (Fa) If free speech was not allowed in our country not only would it not be prosperous, but the government would not have the best interest of the people. In nations where people are not allowed to criticize the government, the government is not working for the people but instead working for themselves. Free speech lets people's voices be heard so the government knows how the people feel about its actions.

The First Amendment to the Bill of Rights is the most important because it helps us avoid a corrupt government with the freedom of press, it empowers people to protest if they disagree with the government’s actions, and it ensures that the government can’t control what the people say. The First Amendment gives us our freedom of religion, assembly, press, petition, and speech, these freedoms give us a quality of life in America. Without the freedoms that are given to us in the First Amendment, we would be living the same as our founding fathers did when they revolted against Brittan. The five freedoms in the First Amendment were put in place to protect us from the government and that is what they do. These freedoms are the cornerstone of our democracy and without them, our country would look very different today.