First Amendment Quiz

The Bill of Rights is:

• The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. 
• The statement police must read to you when you are arrested. 
•  The opening paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. 
• The Preamble of the U.S. Constitution. 

How does the First Amendment begin? 

• "Four score and seven years ago…." 
• "When, in the course of human events…." 
•  "Freedom of speech and of the press shall not be abridged…."
• "Congress shall make no law…." 

Which of the following is NOT a right explicitly protected by the First Amendment?

• Press 
• Privacy 
• Assembly
•  Religion 

Bart is ticked off. To make time for more standardized testing, the public school he attends has decided to reduce recess to three minutes a day. To protest the school's decision, he publishes a one- page flyer that says "Recess Rules! Standardized Testing Drools." As he has seen many other community activists do before, he takes his flyers to the town square, where he peacefully offers copies to passerby. Which of the following acts probably violates his First Amendment rights? 

• A police officer politely orders Bart to stop distribution and go home 
• A local merchant, an ardent support of standardized testing, angrily rips the flyers out of Bart's hands and shreds them 
• Bart's mother, embarrassed by the all the hullabaloo, confiscates the flyers and grounds him for two weeks 
• All of the above 

Which of the following are true statements?

• The First Amendment prohibits government officials from establishing an official religion 
• The First Amendment restricts government officials from interfering with an individual's exercise of his or her religious beliefs 
• Both statements are true
• Neither statement is true

Which of the following categories of speech is never protected by the First Amendment? 

• Expression intended and likely to incite imminent lawless action 
• "True Threats" 
•  Clear and immediate threats to national security 
• All of the above

Betty is upset with her public school's proposed new dress code policy. She writes a column in which she explains why she opposes the policy. In the column, she criticizes the principal for using inaccurate statistics to support his position and urges her classmates to contact the school board to urge them to vote against the policy. Which of the following would be protected by the First Amendment?

• Using her home computer, Betty posts the column on her personal Web site. 
• Betty publishes the column on a flyer that she created at her mom's office. She offers the flyer to classmates as they enter school in the morning. 
• Betty includes the column as part of a press release that she sends to local media. Following an interview with a local TV station, her comments criticizing the school policy and the principal are seen throughout the community. 
• The First Amendment protects all of the above. 

 The government can ban song lyrics that most people would find offensive. 

• True
• False

Students cannot be forced to pledge allegiance to the flag. 

• True
• False

Which of these freedoms is NOT protected by the First Amendment?

• the right to assemble peacefully
• the right to a free press
• the right to freedom of religion
• the right to a public trial