First Amendment Thesis

This paper will discuss how censorship denies citizens of the United States our full rights as delineated in the First Amendment. It will outline how and why the first amendment was created and included in the Constitution of the United States of America. This paper will also define censorship, discuss a select few legal cases surrounding freedom of speech and censorship as well as provide national and local examples of censorship.

In the late 1700’s, James Madison wrote the first Ten Amendments that are listed in the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights were written to ensure American citizens that they have freedoms and rights that the government can 't infringe.

To start off, censorship is a controversial issue which dates back to ancient times, in ancient cultures for a multitude of reasons. However in America recently, older persons have tried to limit, filter, and censor what the youth have had access to. This includes print

The Bill of Rights is a formal document that has the first ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution; so the author of the ninth amendment was James Madison who wrote the Bill of Rights. On June 8, 1789, James Madison went to the U.S. Congress and proposed a series of changes to the new Constitution. He argued that the Constitution wouldn’t be complete unless amendments were added that would only protected an individuals' rights. One of his qualifications was that Madison had gone to preparatory school and then to college at Princeton. Where he founded a debate club called the American Whig Society which they still have at Princeton. After he graduated at the time the American Revolution on 1776 he was elected

If you were walking on the streets and some body came up and tried to hurt you, how would you react?

The world gets crueler everyday. There are new crimes being committed daily, and sometimes it can be because of what people are subjected to. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, this topic is discussed. In order to create a more positive environment, the world needs censorship. Without it, kids would be surrounded by bad influences, people would always find topics to argue about, and lives can even be ruined without it.

The United States didn’t invent freedom. The Greeks and Romans had their democratic principles and the British had their Magna Carta before we were a nation. We are not even considered the “most free” nation in the world. In fact, we were ranked 20th in the world earlier this year by the Cato Institute in the “human freedom index.”

The United States Government is finding new ways to censor citizen’s freedom. Are they taking it too far by removing online content and books that might be considered offensive to the general public. The government should not take away offensive reading content for three reasons. Firstly all citizens should not be limited to what books they are allowed to read considering we have been granted freedom from the government with the first Amendment. Secondly, books are people’s best teachers and provide real life knowledge for kids and adults who are trying to comprehend subjects that we not taught throughout the many years of education. Finally content and books serve the greater good and allow all people to learn, come together and be inspired. Content and books serve a prominent purpose in this nation and are the reason that many people’s voices and opinions were heard much like the creation of the constitution, which gives the government no reason to take books and online content away. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and the Censorship article by Fox News present this

Censorship in America can vary between the silencing of young voices and the prevention of exposing others of inappropriate material. Many people are afraid of losing their freedom of speech, as first amendment rights should be mandatory for American citizens. Polar to this argument insists the importance of censorship, as it can shield the public from information that can lead to fear or chaos. Leaving students ignorant to world problems, however, is argued by Sonja West that it removes their first amendment rights and creates a future working-class of Americans who are clouded from the truth. West is a law professor at the University of Georgia who is distinguished for her expertise in the first amendment law and minor in journalism. In her article, “Censorship 101,” West crafts her text through numerous court case experience and skill in rhetorical devices as her background expertise is used to her advantage.

You are talking about the government...BOOM!! You're in jail. You hold a petition or go against a religion BAM!! DEATH. This would be the mayhem without the first amendment.”Where the press is free and every man is able to read, all is safe.” says Thomas Jefferson on the first amendment. The first amendment, the 5 freedoms granted to everyone, has a meaning and purpose in everyone's day to day life and will forever have an enduring impact on life in the USA.

Have you ever wondered why some college campus protests are shutdown even though the first amendment is in place? The first amendment does not always protect in every situation. The first amendment wasn’t enforced much until the 1960’s and 70’s, when the anti-war and gender equality protests first started. College campuses have a right to impede on the first amendment if it is restricting someone else’s rights. In many cases some protesters will block off an entrance to an event or will start to harass people walking past. In rarer cases some will protest on things that may cause fights.

Humanity needs to change before all information is censored. In “College at Risk,” Andrew Delbanco discusses liberal learning and the “whole person” that may not be developed in college due to a lack of income. Liberal learning develops the “whole person” by teaching the basic ethics and morals a person should have. Anne Applebaum presents examples of censorship in her essay, “The Decline of American Press Freedom.” She uses China and Yale to make the point that differing forms of censorship are doing more harm than good. In the formal essay “Making it in America,” Adam Davidson brings up what other people tend to ignore. He discusses the injustice the low income factory workers are receiving, even though productivity has grown. Humanity

Ellie Reynolds advances a rhetorically effective argument on why government should not have regulatory control over offensive Native American mascots in schools across the country. She believes this control is more of a detriment to society than a service. Her article published on the DenverPost.com, “Native Americans Have Become a Political Pawn,” offers a compelling point of view on this controversial issue because Reynolds is a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe herself (Reynolds 659). Along with her strong view against government involvement on this issue, which she considers censorship by political correctness, Reynolds uses her personal experience, historical context, and the negative effects of political correctness to convey her effective

The second amendment states that people have a right to bear arms under a well-regulated militia. This amendment was added to the Bill of Rights because the Americans had just finished fighting The American Revolution with the British government for independence-- Gun control by the British was one of the catalysts of this war. With the revolution fresh in mind, the Americans had registered that there was a need to unite and form a union; however, some Americans felt that a union could result in something similar to the tyranny that the British had imposed on them. They were hesitant of placing the power on a small handful of people-- The second amendment helped take some power from the government and give it to the people.

Censorship of the arts is a highly debated and controversial subject that deals with what artistic content is deemed acceptable or unacceptable to the public in society, as well as the limitations of practicing artists’ rights to express themselves through art. In this regard, art should be a way to express one’s own opinions, but should not be used as a vessel for insensitive or malicious intent in dealing with topics such as race and religion. In this essay, I will be discussing this and two other reasons as to why artists should not be given absolute freedom in creating their artworks. These other reasons are that art may also cause controversy within society when dealing with topics unaccepted by conservative members of the public, such as political views that go against the norm, as well as shocking or, to some, disturbing content such as intense or extreme gore and nudity. While these are some reasons why art censorship can be justified, I will also be discussing a counter-argument to these reasons, which is that society should not shoot down views and opinions based solely on a minority that does not approve of them.