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Running Head: THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

The Civil Rights Movement

Courtney Simmons

North Carolina A&T State University

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The First Amendment

The First Amendment in the US Constitution was adopted in 1791. The amendment

protects US citizens of freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly and petition. Within these

protections, come with boundaries that the amendment may not abide. Throughout this paper, I

will be discussing the limitations of the First Amendment, court cases involving the amendment,

and how the US freedoms compare with the freedoms of other countries.

The First Amendment allows for US citizens to have freedom of speech and assembly.

Throughout the summer, protest concerning the Black Lives Matter moment have been a

forefront in the news. Many of protest have shown police detaining protesters with violent

practices, including pepper spray and assault rifles. This has caused citizens to wonder wither or

not this is a direct violation of the freedom of speech and assembly. “The government may

generally restrict the time, place, or manner of speech, if the restrictions are unrelated to what the

speech says and leave people with enough alternative ways of expressing their views” (Volokh).

With the limitation, the government can intervene on a peaceful protest when necessary. As well

as protect the rights of citizens. However, the police have a tendency of crossing the line of

protection and disturbing the peace themselves.

Freedom of speech for public school students have limitations as well. Students are

allowed to speak and assemble against school officials. In fact, the US Supreme court has ruled

that students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression when

entering public schools in Tinker v. Des Moines independent Community School District. Due to

students being suspended for wearing black armbands in protest of the Vietnam war. However,

“the courts allow school officials to regulate certain types of student expression; for example,

school officials may prohibit speech that substantially disrupts the school environment or that
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invades the rights of others; many courts have held that school officials can restrict student

speech that is lewd” (What Rights). It is also important to note that public school students are not

protected by the First Amendment, because public school are a privately owned organization

outside of the general government control.

Freedom of press is the right to report news or opinion without censorship from the

government. According to History, the origins of free press started before the US gained

independence from Great Britain. The British government attempted to censor American media

by prohibiting unfavorable information and opinions, states History. The first court case

involving freedom of press was the trial of John Peter Zenger. The trial was in regard to Zenger

publishing an article that was accusing the British government of cheating the elections. Zenger

was acquitted of the charges by a grand jury.

In relation to freedom of the press, there has been Supreme Court cases that has limited

what the media can produce for their audience. In United States v. Progressive INC, the court’s

decision prevented a publication to produce a story. The story in question was about how to

make a hydrogen bomb. This raised the debate regarding security and the right to know. “The

government argued the information was classified, and although the judge raised the issue of

prior restraint, he sided with concerns over national security” (Parker). In the end, Progressive

INC was able to publish the article.

The Pentagon Papers were top secret files that exposed military information and

involvement of the Vietnam War. The documents were given to The New York Times. “The

government obtained a court order preventing The New York Times from publishing more

excerpts from the papers, arguing that the published materials were a national security threat”
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(History). The Pentagon Papers lawsuit is another example of the confusion of what public

knowledge should be, and what is not.

With the freedom of speech and press it is important to understand defamation, false

statements that harm one’s reputation, and the categories of defamation, libel and slander. Libel

is written while slander is oral. There have been many instances where publication was sued due

to false information being reported. The mistakes are costly and hinders the creditability of the

publication. Recently, CNN has settled a $275 million lawsuit with student Nicholas Sandmann,

for false representation due to a viral video. Days after the video was released showing more

context to the original video that proved the falsehood of CNN claims against Sandmann.

Filing a lawsuit for defamation is more common for celebrities or public figures. Due to

celebrities and public figures image and reputation as part of their brand and is vital to protect.

However, winning a successful defamation lawsuit can be hard. It has to be proven that the party

provided a false statement as a fact and the plaintiff suffered damages as a result to the claims.

Some defamation lawsuits in the media having to buy up to a million dollars in damages as seen

in the Nicholas Sandmann cases against CNN. Defamation has made the media cautious in what

is being reported and said on camera. Defamation cases can ruin the creditability of the news

outlet and cost the company a lot of money in damages.

However, the fear of possible being sued for defamation has caused many to avoid stating

their opinion entirely. “This ‘chilling effect’ on speech is one reason why there has been a

proliferation of so-called ‘Anti-SLAPP’ suits to allow individuals a way to fight back against

these baseless lawsuits that are designed to silence expression” (Jr.). The “chilling effect” refers

to the discouragement of natural practices and rights by the threat of being sued in legal court.

The “chilling effect” is mostly applied to the right of free speech.

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The freedom of press and speech in the US are vastly different in other countries, for

example, North Korea. North Korean government maintains control of what the citizens get to

see. The citizens of North Korea are digital isolated and physically isolated. TV stations and

radio stations are preapproved by the government. Citizens are unable to receive the same social

media excess as the US. “Approved North Korean smartphones cannot access the internet.

Instead they are connected to the country’s intranet which is severely restricted and controlled by

the regime” (The North). Physically, it is illegal for North Koreans to leave the country without

the permission of the government. This shows how important it is for the North Korean

government to monitor its citizens knowledge and to keep them from knowing too much as could

be the cause for a possible rebellion.

Another section of the First Amendment is the freedom of religion. One of the bases for

exploration was to spread religion, mostly Christianity. Freedom of religion express that

congress cannot make a law respecting an established religion and freedom to worship. Religious

freedom also protects one’s rights to act according to their beliefs publicly. However, there has

been confusion as to when someone is expressing their freedom to religion, or when it is

discrimination. In 2015, the law of same sex marriages was passed by the Supreme Court. After

the monumental passing, many same sex couples rushed to get married. However, common

wedding establishments including bakery’s, florists, photographers, and venues, refused to

service these couples. Stating that it is a part of their religious freedoms to service same sex

couples. This can be compared to the Jim Crow laws that prohibited African Americans from

accessing establishments. “Religious freedom prevents the cultural majority from using the

power of the state to impose their beliefs on others, this protects everyone—religious and
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nonreligious alike—from the government becoming so powerful that it can tell people what to

think and how to act” (Religious).

Engle v. Vitale was a Supreme Court case that ruled that it is against the law for state

officials to conduct a school prayer in public schools. The ruling was criticized by the public for

undermining the nations traditions of religion. It is also a landmark court case because it was the

first time that religion was called into question in public schools.

The First Amendment has various sectors and clauses. Freedom of speech, press,

assembly, and religion are important to recognize the limitation. As well as, what is acceptable

and unacceptable to the US Constitution. The freedoms of citizens in the US are vastly different

than those in outside countries, for example North Korea.

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Reference

History.com Editors. (2017, December 07). Freedom of the Press. Retrieved October 06, 2020,
from https://www.history.com/topics/united-states-constitution/freedom-of-the-press

Jr., D. (n.d.). Libel and Slander. Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://www.mtsu.edu/first-
amendment/article/997/libel-and-slander

The North Korean People's Challenges. (n.d.). Retrieved October 08, 2020, from
https://www.libertyinnorthkorea.org/learn-nk-challenges?utm_medium=ad

Parker, R. (n.d.). United States v. Progressive Inc. (W.D. Wis.). Retrieved October 06, 2020,
from https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/512/united-states-v-the-progressive-w-
d-wis

Religious Freedom: What's at Stake If We Lose It. (n.d.). Retrieved October 08, 2020, from
https://www.heritage.org/religious-liberty/heritage-explains/religious-freedom-whats-
stake-if-we-lose-it

Volokh, E. (2017, December 08). Permissible restrictions on expression. Retrieved October 06,
2020, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/First-Amendment/Permissible-restrictions-
on-expression

What rights to freedom of expression do students have? (n.d.). Retrieved October 06, 2020, from
https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/about/faq/what-rights-to-freedom-of-expression-
do-students-have/
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