Freedom of speech, press, assembly and petition, and their limits
Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
First Amendment (quoted)
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Case S1 (made-up): Residents gather in a park and march to city hall with a signed letter asking the council to fix a road.
Ari reads the First Amendment and case S1. Which freedoms does the march and letter use?
- Speech alone, since any expression, including a march and a letter, is just speech
- Press for the letter, since it is a written text, and speech for the march
- Petition for the march, and assembly for the letter that the group delivered
- Assembly for the gathering and march, and petition for the letter
First Amendment (quoted)
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Case S3 (made-up): A protester stands silently on a sidewalk holding a sign.
Esme reads the First Amendment and case S3. Is a silent sign covered by the freedom of speech?
- No; speech means spoken words, so a silent sign has no protection
- Just as assembly, since the protester is standing in a public place
- Yes, and so no government may ever limit where or when a sign is held
- Yes; speech reaches silent signs and symbols as well as spoken words
First Amendment (quoted)
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Schenck v. United States (1919), quoted: "The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic."
Jun reads the First Amendment and the Holmes sentence. What does the sentence show about "no law"?
- The freedom has no limits, since the example shows an extreme case
- The freedom covers just true statements, so any false statement may be punished
- The limit applies solely inside theaters, since the sentence names no other place
- The freedom has limits; speech that causes immediate harm may be punished
Sullivan quote (from New York Times v. Sullivan, 1964)
"debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials." Case S5 (made-up): At a public meeting a resident harshly criticizes the mayor's budget.
Kira reads the Sullivan quote and case S5. Is the resident's harsh criticism of the mayor protected?
- No; harsh words about an official are insulting, and insults may be banned
- No; a meeting held in a government building is outside the First Amendment
- Yes, but solely if the mayor agrees to hear the criticism that is offered
- Yes; harsh criticism of officials is part of protected public debate
First Amendment (quoted)
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Case S7 (made-up): A city bans all gatherings of more than three people, anywhere, at any time.
Milo reads the First Amendment and case S7. Which words does the gathering ban press against most?
- The right to petition, since each gathering is a request to the government
- The free exercise of religion, since many gatherings are religious ones
- The freedom of speech, since gatherings are just a way of speaking out
- The right of the people peaceably to assemble
First Amendment (quoted)
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Fourteenth Amendment note (our words): After 1868, courts apply the First Amendment to state and local governments too, not only to Congress.
Noah reads the First Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment note. A state legislature passes a speech ban, and the text names Congress. Can it be challenged?
- No; the amendment names just Congress, so states may pass any speech law
- Yes, but solely in Congress, which must review each state speech law
- Yes, but just the state's own constitution may limit the state legislature
- Yes; courts apply the First Amendment to the states through the Fourteenth
Time, place and manner rule (our words)
Courts allow rules about when, where and how people speak, such as noise limits, if the rules apply equally to every message and leave other ways to reach an audience. Courts are suspicious of rules aimed at a message. Case S9 (made-up): A city requires every group to get a free permit for a parade on its main street, and gives permits to groups in the order they apply, so two parades are never at once.
Pia reads the time, place and manner rule and case S9. Is the city's permit rule consistent with the amendment?
- Likely yes; it sets when and where for every group, not which message
- Yes, but solely if the mayor approves each group's message before the permit
- No; any permit is a limit on assembly before it begins, so it is automatically unconstitutional
- Yes, since parades are not protected by the First Amendment in the first place
First Amendment (quoted)
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Student note (made-up): "Free speech means nobody may disagree with me."
Tala reads the First Amendment and note S10. What is wrong with the student's claim?
- It is backwards; the amendment protects the listeners and not the speakers
- The amendment limits what government may do; others may still disagree
- Nothing; the amendment protects speakers from each reply, including from neighbors
- The amendment says nothing about disagreement, so it protects no speaker
First Amendment (quoted)
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Student note (made-up): "Only newspapers have freedom of the press."
Zee reads the First Amendment and note S11. What does the amendment's wording show?
- Press freedom covers publishing like the newsletter, not just big newspapers
- The note is wrong, since press freedom belongs to speakers, not publishers
- The note is right, since just organizations that employ reporters can claim it
- The note is right, since the amendment does not mention newsletters
First Amendment (quoted)
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Case S12 (made-up): A group delivers a petition with 500 signatures to the council. The council does not do what the petition asks.
Ren reads the First Amendment and case S12. Was the right to petition violated when the council did not do what the petition asked?
- No, but solely because the petition was not written by a lawyer for the group
- Yes; a right to petition means the council must grant what the petition asks
- Yes; ignoring a petition abridges the freedom of the press
- No; the right is to ask the government, not to get the answer wanted