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?
- Press for the letter, since it is a written text, and speech for the march
- Speech alone, since any expression, including a march and a letter, is just speech
- Assembly for the gathering and march, and petition for the letter
- Petition for the march, and assembly for the letter that the group delivered
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 S2 (made-up): A student prints a newsletter on a home printer and hands it out in town.
Bo reads the First Amendment and case S2. Which freedom covers the newsletter?
- Speech alone, since the amendment gives printed work no separate protection
- Petition, since a newsletter asks readers to think or act in some way
- Press, which covers printing and handing out written work
- Assembly, since readers who receive it may come together afterward
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; speech reaches silent signs and symbols as well as spoken words
- Yes, and so no government may ever limit where or when a sign is held
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 limit applies solely inside theaters, since the sentence names no other place
- The freedom has limits; speech that causes immediate harm may be punished
- The freedom covers just true statements, so any false statement may be punished
- The freedom has no limits, since the example shows an extreme case
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. Case S6 (made-up): A private newspaper declines to print a reader's letter.
Luz reads the First Amendment and case S6. Is a private newspaper declining a letter a First Amendment violation?
- No, because letters are not speech and have no protection of any kind
- Yes, since a newspaper serves the public and the public has a speech right
- Yes; press freedom means a paper must print what readers send
- No; the amendment limits the government, and a newspaper's choice is its own
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 freedom of speech, since gatherings are just a way of speaking out
- The right to petition, since each gathering is a request to the government
- The right of the people peaceably to assemble
- The free exercise of religion, since many gatherings are religious ones
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?
- 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
- No; the amendment names just Congress, so states may pass any speech law
- 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?
- 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
- Likely yes; it sets when and where for every group, not which message
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?
- The amendment limits what government may do; others may still disagree
- The amendment says nothing about disagreement, so it protects no speaker
- It is backwards; the amendment protects the listeners and not the speakers
- Nothing; the amendment protects speakers from each reply, including from neighbors
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 right, since just organizations that employ reporters can claim it
- The note is wrong, since press freedom belongs to speakers, not publishers
- The note is right, since the amendment does not mention newsletters