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.
The phrase, "Congress shall make no law" is essentially giving power to the people of the United States. This is mostly because of the founders' experiences with the British rule, and the monarch government.
Establishment of religion: Court case of Minersville School District v. Gobits (1940). Resulted in an eight to one decision deciding that schools could force students to site the pledge of allegiance regardless of religion. This was in fact before "under God" was added. This was a matter of forcing an establishment of religion, although the pledge is not a religion.
Freedom of Speech: Court case of Fallwell v Flynt (1984). Resulted in an eight to zero decision about an article about incest between a public figure and his relation.
Court case of Brandonburg v Ohio (1969): The prohibition of inflammatory speech that insight actions and show intentions . This is an absolute exception to the amendment because it can cause harm and criminal acts.
Overall, this amendment states that there cannot be an establishment of an official church, and all are free to exercise all religions, free to speak whatever, and press (write/publish) what they want peacefully.
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