Essential Question
Section 1: Constitutional Rights
Section 2: Freedom of Religion
Section 3: Freedom of Speech
Section 4: Freedom of the Press
Section 5: Freedom of Assembly
Chapter Summary
Freedom of speech is
one of Americans’ most
valued liberties, but are
there limits to this and
other basic freedoms
under the Constitution?
Content Vocabulary
• human rights
• incorporation
Academic Vocabulary
• guarantee
• deny
• pursue
Reading Strategy
As you read, create a graphic organizer similar
to the one below to describe the freedoms
guaranteed by the First Amendment.
Which is the most historically influential
protection defined by “due process?”
0%
C
B
A. A
B. B
C. C0%
0%
A
A. protection from
unreasonable search
and seizure
B. the right of the
accused to a lawyer
C. protection from cruel
and unusual
punishment
Constitutional Rights
• The belief in human rights, or fundamental
freedoms, lies at the heart of the American
political system.
• The Constitution of the United States
guarantees certain basic rights in the Bill
of Rights, comprised of the first 10
amendments, and in several additional
amendments.
Constitutional Rights (cont.)
• The Bill of Rights was not originally intended
to limit state and local governments.
• The Supreme Court has interpreted the
due process clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment to apply the guarantees of the
Bill of Rights to state and local
governments.
Constitutional Rights (cont.)
• The Supreme Court interpreted the words
due process to include other protections of
the Bill of Rights:
− protection from unreasonable search
and seizure
− the right of the accused to have a lawyer
− protection from cruel and unusual
punishment
Constitutional Rights (cont.)
• The process by which the Bill of Rights was
extended to the states and localities is
incorporation.
• The incorporation of the Bill of Rights means
that U.S. citizens in every part of the country
have the same basic rights.
• In practice, nationalization means that
citizens who believe that a state or local
authority has denied them their basic rights
may take their case to a federal court.
The process by which the Bill of Rights was
extended to the states and localities is
B
A
A. A
B. B
C. C0%
0%
0%
C
A. rights extension.
B. due process.
C. incorporation.
Content Vocabulary
• establishment clause
• free exercise clause
• parochial school
• secular
• abridge
• precedent
Academic Vocabulary
• significant
• acknowledge
• justify
Reading Strategy
As you read, create a table similar to the one
below to list the cases that are related to the
establishment clause and the free exercise
clause.
Do you think the task of resolving
controversies surrounding church-state
relations should be left to state legislature
rather than the Supreme Court?
A. A
B. B
0%
B
0%
A
A. yes
B. no
The Establishment Clause
• The first clause of the First Amendment—
the establishment clause—states that
“Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion.”
• The second clause—the free exercise
clause—prohibits government from unduly
interfering with the free exercise of religion.
• Under the Constitution, the task of resolving
controversies surrounding church-state
relations falls on the Supreme Court.
The Establishment Clause (cont.)
• Everson v. Board of Education involved a
challenge to a New Jersey law allowing the
state to pay for busing students to parochial
schools—schools operated by a church or
religious group.
• The Court ruled that the law was
constitutional because it benefited
students rather than religion directly.
The Establishment Clause (cont.)
• In Board of Education v. Allen the Court
upheld state programs that provide secular,
or nonreligious, textbooks to parochial
schools.
• Other important controversial cases involving
religion address release times for students,
school prayer, and the teaching of the theory
of evolution.
The first clause of the First Amendment,
which states that “Congress shall make no
law respecting an establishment of religion,”
is called the
A. preamble.
B. free exercise clause.
C. establishment
clause.
D. secular clause.
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
B
0%
C
0%
D
The Free Exercise Clause
• In addition to banning an established church,
the First Amendment forbids laws “prohibiting
the free exercise” of religion.
• In the case of Reynolds v. United States,
George Reynolds appealed his polygamy
conviction, claiming that the law abridged,
or limited, freedom of religion.
The Free Exercise Clause (cont.)
• The Court upheld his conviction and
established that people are not free to
worship in ways that violate laws that
protect the health, safety, or morals of the
community.
• The Court usually follows precedent,
decisions made on the same issue in
earlier cases.
Decisions made on the same issue in earlier
cases establish
A. reasonable doubt.
B. precedent.
C. legislation.
D. guilt.
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
B
0%
C
0%
D
Content Vocabulary
• pure speech
• symbolic speech
• seditious speech
• defamatory speech
• slander
• libel
Academic Vocabulary
• categories
• require
• presumed
Reading Strategy
As you read, use a graphic organizer similar
to the one below to list the types of speech
that are protected and that are not protected
by the First Amendment.
What type of speech warrants the greatest
protection?
A. pure speech
B. symbolic speech
A. A
B. B
0%
B
A
0%
Types of Speech
• The First Amendment exists to protect the
expression of unpopular ideas—popular
ideas need little protection.
• Pure speech is the verbal expression of
thought and opinion before an audience
that has chosen to listen.
• Symbolic speech—sometimes called
expressive conduct—involves the use of
actions and symbols, in addition to or
instead of words, to express opinions.
What type of speech involves the use of
actions and symbols, in addition to or
instead of words, to express opinions?
A. free speech
B. seditious speech
C. pure speech
D. symbolic speech
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
B
0%
C
0%
D
Regulating Speech
• Because free speech must be balanced
against the need to protect society, some
restraints on pure speech do exist.
• Congress and state legislatures have
outlawed seditious speech—speech urging
resistance to lawful authority or advocating
the overthrow of the government.
Civil Liberties and Terrorism
Regulating Speech (cont.)
• When the speech in question clearly
presents an immediate danger, the First
Amendment does not protect it.
• In 1925 the Court held that speech could
be restricted even if it had only a tendency
to lead to illegal action, establishing the
“bad tendency doctrine.”
Civil Liberties and Terrorism
Regulating Speech (cont.)
• Developed in the 1940s, the preferred
position doctrine holds that First Amendment
freedoms are more fundamental than other
freedoms because they provide the basis of
all liberties.
Civil Liberties and Terrorism
Speech urging resistance to lawful authority
or advocating the overthrow of the
government is called
A. treason.
B. obscene speech.
C. defamatory speech.
D. seditious speech.
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
B
0%
C
0%
D
Other Unprotected Speech
• The First Amendment does not protect
defamatory speech, or false speech that
damages a person’s good name, character,
or reputation. There are two types of
defamatory speech:
– slander, which is spoken, and
– libel, which is written.
Other Unprotected Speech (cont.)
• The Court has limited the right of public
officials to recover damages from
defamation.
• In 1942 the Supreme Court ruled that
some words are so insulting that they
provoke immediate violence.
• Such “fighting words” do not constitute
protected speech.
What type of defamatory speech is written
rather than spoken?
A. libel
B. slander
C. sedition
D. insult
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
B
0%
C
0%
D
Content Vocabulary
• prior restraint
• sequester
• gag order
• shield laws
Academic Vocabulary
• outcome
• exclusion
• transmission
Reading Strategy
As you read, create a graphic organizer similar
to the one below to analyze how trial judges
deal with the conflict between freedom of the
press and a defendant’s right to a fair trial.
Should reporters receive protection from
disclosing their sources in state courts,
even when national security is at stake?
A. A
B. B
0%
B
0%
A
A. yes
B. no
Prior Restraint Forbidden
• Prior restraint is censorship of
information before it is published.
• The Supreme Court has ruled that the
press may be censored in advance only in
cases relating directly to national security.
• Near v. Minnesota helped establish that
free press means freedom from
government censorship.
Censorship of information before it is
published is called
A. prior restraint.
B. pre-censoring.
C. a gag order.
D. restraint of
information.
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
B
0%
C
0%
D
Fair Trials and Free Press
• In Sheppard v. Maxwell the Supreme Court
ruled that press coverage interfered with
Sheppard’s right to a fair trial.
• When a jury is sequestered it is kept
isolated until the trial ends.
• A gag order is an order by a judge barring
the press from publishing certain types of
information about a pending court case.
Fair Trials and Free Press (cont.)
• In 1979 the Supreme Court ruled that the
public and press could be barred from
certain pretrial hearings if the trial judge
found a “reasonable probability” that
publicity would harm the defendant’s right
to a fair trial.
Fair Trials and Free Press (cont.)
• In three 1972 cases that were considered
together, the Supreme Court said that
reporters have to surrender evidence
because the First Amendment does not
give them special privileges.
• To date, 30 states have passed shield
laws—laws that give reporters some
protection from disclosing their sources in
state courts.
Laws that give reporters some protection
from disclosing their sources in state courts
are called
A. gag orders.
B. shield laws.
C. silence orders.
D. source laws.
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
B
0%
C
0%
D
Free Press Issues
• Because radio and broadcast television
use public airwaves, they do not enjoy as
much freedom as other press media.
• Stations must obtain a license from the
Federal Communications Commission
(FCC), a government agency that
regulates their actions.
Free Press Issues (cont.)
• In the 1952 case Burstyn v. Wilson, the
Court held that “liberty of expression by
means of motion pictures is guaranteed by
the First and Fourteenth Amendments.”
• In Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union
the Court ruled that Internet speech
deserves the same level of First
Amendment protection as print media.
Free Press Issues (cont.)
• After many attempts to define obscenity,
the Court finally ruled in Miller v. California
that local communities should set their
own standards for obscenity.
• Advertising is considered “commercial
speech” and is given less protection under
the First Amendment than political speech.
Radio and broadcast television statements
must receive a license from
A. the Federal Trade
Commission.
B. the state governor.
C. Congress.
D. the Federal
Communications
Commission.
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
B
0%
C
0%
D
Content Vocabulary
• picketing
• heckler’s veto
Academic Vocabulary
• potential
• ensure
• survivor
Reading Strategy
As you read, create a graphic organizer similar
to the one below to list the ways government
can regulate freedom of assembly.
Which freedom provided by the First
Amendment is the most essential to a
democracy?
A. A
B. B
0%
B
0%
A
A. freedom of assembly
B. freedom of
association
Protecting Freedom of Assembly
• DeJonge v. Oregon established that:
– the right of assembly is as important as
the rights of free speech and free press;
and
– the due process clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment protects
freedom of assembly from state and
local governments.
Protecting Freedom of Assembly (cont.)
• Freedom of assembly includes the right to
parade and demonstrate in public.
• To provide for public order and safety,
many states and cities require that groups
wanting to parade or demonstrate first
obtain a permit.
Protecting Freedom of Assembly (cont.)
• In Police Department of Chicago v. Mosley
the Court voided a city law that banned all
demonstrations near school buildings
except in the case of labor union
picketing—patrolling an establishment to
convince workers and the public not to
enter it.
• The right to assemble does not allow a group
to convert private property to its own use,
even if the property is open to the public.
Patrolling an establishment to convince
workers and the public not to enter it is
called
A. loitering.
B. protesting.
C. picketing.
D. assembling.
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
B
0%
C
0%
D
Assembly and Disorder
• A heckler’s veto is a term used to
describe when the public vetoes the free
speech and assembly rights of unpopular
groups by claiming that demonstrations
will result in violence.
• Feiner v. New York established that police
may disperse a demonstration and limit
the freedom of assembly if it threatens the
peace.
Feiner v. New York established that police
may disperse a demonstration and limit the
freedom of assembly if
A. the public finds it
offensive.
B. it threatens the peace.
C. it is loud.
D. occurs in public.
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
B
0%
C
0%
D
Protecting Labor Picketing
• In 1940 the Supreme Court ruled that
peaceful picketing was a form of free
speech.
• In later decisions the Court severely
limited this position.
In 1940 the Supreme Court ruled that
peaceful picketing is
A. illegal under many
circumstances.
B. allowed in schools.
C. a form of free speech.
D. not protected by the
First Amendment.
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
B
0%
C
0%
D
Freedom of Association
• Freedom of association means the right to
join a political party, interest group, or
other organization.
• In 1937 the Supreme Court extended the
right to freely assemble to protect the right
of individuals to freedom of association.
• Under the Smith Act the Supreme Court
upheld convictions of 11 leaders of the
American Communist Party.
Freedom of Association (cont.)
• In later cases the Court ruled that only
actual preparations for the use of force
against the government were in fact
punishable.
The right to join a political party, interest
group, or other organization is protected by
the First Amendment as
A. freedom of expression.
B. freedom of speech.
C. freedom of association.
D. freedom of organization.
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
B
0%
C
0%
D
The First Amendment Freedom of…
Religion
The establishment clause
prevents Congress from creating
a state-sponsored religion. The
free exercise clause prevents the
government from impeding the
religious beliefs of Americans.
The First Amendment Freedom of…
Speech
Protected:
• Pure Speech
• Symbolic speech (in most cases)
Not protected:
• seditious speech (treasonous speech)
• defamatory speech (slander and libel)
• “fighting words”
The First Amendment Freedom of…
Press
A free press is invaluable in a
democracy to ensure that citizens
remain well informed. The press
can be regulated in matters of
national security or to ensure a
fair trial.
The First Amendment Freedom of…
Assembly
The right of assembly is
protected but permits are often
required to assemble in public
places.
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