American Politics Today - Essentials (3rd Ed)

FREEDOM OF SPEECH, ASSEMBLY, AND THE PRESS| 97

his writings were the “language of direct incitement,” but it also warned state
governments that there were limits on such suppression of speech.
Over the ensuing decades most civil liberties covered in the Bill of Rights were
applied to the states on a case-by-case basis through the Fourteenth Amend-
ment (see Table 4.1). However, this process of selective incorporation was not
smooth and incremental; rather, it progressed in surges. The fi rst fl urry of activity
came in the 1930s when most of the First Amendment was incorporated, requir-
ing the states to allow a free press, the right to assemble, free exercise of religion,
and the right to petition. The next fl urry came in the 1960s with a series of cases
on criminal defendants’ rights and due process.
Following another decades-long gap, in 2010 the incorporation of the Second
Amendment’s right to bear arms meant that all the signifi cant amendments now
apply to state and local governments. As a result, we can now say that the Bill of
Rights has evolved from the nineteenth century’s limitations that aff ected only
national government action to a robust set of widespread protections for freedom
and liberty today.

Freedom of Speech, Assembly, and the Press

The First Amendment’s ringing words are the most famous statement of per-
sonal freedoms in the Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridg-
ing 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
“How It Works” diagram on page 107 illustrates how much is packed into this
one amendment.) As noted earlier, defining the scope of our civil liberties
depends on balancing interests and drawing lines. This is especially true of
First Amendment freedoms, which can best be envisioned on a continuum from
most to least protected based on the Supreme Court cases that have tested their
limits.

Generally Protected Expression

Anytime you attend a religious service or a political rally, write an article for your
student paper, or express a political idea, you are being protected by the First
Amendment. However, the nature of this protection is continually evolving due to
political forces and shifting constitutional interpretations. Only recently have the
courts developed a complex continuum ranging from strongly protected political
speech to less protected speech.

selective incorporation The

process through which the civil

liberties granted in the Bill of Rights

were applied to the states on a

case-by-case basis through the

Fourteenth Amendment.

DESCRIBE THE MAJOR

FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS

RELATED TO FREEDOM OF

SPEECH