Breaking Down the First Amendment

The American people created the Constitution, which has been in operation since March 1789,  because they wanted individual protections from the government. In June 1789, U.S. House of Representatives member James Madison drafted a list of amendments to the Constitution. The House approved 17 of the amendments, and the Senate 12. In October 1789, President George Washington sent the amendments to the states for approval. Two years later, on Dec. 15, 1791, three-fourths of the states ratified 10 of the amendments, which became known as the Bill of Rights. The first of these amendments protected individual opinions, ideas and communication. 

“The five freedoms protected by the First Amendment are fundamental to modern democracy,” said political science professor Steven Vanderheiden, director of CU Boulder’s Keller Center, which focuses on the First Amendment. “They protect the right of members of the public to meaningfully participate in processes of self-governance and provide a vital check on state power.”