First Amendment Freedoms
POS 3625
Summer 2014
Term A
Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:45 am – 11:20 am
Building 50 / Yeager Library
Professor:
Dr. David Ramsey
dramsey1@uwf.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 11:30 - 1:00 or by appointment
Building 50 / Room 127
857-6116
Catalogue Description
Problem areas and doctrinal evolution in the judicial protection of First Amendment
freedoms. Among specific subjects to be examined will be: free speech and press, free
exercise of religion, state aid to religious schools, regulation of obscenity, freedom of
association, and regulation of subversive activity.
Course Goals
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:
 demonstrate familiarity with the challenges the Court continues to face in
balancing individual liberties with the necessary preconditions for domestic peace
and security
 give a reasoned account of the American judicial process
 give a reasoned account of the development of constitutional interpretation in
America
 analyze and compare the achievements of major figures in the history of the
Court
 discuss the significance of a number of the principal cases in which the Supreme
Court has interpreted the provisions of the First Amendment
 more effectively engage questions of law and politics critically, taking into
account multiple perspectives
 critically engage at least one academic analysis of the Court’s First Amendment
jurisprudence
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Required Text:
There is no required text for this course—all readings will either be posted directly to
eLearning or available through online resources
Suggested Texts:
Daniel L. Dreisbach and Mark David Hall, eds. The Sacred Rights of Conscience. Indianapolis:
Liberty Fund, 2009.
Phillip Kurland and Ralph Lerner, eds. The Founders’ Constitution: Volume Five, Amendments I –
XII. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.
John Milton, Areopagitica, John Alvis, ed. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1999.
Supplementary Materials of Interest
The Avalon Project: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/major.asp
A good general collection of full text documents related to American history
The Federalist Papers: http://federali.st/
The single greatest commentary on our Constitution, and the most important work
of American political thought.
Findlaw Dictionary of Legal Terms: http://dictionary.lp.findlaw.com/
Lawyers speak a language of their own. This will help you to make sense of obscure
language in the readings, especially when reading older cases.
The Founders’ Constitution: http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/
Many of your course readings can be found here.
Legal Information Institute: http://www.law.cornell.edu/
Although the site does not have every Supreme Court opinion, it has most of them,
and in a more readable format than other sites like Justia and Findlaw. Besides full
text cases, there is a wealth of information on this site, for those willing to do some
digging.
Grades
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Quizzes
Class Participation
93 – 100
90 – 92
87 – 89
83 – 86
A
AB+
B
10%
20%
20%
10%
Case Brief Presentations
Book Review Outline
Book Review
80 – 82
77 – 79
73 – 76
70 – 72
BC+
C
C2
66 – 69
60 – 65
< 60
10%
10%
20%
D+
D
F
Midterm Exam: ONLINE ONLY through eLearning. Multiple choice, short answer and essay
questions. Review sheet posted to eLearning at least one week prior to the exam.
Final Exam: Cumulative. ONLINE ONLY through eLearning. Multiple choice, short answer
and essay questions. Review sheet posted to eLearning at least one week prior to the exam.
Quizzes: Students will be quizzed periodically over lectures and readings. There will be
somewhere between 10 and 15 quizzes over the course of the semester. Most quizzes will
consist of five to ten multiple choice and True/False questions. At the end of the
semester, I will drop your two lowest quiz grades. There are no makeup quizzes,
regardless of excuse, so be sure to attend class regularly. Quiz questions will sometimes
appear on the multiple choice section of the midterm and final exam, so be sure to keep your
graded quizzes, and study them prior to the exams.
Case Brief Presentations: Students have been divided into groups, each of which will be
responsible for “briefing” one of the five cases assigned for each of the ten days devoted to
discussing case law. Your group will be assigned a grade collectively each day for the quality
and accuracy of your presentations. If you are not present in class, you will not receive a
grade for the group presentation delivered that day. At the end of the semester I will
drop your two lowest case presentation grades. I have divided the class into five groups,
with each student enrolled in the course being assigned a number between 1 and 5 (see
eLearning / Content / Important Course Information / In-Class Discussion and
Presentation Groups). Cases have been grouped historically, with each day covering a
distinct period in the Court’s First Amendment jurisprudence. On those class days devoted
to discussion of case law, attendance will be taken at the beginning of class as usual, but
students will have the first 20-30 minutes of class time (depending on whether or not there is
a quiz) to meet with their group members, review cases, ensure that transcripts of the
group’s case brief are posted to eLearning and turnitin, and prepare for a possible pop quiz.
The final hour of class will be reserved for group presentations on the cases. For more
information, see the assignment rubric posted to eLearning/Content/Rubrics and Review
Sheets/Case Brief Presentation Rubric.
Book Reviews: I have posted to eLearning (Content/Important Course Information/Book
Review List) a list of about 100 of the most important books, mostly academic in nature,
devoted to the study of our First Amendment Freedoms. Each student is to select one of
the books from this list and read it in its entirety by June 19, at which point a brief outline
of your book review essay is due (see eLearning/Content/Rubrics and Review Sheets/Book
Review Outline Rubric for more details). At some point before June 19th, you must let me
know by e-mail which book you intend to review. No two students enrolled in the
course may review the same book, so if you have a certain book in mind, better to
claim it sooner rather than later. I will provide comments on your book review outline
through turnitin.com. Be sure to review these comments before revising your final book
review essay, due July 17. Your essay should be 1200-1500 words in length. In it, you should
summarize the principal argument of the book and evaluate this argument in light of other
materials read for class this semester. See the rubric posted to eLearning/Content/Rubrics
and Review Sheets/Book Review Essay for more details.
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Participation: Obviously, if you are absent from class then you have not participated. Students
missing more than one class should expect to see their participation grade substantially
affected. You fail the course with your eighth absence. Tardies / partial attendance = ½
absence. Participation grades in my courses tend to track pretty closely with student averages
on the other assignments; no student has ever received either a 100 or a 0 for participation,
most students score around an 80. Only rarely does a student’s participation grade in my
course differ by more than a letter grade from the average of his or her other graded
assignments, so do not count on getting an A for participation simply because you show up
every day for class. Neither should you assume that your participation grade is meaningless.
Rather, think of it as my final estimation of the quality of your work in class over the course
of the semester. Students are encouraged to e-mail or stop by my office during office hours
if they are concerned about their participation grades, but participation grades will not be
posted until final grades are submitted.
Course Requirements
Attendance: I expect every student to attend class faithfully. Students missing more than three
classes, regardless of excuse, can expect to see their class participation grade substantially
diminished. With your ninth absence, regardless of excuse, you will fail the course. Do
not miss class.
Punctuality: I will do my best to begin class on time. You should certainly do the same. 2
tardies = 1 absence. If you are late to class, be sure to see me after class that day, to ensure
that you are marked tardy rather than absent. Students leaving class early for whatever reason
will also be marked tardy.
Turnitin.com: Your case briefs, exams, book review outline and book review essay must be
submitted to turnitin.com. Work not submitted to turnitin.com by the due date will be
considered late, and penalized 3 points for each day late. Students wishing to submit late
work should contact me by e-mail, requesting that I open the turnitin folder, and including
the completed work as an attachment to the e-mail request. In order to submit work to
turnitin.com, students must first open an account with turnitin.com. To do so, navigate to
turnitin.com. Click on the link at the top of the page that says “Create Account.” Under the
heading “New Students Start Here,” click on the link that says “Create a User Profile.” If
you have registered with turnitin.com before, you can use your old user name and password.
class ID: 8038264
enrollment password: LIBERTY
If you have never used turnitin.com before, you will need to set up a new account. Under
the heading “Create a New Account,” click on the link for “Student” and fill in the
appropriate information. Once you have created an account, you will still need to enroll
yourself in my course using the Class ID and Enrollment Password above. If you have any
problems with this process, contact turnitin.com support. If problems persist, contact me
and we will work things out. Finally, in order to protect your privacy, please make sure that
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you do not leave your full name on the electronic copy of the paper submitted to
turnitin. Your first name and last initial should suffice.
Expectations for Adademic Conduct / Plagiarism Policy
Students agree to abide by the rules and standards set forth in the UWF Student
Code of Conduct. All written work submitted for this course should be your own. All case
brief assignments must be submitted to turnitin.com on or before the day that they are due
or they will not be graded.
Do not plagiarize. If you copy a phrase or sentence from another source, whether
text or digital, be sure to place the phrase or sentence in quotation marks, and to cite it by
footnote or parenthetical citation. Students caught plagiarizing on an assignment will receive
a 0 for that assignment. If they are caught plagiarizing a second time, they will flunk the
course. I take plagiarism quite seriously. You have been warned.
Students in all of my classes are expected to complete the online plagiarism tutorial
(available at http://libguides.uwf.edu/Plagiarism )and send e-mail confirmation to me that
they have received a score of 9 (out of 10) or higher on the quiz at the end of the module.
This quiz will serve as a contract between me and each of you that you understand what
plagiarism is, and know what will happen if you are caught plagiarizing in my course.
Assistance
The Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) at the University of West Florida
supports an inclusive learning environment for all students. If there are aspects of the
instruction or design of this course that hinder your full participation, such as time-limited
exams, inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned videos and podcasts, please
notify the instructor or the SDRC as soon as possible. You may contact the SDRC office by
e-mail at sdrc@uwf.edu or by phone at (850) 474-2387. Appropriate academic
accommodations will be determined based on the documented needs of the individual.
Weather Emergency Information
In the case of severe weather or other emergency, the campus might be closed and
classes cancelled. Official closures and delays are announced on the UWF website and
broadcast on WUWF-FM.
 WUWF-FM (88.1MHz) is the official information source for the University. Any
pertinent information regarding closings, cancellations, and the re-opening of
campus will be broadcast.
 In the event that hurricane preparation procedures are initiated, the UWF Home
Web Page and Argus will both provide current information regarding hurricane
preparation procedures, the status of classes and the closing of the University.
 Information about hurricane preparedness plans is available on the UWF web site:
http://uwfemergency.org/hurricaneprep.cfm
 Information about other emergency procedures is available on the UWF web site:
http://uwfemergency.org/
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COURSE SCHEDULE
[Required readings in bold]
May 13 – Course Introduction
May 15 – The Bill of Rights
Founders’ Constitution: Bill of Rights
English Bill of Rights, 16 December 1689 (1)
Virginia Declaration of Rights, 12 June 1776 (2)
Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776 (3)
New York Ratification of Constitution, 26 July 1788 (8)
House of Representatives, Amendments to the Constitution, 8 June, 21
July, 18-19 August 1789 (11)
Akhil Reed Amar, “First Things First” and “Our First Amendment,” in The Bill of
Rights (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998) 3 - 45. (eLearning)
May 20 – Free Exercise, Establishment, and Liberty of Conscience (I)
Founders’ Constitution: Amendment I (Religion)
Montesquieu, Spirit of the Laws (1748) (12)
James Madison and William Bradford correspondence (1774) (16-18)
Edmund Burke, Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies, 22 March
1775 (23)
Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations (1776) (31)
Jefferson, Draft of Bill Exempting Dissenters from Contributing to the
Support of the Church, 30 November 1776 (32)
George Mason, Amendment to the Bill…, 5 December 1776 (33)
Jefferson, A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, 12 June 1779 (37)
Leonard W. Levy, “The First Amendment: The Establishment Clause,” in Origins of
the Bill of Rights (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001) 79 – 102.
(eLearning)
May 22 – Free Exercise, Establishment, and Liberty of Conscience (II)
Founders’ Constitution: Amendment I (Religion)
Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia (1784)(40)
Madison, Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious
Assessments, 20 June 1785(43)
Act for Establishing Religious Freedom, 31 October 1785 (44)
Jefferson, Autobiography (1821) (45)
Thomas Jefferson to Danbury Baptist Association, 1 January 1802 (58)
Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution, (1833) (69)
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May 27 – Free Exercise, Establishment, and Liberty of Conscience (III)
The Sacred Rights of Conscience: Part IV, Ch. 10 – Religion and the Presidency (eLearning)
George Washington, Inaugural Address 30 April 1789
John Adams, Inaugural Address, 4 March 1797
Thomas Jefferson, Inaugural Address, 4 March 1801
James Madison, Inaugural Addresses, 4 March 1809 and 1813
George Washington, Presidential Proclamations, 3 October 1789 and 1
January 1795
John Adams, Presidential Proclamations, 23 March 1798 and 6 March
1799
James Madison, Presidential Proclamations, 9 July 1812, 23 July 1813,
16 November 1814 and 4 March 1815
George Washington, Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport,
Rhode Island, 18 August 1790
May 29 – Freedom of Speech and Press (I)
John Milton, Areopagitica (1644) (eLearning)
Leonard W. Levy, “The First Amendment: The Freedom of the Press,” in Origins of
the Bill of Rights (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001) 103 – 132.
(eLearning)
June 3 – Freedom of Speech and Press (II)
Founders’ Constitution: Amendment I (Speech and Press)
An Act for Preventing the Frequent Abuses in Printing Seditious
Treasonable and Unlicensed Books and Pamphlets and for
Regulating Printing and Presses (1662) (1)
David Hume, “Of the Liberty of the Press” (1742) (2)
Montesquieu, Spirit of the Laws (1748) (3)
Blackstone, Commentaries (1769) (4)
James Burgh, Political Disquisitions (1775) (5)
Cincinnatus, no. 2, to James Wilson, 8 November 1787 (9)
James Wilson, Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention, 1 Dec. 1787 (10)
June 5 – Freedom of Speech and Press (III)
Founders’ Constitution: Amendment I (Speech and Press)
Kentucky Resolutions, 10 November 1798, 14 November 1799 (18)
Virginia Resolutions, 21 December 1798 (19)
Madison, Address of the General Assembly to the People of the
Commonwealth of Virginia, 23 January 1799 (21)
James Kent, Commentaries (1826) (32)
Joseph Story, Commentaries (1833) (33)
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Leonard W. Levy, “Freedom in Turmoil: The Sedition Act Era,” in Judgments: Essays
on American Constitutional History (Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1972) 159-168.
(eLearning)
June 10 – Petition and Assembly
Founders’ Constitution: Amendment I (Petition and Assembly)
Petition of Right, 7 June 1628 (3)
John Locke, A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689)(7)
Blackstone, Commentaries (1765 and 1769) (10 and 11)
St. George Tucker, Blackstone’s Commentaries (1803)(19)
Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution (1833) (21)
Midterm Exam Review Posted to eLearning
June 12 – 18th and 19th century First Amendment Jurisprudence
Respublica v Oswald, 1 Dall. 319 (Pa. 1788) (1)
People v Croswell, 3 Johns. Cas. 337 (NY 1804) (2)
Updegraph v Commonwealth, 11 Serg. & Rawle 394 (Pa. 1824) (3)
Commonwealth v Blanding, 3 Pick. 304 (Mass. 1825) (4)
Reynolds v U.S., 98 U.S. 145 (1878) (5)
June 17 – Midterm Exam
Midterm Exam (timed—150 mins) available ONLINE ONLY through
eLearning from 11:00 a.m. 6/17 – 11 a.m. 6/18
June 19 – Class Cancelled
Book Review Outline due by 5 p.m.
June 24 – The Taft Court
Schenck v U.S., 249 U.S. 47 (1919) (2)
Abrams v U.S., 250 U.S. 616 (1919) (3)
Meyer v Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923) (4)
Gitlow v New York, 268 U.S. 652 (1925) (5)
Whitney v California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927) (1)
June 26 – The Hughes, Stone and Vinson Courts
Near v U.S., 283 U.S. 697 (1931) (3)
Chaplinsky v New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 (1942) (4)
Everson v Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (1947) (5)
Feiner v New York, 340 U.S. 315 (1951) (1)
Dennis v U.S., 341 U.S. 494 (1951) (2)
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July 1 – The Warren Court (I)
Sweezy v New Hampshire, 354 U.S. 234 (1957) (4)
Yates v U.S., 354 U.S. 298 (1957) (5)
Roth v U.S., 354 U.S. 476 (1957) (1)
Engel v Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962) (2)
Sherbert v Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963) (3)
July 3 – Class Cancelled for Independence Day Holiday
July 8 – The Warren Court (II)
New York Times v Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964) (5)
Memoirs v Massachusetts, 383 U.S. 413 (1966) (1)
U.S. v O’Brien, 391 U.S. 367 (1968) (2)
Tinker v Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503 (1969) (3)
Brandenburg v Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969) (4)
July 10 – The Burger Court (I)
New York Times v U.S., 403 U.S. 713 (1971) (1)
Wisconsin v Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972) (2)
Branzburg v Hayes, 408 U.S. 665 (1972) (3)
Miller v California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973) (4)
Wooley v Maynard, 430 U.S. 705 (1977) (5)
July 15 – The Warren Court Revolution
(no assigned readings)
July 17 – After the Warren Court—Burger, Rehnquist, Roberts and Beyond
(no assigned readings)
Book Review Due by 5 p.m.
July 22 – The Burger Court (II)
Consolidated Edison Co. v Public Service Commission, 447 U.S. 530
(1980) (2)
Central Hudson Gas & Electric v Public Service Commission, 447 U.S. 557
(1980) (3)
Widmar v Vincent, 454 U.S. 263 (1981) (4)
Roberts v U.S. Jaycees, 468 U.S. 609 (1984) (5)
Bethel School District v Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986) (1)
July 24 – The Rehnquist Court (I)
Texas v Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989) (3)
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Lee v Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992) (4)
Wisconsin v Mitchell, 508 U.S. 476 (1993) (5)
Florida Bar v Went For It, Inc. 515 U.S. 618 (1995) (1)
Rosenberger v University of Virginia, 515 U.S. 819 (1995) (2)
July 29 – The Rehnquist Court (II)
Agostini v Felton, 521 U.S. 203 (1997) (4)
Boy Scouts of America v Dale, 530 U.S. 640 (2000) (5)
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York v Village of Stratton, 536 U.S.
150 (2002) (1)
Zelman v Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639 (2002) (2)
Locke v Davey, 540 U.S. 712 (2004) (3)
July 31 – The Roberts Court
Morse v Frederick, 551 U.S. 393 (2007) (5)
Federal Election Comm’n v Wisconsin Right to Life, 551 U.S. 449 (2007) (1)
Citizens United v Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. _____ (2010)(2)
Snyder v Phelps, 562 U.S. ______ (2011)(3) (UNLESS THE COURT RULES
ON SEBELIUS v HOBBY LOBBY IN JUNE)
Town of Greece v Galloway, 572 U.S. _____ (2014) (4)
Final Exam Review Posted to eLearning
August 5 – TBA
August 7 – Final Exam
Final Exam (timed—150 mins) available ONLINE ONLY through
eLearning from 11:00 a.m. 8/7 – 11 a.m. 8/8
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