Freedom of Speech as a principal of Civil Rights

Freedom of speech is a civil rights principle that enables the United States citizens to freely express their feelings as opinions in the public without forceful interference by the government in power (Monroe, 46). However, the constitution prohibits its abuse through unlawful acts such as public incitement and encouraging rebellion against the state. In comparison to the legal protections of other industrialized nations, the First Amendment provides a broader leeway, despite the exceptions. As a result, the principle for centuries has remained a critical symbol of America’s democracy and a key jurisprudence component.

The U.S First Amendment which was adopted during the last month of 1791 ensured the codification of the freedom of speech as a core constitutional right element entitled to all legal inhabitants of the U.S soil (Morton, 84). Further, the initial amendment to the constitution only inhibited the Congress of the U.S from passing laws aimed at curtailing the freedom of speech. However, the observed legal inefficiencies led to subsequent prohibitions to the state legislatures as from late 1920s.

When the country was under the brutal British colonial rule, government interference on the civil rights was common. In fact, the rules set up to regulate English speech were extremely restrictive to the extent that criticizing the government actions equated to a serious crime. During the late 1690s, the English colonial government tactfully devised a system of licensing; restricting all publication that did not have government backing. Stringently, ’blasphemous’ religious speech became outlawed, attracting a death penalty to the law breakers (Nanni, 26).

Thus, such brutality of the colonial government regarding civil rights prompted the independent government to root for extensive constitutional reforms that safeguard the freedoms and rights of all the citizens.

There are three major types of speech guarded by the wholly or partially guarded by the United States Constitution. The core political speech is viewed prioritized in its importance due to its necessity to any operational country. Secondly, the commercial speech is within the regulative capacity of the state and has an expressive value, thus the partial protection by the First Amendment. Lastly, Expressive conduct is usually used in protests and is non-verbal in nature. It involves the destruction of a symbolic element such as a flag in order to pass an intended message to the relevant authorities. The First Amendment protects such freedom, but to an extent, depending on the perceived intention of the protesters and the context in which the act is executed (Monroe, 50).

In conclusion, freedom of speech is an entitlement to all citizens as long as it does not pose a threat to the national security or lead to a violation of the subsequent rights of others. To meet the needs of the changing times, the civil rights laws have been amended on several occasions by the congress as shown in the graph below:

Graph 1: Trend of the civil rights bills including freedom of speech in the Congress (CB).

Work Cited

Congress Bills (CB): Civil Rights/ Liberties and minority Issues Trends. Retrieved from http://www.policyagendas.org/page/trend-analysis

Monroe, Alan Houston. Principles and Types of Speech. New York, 1939.Print:46-52 Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/rr/askalib/ask-digital.html

Morton, Louis G. A Citizen's Guide to the United States Constitution. Minneapolis/St. Paul: West, (1993)Print: 80-86.Retrieved from http://lccn.loc.gov/93213198

Nanni, Giordano. The Colonization of Time: Ritual, Routine and Resistance in the British Empire. Manchester; New York, 2012.Print: 24-32. Retrieved from http://lccn.loc.gov/2011279673