1st Amendment: Basic Freedoms

The first amendment is probably the largest and most important addition to the Constitution since it clearly defines the five most basic forms of freedom. These freedoms are freedom of the press, freedomg of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and the freedom to petition against the government if they are not doing their job right.

Freedom of Religion

This means that the government cannot force you to follow any sort of state religion. You are free to practice whatever religion you want and you are free of religious persecution (treated poorly or bullied).

Freedom of Speech

This freedom is as basic as it gets. You are allowed to say what you want no matter what and the government or local authorities (the police) cannot do anything to you unless you intentionally say something that can cause harm to other people, such as yelling "Fire!" in a crowded area when there really is no fire.

The first Amendment also gives you the right to disagree with someone without being afraid of the Five-O bursting your doors open and arresting you.

Freedom of the Press

This freedom ensures that the people of America have the right to be updated on current events and what is going on around the world or at home. This also makes sure that the news reports can say whatever they want about the government, even if it' is bad or negative, without being punished. Newspapers, magazines, books, as well as TV/move scrpts do NOT have to be submited to the government to be approved.

Freedom of Assembly

This freedom allows people to form clubs and organizations as well as political parties, even if what they stand for isn't exactly a popular belief. You can legally form a club about Nazism in front of the president and there's nothing legal he can do!! As long as nothing illegal is being done, the formation of any club, organization, or political party is 100% legal.

Freedom of Petition

This important freedom allows people to tell the government what they think is needed. They can try to prevent the government from acting in a certain way. They can complain to the government without fear of penalty when things aren't going the way they should. For example, if people dump garbage near your school, you and your parents can petition the government to clean it up.

This freedom can also give power to the people by petitioning to overthrow a certain part of the government or even the president if they feel like that they're not doing their job properly.