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Essay On The First Amendment

588 Words3 Pages

The First Amendment The First Amendment was written in 1791 by James Madison, the fourth president of the United States. The constitution consists of 27 amendments, which were finished on September 17, 1787. The First Amendment states that (National Constitution Center)“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 their government for a redress of grievances”. In other words, the First Amendment states that no religion can be the formal religion of the country, no law can be made that keeps us from saying what we think, everyone has the right to get together, …show more content…

(First Amendment Center) Prior to 1708, people of the Anglican and Baptist religion did not have “full liberty of worship” in Connecticut. At this time, America was still in the colonial era, meaning that the thirteen colonies still carried out the traditions and beliefs of their home country, Britain. In Great Britain, there were many religious disagreements and rivalries at this time between the Puritans and many other religions. For a more recent example, (First Amendment Center) in 2000 Boy Scouts of America went to the U.S. Supreme Court because they did not let a homosexual man lead a troop. The Supreme Court then applied the “public-accommodation law”. This is a violation to the first amendment because it takes away the organization's right to set their own rules and regulations. Every organization, small or large, has every right to make their own rules, and allow only what they want. The court ruled in favor of Dale, only by one vote. (US History, Independence Hall Association) In 1986, a Jewish girl sued her school district because there was a christian prayer at her graduation. This was considered an “establishment of religion” and she successfully sued the district because she cited the First

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