Reflections on the � PAGE �3�
Reflections on the First Amendment
Russell DeSalvo
U.S. Constitution
Instructor: M. Furlow-Herrington
September 15, 2008
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Reflections on the First Amendment
Today, America would hardly be the country that she has turned out to be without the United States Constitution and the amendments that followed. Led by James Madison the first 10 amendments were written and finally ratified on December 15th, 1791 and these amendments were now part of the United States Constitution and referred to as the Bill of Rights. The very first amendment was important to the people of the United States to maintain certain freedoms that were not available to most of them in the past. The first amendment was written like this: "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."
English: View of Capitol Hill from the U.S. Suprem...
U.S. Supreme Court building.
English: United States Supreme Court building in W...(The Constitution of the United States, 2008)
The Constitution was written to break down the different branches of the government and the third branch is the Judicial Branch. The Judicial Branch consists of the Supreme Court; the Supreme Court is the highest power in the Judicial Branch. The Supreme Court is set to interpret the Constitution and will oversee Federal and State statutes to determine if these statutes comply with the United States Constitution. If a case makes it to the Supreme Court, the ruling of the Supreme Court will be the final ruling of the case since the Supreme Court is the highest power.
One case that has been brought to the Supreme Court was a case regarding freedom of speech. In Cohen v. California a young man was...