How to Understand Your First Amendment Rights III-Freedom of Assembly and Petition

Peaceful political demonstrations and rallies are a part of American life. In fact, we do it better than anyone else in the world. This First Amendment and the nine that follow, known as the Bill of Rights, were added by a group of landowner-philosophers, led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who started a revolution by making an absolute stand on the unique idea that governments should exist only with the consent and participation of those governed.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

1. "Congress shall make no law..." The federal legislature may not limit rights accepted as natural human rights (inalienable). Although the British parliamentary system afforded a measure of democracy in England, this participation had not extended to the colonies and the revolution had been fought largely based on the radical view of England as a totalitarian monarchy. It therefore became important to the founders to limit the power of a central government and "reserve" a large measure of the power to govern to the individual states where government could be more directly responsible to the people.
2. "...or the right of the people peaceably to assemble," Beginning with the Boston Tea Party, American dissent has transformed our society into one of the world's most stable democracies. The tension between the government and the governed--and the right of citizens to express their opinions as a group--are necessary if a democracy is to survive and develop. The limits to the right of assembly must be determined by the need for public peace and the safety of individuals, not whether the purpose of the assembly is popular or socially acceptable.
3. "...and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." The important result of free speech is to demand that the government do the will of the people and fix problems. Without this, other freedoms are meaningless. This section points out our responsibility as citizens. Rather than just complain constantly about the government (which is our right), we have a responsibility to understand how our government works and to provide meaningful guidance for our representatives.

Tips & Warnings

• The authors of the Bill of Rights (and the U.S. Constitution) wrote in very general terms in order to have a rule that could be applied to all citizens in the nation into the unknowable future. This meant that specific situations were left to be dealt with by the Congress and the states and laws interpreted by the courts. Over the years, situations have been judged against the amendment and existing law to determine whether a certain action was legal. These cases (or "case law") help us understand the law in specific situations, refine it and make it relevant today.
• For more information about the balance between freedom of religion and its limits, search for key words "right of assembly" and "political demonstration, case law" and "political dissent". Many political groups have websites explaining or exercising their interpretation of this First Amendment right. Information concerning freedom of assembly and petition case law can be found on a number of websites, some of which are listed below. The American Bar Association has an education office that provides educational materials on First Amendment rights as well as mock cases and other legal education.
• The rights guaranteed us are ours only so long as we do not use them to interfere with the same rights of other citizens.
• Individual rights are guaranteed by the Bill of Rights to persons in the United States. The founders believed that these rights were part of being human. Not all governments--or individuals--agree that they belong to all equally. This means that these rights are not guaranteed to us wherever we are in the world just because we're Americans.