... court order from a government entity. Then after the government notifies the individual in question, the material is either used by the agency or is destroyed. Probably the biggest battle yet over the first amendment rights so far has been the Communications Decency Act or CDA. In March 1995 Senator Jim Exon introduces legislation to criminalize online publication of any material deemed "obscene, lascivious, ... filthy or indecent." This legislation was attached to a larger and popular Telecommunications Reform Bill. The Senate and the House voted to approve the Telecommunications Refor...

• Word Count: 1060
• Approx Pages: 4

... business. They were seen, or at least their leaders were, as agents of the communists and the other radical groups. These were the main conditions that led to the Red Scare of the early 1920s. Eventually, the government began to crackdown against these groups. The basic freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the democratic traditions and beliefs that was so much a part of America and its ... suddenly now pushed back. This was done all in the mane of protecting the country and preventing threats by the communists and other radical groups against the government and American socie...

• Word Count: 888
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... no one can take away from us. Some of these rights support democracy, such as freedom of speech and of press. Others, such as the right to trial by jury, are essential to justice. Although the government for the most part "plays fair," there are always those instances when injustices may occur, either by accident or by choice. It may be a police officer ... profiling. Now when state troopers arrest a person for drunk driving, no matter who they are, where they are from, or the color of their skin, they will be sentenced the same way. They will both go through the criminal justice the sa...

• Word Count: 1631
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... . Consequently, I think the flag does follow the Constitution in that aspect. The reason for this conclusion is that the flag represents the American Revolution Era, to me, because the red represents blood meaning lives lost, the white represents freedom, and the original stars represented the colonies that was established. Therefore the flag does follow the Constitution in the aspect representing one race. I think the flag should follow the Constitution. For the simple reason the constitution is what ... makes America-America. The Constitution makes us, and the flag represents us. Howev...

• Word Count: 289
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... free press highly in the abstract. Although there are strong cases made for and against censorship, the rising trend calling for censorship can threaten our basic rights to free expression and the right to be informed. At the center of the debate is the First Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees our right to read, speak, write, and communicate freely. The government at the state or federal ... level cannot interfere with this right. However, the First Amendment does not protect some forms of expression including libel ... their policies, controlling controversial opinions on t...

• Word Count: 664
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , Mich. This quote from PRIMEDIA Business Magazines & Media Inc., shows the side of one against the act. I agree with this view. Roger Buffington makes reference to the McCarthy era (a period of intense persecution of members of the communist party during the red scare). What the Patriot Act is doing is almost exactly like what occurred during the McCarthy era, instead it is persecution of suspect terrorist rather than ... communists. While the government's intentions are good, they are pushing the envelope on the protection of individual rights. Many are ... ...

• Word Count: 654
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... free press highly in the abstract. Although there are strong cases made for and against censorship, the rising trend calling for censorship can threaten our basic rights to free expression and the right to be informed. At the center of the debate is the First Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees our right to read, speak, write, and communicate freely. The government at the state or federal ... level cannot interfere with this right. However, the First Amendment does not protect some forms of expression including libel ... their policies, controlling controversial opinions on t...

• Word Count: 663
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... government. This phase was creating a popular republic with the Declaration of Independence. The democratic republic was the next phase. Dahl also talks about some of the amendments from the constitution. He starts with the first ten, known by most as the bill of rights. When changes to the constitution were made such as the 19th, 16th, and the amendments that attempted to abolish slavery; Jefferson and Madison ... the unwritten constitution in the electoral system, he believes that this feature should be given serious public discussion and consideration. Winner-take-all is the next fe...

• Word Count: 741
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... on June 21, 1788. This document is the supreme law of the U.S. At first it had seven articles. The first 3 articles talk about separation of powers. The separation of powers is where the federal government has 3 divisions: the legislative which has the congress, executive, the President and the judiciary, consists of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. The Constitution has been amended 27 times since its ... interesting community. When the Founding Fathers wrote the freedom of press into the Bill Of Rights, the printing press was the most popular form of communication. This censor...

• Word Count: 2212
• Approx Pages: 9

... evidence to prove his or her case, but did it by violating the laws, then the Judge would dismiss the evidence, and it would not be able to enter the court again. The rights of the people mostly come about in court however, in a person's ordinary day the rights apply. Take for example a student's right to read whatever book they choose in English class, or his or her ... book because it caused controversy. The first amendment protects the student's right to read whatever he or she wishes, and a law against the book would probably not be passed. All in all, it was necessary for the Unite...

• Word Count: 1433
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... approval from certain IRS officials prior to the actual surveillance taking place. This did not happen in the case of Caceres. Fortunately for the IRS" interests, no constitutional right was violated, and the recorded evidence was permitted as evidence. The problem with the exclusionary rule lies in the inefficiencies caused by such "red-tape" as described in the Caceres case. The application of the exclusionary rule in such a way would result ... in a significant inhibition of the legal process. The need to inform a person they ... ...

• Word Count: 2672
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Congress that law enforcement and national security officals need new legal tools to fight terrorism. But we should not forget what gave rise to the original opposition - many aspects of the bill increase the opportunity for law enforcement and the intelligence community to return to an era where they monitored and sometimes harassed individuals who were merely exercising their First Amendment rights. Nothing ... abuse this power, it must be noted that the government has a history of launching investigations against political dissidents. There is reason to believe that this may be used a...

• Word Count: 1886
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... equal representation to protect themselves when there was no danger to their rights. So what caused the drive to compromise? Banning shows that Madison pressed the issue of proportional representation too far by citing John Dickinson after the New Jersey Plan had been read, "You see the consequence of pushing things too far." (Banning 433). Banning believes that Madison put ... too much pressure on the Convention when promoting proportional representation, and backed the smaller states into a corner. From this point on the smaller states were unwilling to concede equal representation, .....

• Word Count: 1874
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... -organized government there isn't any protection for the citizens of the state. This idea was proven to be true in pre constitutional America. Before the United States of America had the constitution the government ran under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles gave the federal government very little power. All the powers were delegated to the States. This made the United States very weak to internal conflicts and ... external affairs. Thus when Shays Rebellion sprang up the federal government could not draw an army ... these freedoms and protection and all people have to do is p...

• Word Count: 575
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... . p.4). This is exactly what you would expect to see of Constitution of the United States. Throughout the years Congress has continued to add Amendments creating "the supreme law of the land " (Ashcroft. 2014, p.4). While it is unfortunate that many Americans have not and probably will not read the Constitution in its entirety, I was given the opportunity to do just that and share Amendments that stuck out to ... me. To begin, the Second Amendment "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infrin...

• Word Count: 1018
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... made aware of their rights as guarunteed in the fifht amendment that no person shall have to testify against oneself. The outcome of this landmark case brought on what is now called the Miranda Rights which has to be given to a person before they are questioned by a person of the law. These rights read that the person has the right to remain silent, if they choose to ... give up that right anything they say can be used against them, they also have the right to an attorney if they cannot ... afford an attorney on will be appointed by the court before any questioning. Without these right...

• Word Count: 871
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... is obviously too late to call 911 to send out the troops to enact on this right of protection because the fear has become reality and death is inevitable. Criminals do not care if you have an order from the courts to keep them away and nor will they take the time for you to read it to them in hopes of determent. Should we ... expect the property owner to have to physically fight with some thief over the family jewels or maybe save his daughter's virtue because some say that ... guns are too dangerous to be in the homes of law abiding Americans, that were originally ... ...

• Word Count: 1018
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... ? Would an article of this nature interfere with the students" ability to learn and get an education? If a student were to come to me after writing an article of this nature, asking for me to publish it in the newspaper, I would first read through it very carefully. After reading it, I ... would then decide if it would cause a huge commotion among the students and if it would cause the students to clash, dispute, and discredit one another. If the article seems like it will cause little ... would most likely publish it. I do feel that students and all people should be able to express th...

• Word Count: 897
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... life for a long time. After the Civil War, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were added to the Constitution. The thirteenth amendment freed Africans from slavery. The fourteenth and fifteenth amendments increased the civil liberties of freedmen by giving them the right to vote and giving them equal protection under the law. These amendments were not helpful because the government and the white people did not follow these ... , etc. Literacy tests required voters to take and pass a test in order to be able to vote. Most freedmen did not know how to write and read and th...

• Word Count: 630
• Approx Pages: 3

... has developed without taking equality seriously - either the problem of social inequality or the mandate of substantive legal equality." (MacKinnon 71) On the other hand, there is the opinion held by many that "If the First Amendment means anything, it means that a State has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his own home, what books he may read, or what films he may watch." (Mason ... 420) In order to decide whether or not pornography is protected by the Constitution, the rights granted by the First and ... Fourteenth Amendments must be discussed. The First Amendment protects...

• Word Count: 1181
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Abusing the Second Amendment The second amendment to the US constitution is misleading to many that read it. The original meaning and usage of this amendment have been lost over the period of over 200 years that have passed since the ratification of our nations" most supreme law. It states that "a well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to ... very different things. Our current understanding is a blatant misreading and unrealistic interpretation of the Constitution, given the differences between the state of the nation at that time and ...

• Word Count: 548
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... free citizens creates a better understanding of the guaranteed liberties they possess. More directly, the ability to read and write proves integral for a society to endure and advance. Without a broad comprehension of what it means to be free, a society becomes more susceptible for manipulation and deceit resulting in an absence of independence and advancements in a social order. Educating the general public allows a free country as ... and writing allow us to present ideas and arguments that can perhaps better mold our autonomous state as we continue to acclimatize to different situati...

• Word Count: 629
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... with games, free time, or maybe some television. One of the biggest differences in his class was the way he treated every student the same. In some classes, the girls were the teachers" pets. Or maybe the "well-to-do" students were treated better then the poor students. Well, not in this class. You did not ... , and that's saying a lot for someone who despised school. Mr. Ashley was the first teacher that treated me like I was a good student. I remember he would let me go into his office, which was attached to his room, and read his books on history. I would stay in there half a day, rea...

• Word Count: 635
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... came from Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense, published in 1776. Paine indicated that the colonies are nothing more than a resource to Britain, fueling their wars and their economy. His pamphlet was widely read and inspired many colonist to take action, reinforcing their belief for independence. And during this time the Declaration of Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms was and Declaration of ... Independence were approved. This gave them the justifications and foundations to be their own nation. After the revolution the nation created the Articles of Confederation, this gave state...

• Word Count: 1158
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Rocky (yes, this had nothing to do with Revolutionary America, it was just fun). She saw the giant crack running up the Bell of Liberty and, the best yet, she got to see the Constitution of the United States of America (after a ridiculously long wait). It read "We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union." That eighth grader just so happens ... to be me, the now college student trying to understand our Nations past and how it links to ... our present. The U.S. Constitution was written in 1787, by ... ...

• Word Count: 1139
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School