Freedom of Speech, Assembly and Petition

Freedoms of
Speech,
Assembly,
and Petition

Unit 8-2

Lesson Overview
• Students Will Be Able To:
o Identify types of actions that are not
protected under the First Amendment.

o Identify the effects of specific laws and court cases on freedom of speech.

o Infer how the use of
petitions supports democracy.

o Evaluate whether existing limits of the
freedoms of speech, assembly, and petition should change.




• Vocabulary:
o First Amendment, Sedition, Petition

Multiple Select

Which of the following types of speech does the First Amendment protect?

• 
  criticizing government policies

• disruptive speech in school

• 
  sharing military secrets

• 
  artistic expression

Essential Question- How far do the freedoms of
speech, assembly, and petition extend?

Beginning With the First (1st)
Amendment

• First Amendment- protects freedom
of speech, assembly, press, petition
and religion

• Notice in the image it only says that
"Congress" cannot make laws that
infringe (take away) these rights,
and it does not specify the states

• Incorporation of these protections
started in 1925 by the Supreme
Court incorporating these rights to
apply to state governments as well.
• The Supreme Court called these the
"Privileges and Immunities," that the
14th Amendment protected

Freedom of Speech

• The First Amendment protects
U.S. Citizens so that they can
speak without fear of
punishments
• Example- in 2022 across the
world 533 Journalists (reporters)
were imprisoned for their
reporting

o Freedom of Speech Includes:

 Spoken Speech
 Written Word
 Visual Symbols
 Symbolic Actions
• It serves to protect people who
express unpopular opinions
from being punished by the
government

What do you
think
these quotes
mean?

Freedom of Speech Continued...

• This is a right that protects a citizen from the actions of the government and not:
oEmployers from firing an employee
oSchools from punishing students
• There are times and scenarios where
these rights become conditional

• For people to have a voice in the
government/democratic society they
must be able to talk about both the
positive and the negative

• Informed citizens and voters need to be able to hear the good and the bad
before making a choice in an election

• Sedition Act of 1798

o Sedition- an attempt to overthrow the government
o Congress passed this act to make it illegal to maliciously criticize the government
It arrested over 20 people
o If judged today the Supreme Court would find this act unconstitutional

• Espionage Act of 1917

o Passed during World War 1
o This law made it illegal to disrupt the war effort
o Charles Schenck sent 15,000 Leaflets encouraging people to refuse the draft
o Schenck v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that this law did not violate the First
Amendment, because the government can impose restrictions during times of war
Established the "Clear and Present Danger" Precedent

• Brandenburg v. Ohio 1969

o Supreme Court case dealing with a KKK (Ku Klux Klan) member making a speech
o State of Ohio claimed he violated a law that prohibits advocating crime, violence, or terrorism
o Supreme Court ruled in favor of Brandenburg and said his speech was protected

Can only be illegal if it is found to directly incite a crime
• Hate Speech- cruel or hostile statements that target someone based on race,
gender, religion, national origin, orientation or ability.

• This is not illegal even if hurtful

Categories of Speech

• Pure Speech - communication using the spoken word.

• Speech Plus - involves the spoken word and some action,
including marching, picketing, and protesting. (Expressive
Conduct)

• Symbolic Speech - involves the use of symbols, signs, and
other methods of expression. This type of speech often
involves issues of conduct rather than words and can
include some controversial conduct.

Multiple Select

Why did the Supreme Court rule that the school had violated the First Amendment by firing the teacher? Choose the two correct answers.

• Firing the teacher created a "clear and present danger" to the safety of the school

• Complaining about one's employer is free speech protected by the First Amendment

• The employer was the government, and the government could not punish the teacher's speech

• The reason the teacher was fired was his political speech, not his job performance

Freedom of Assembly & Association

• The First Amendment also protects the right to
assemble, or gather in large groups, people have the
right to peacefully demonstrate/protest the
government
• This allows people to let their opinions and positions
known to the government to try to influence
decision making
• Rules and at times even permits must be obtained
for protests and assemblies
• The First Amendment only protects peaceful protests
and does not cover any violent protesting (that is
when your protections would end)
• Freedom of Association, or the right to be a part of
a group, like a political party or workers union

Freedom of Petition

• Also covered in the 1st Amendment is the
freedom to Petition- submit a formal request for
a change
• Today a petition usually refers to collecting
signatures from people to show mass support for
an idea
• For example, Petitions can:
o Ask the government to provide funding for a project
o Pass a new law
o Change someone's conviction for a crime
• In the early days of the country petitions were a
good way for the public (people) to show what
they cared about

Essential Question: How far do the freedoms of speech, assembly, and petition extend?

• The First Amendment protects people from punishment by the
government (but not other entities) for their speech.
• Speech that produces violence or a crime is not protected.
• Freedom of assembly lets people gather peacefully.
• Freedom of petition allows people to request the government to make changes.

Upcoming- We will earn about the First Amendment freedoms of
religion and the press