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 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
- Press, which covers printing and handing out written work
- Petition, since a newsletter asks readers to think or act in some way
- 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?
- Yes, and so no government may ever limit where or when a sign is held
- Just as assembly, since the protester is standing in a public place
- Yes; speech reaches silent signs and symbols as well as spoken words
- No; speech means spoken words, so a silent sign has no protection
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 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 no limits, since the example shows an extreme case
- The freedom has limits; speech that causes immediate harm may be punished
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; the amendment limits the government, and a newspaper's choice is its own
- 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, because letters are not speech and have no protection of any kind
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 free exercise of religion, since many gatherings are religious ones
- The right to petition, since each gathering is a request to the government
- The right of the people peaceably to assemble
- The freedom of speech, since gatherings are just a way of speaking out
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; courts apply the First Amendment to the states through the Fourteenth
- Yes, but solely in Congress, which must review each state speech law
- No; the amendment names just Congress, so states may pass any speech law
- Yes, but just the state's own constitution may limit the state legislature
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
- Likely yes; it sets when and where for every group, not which message
- 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?
- The amendment limits what government may do; others may still disagree
- It is backwards; the amendment protects the listeners and not the speakers
- The amendment says nothing about disagreement, so it protects no speaker
- 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?
- The note is right, since the amendment does not mention newsletters
- 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
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; ignoring a petition abridges the freedom of the press
- No; the right is to ask the government, not to get the answer wanted
- Yes; a right to petition means the council must grant what the petition asks