The First Amendment

The Petition of Right

1628

The Petition of Right makes clear the goals set forth by the English movement, in regards to desired legal changes. This took place in 1628 and led to the removal of power of King Charles I and an eventual civil war. This petition clarifies the legal rights for citizens in juxtaposition to the rights of the king, and the petition also entails the sparks which led to the famous American Revolution.

Freedom of Religion

1708

The state of Connecticut gives leeway to the very first protest law, as well as a law giving freedom of praise and worship for the Anglicans and Baptists, alike.

Religious Legal Controversy

1771

Virginia sends 50 Baptists to prison after they illegally preach the Gospel in opposition to the religious beliefs held within the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, causing a religious controversy.

Declaration of Independence

Jul 4, 1776

Congress chooses to adopt the final draft of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. Congress finalizes and finally adopts the last installment to the very famous and unarguably ground-breaking Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson Passes Religious Bill

1777

Thomas Jefferson finishes the first part of a bill directed towards the state of Virginia, regarding its religious liberties. The draft says, "No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever." Afterwards, the draft becomes the well-known Virginia Ordinance for Religious Freedom.

Virginia Makes Religious Discrimination Illegal

1786

Virginian legislation passes the Ordinance of Religious Freedom, a decree which purposefully breaks apart the adopted notion that the Anglican Church is the one and only legally permissible house of religion, along with making religious prejudice/discrimination a crime on legal grounds.

14th Amendment's Ratification Furthers The 1st Amendment

1868

The agreed upon ratification of the 14th Amendment leads to a furthering of the significant 1st Amendment. The Amendment states that no U.S. state can or will "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Espionage Act

1917

Congress gives their approval for the Espionage Act, stating that "to willfully cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States,” as well as to “willfully obstruct the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States,” is a crime that can and will be made punishable by due process of law.

Bill of Rights' Ratification

1939

The Bill of Rights (and all that it entails) is annulled by and in the jurisdiction of the following states: Georgia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Support for the NAACP

1958

U.S. Supreme Court upholds the Alabama NAACP decision to conceal its member count, and the list of members thereof, from Alabama law officials. The Supreme Court's verdict states that demanding the organization to give leeway to and information about their existing membership goes against the members' right of association.

KKK Leader Convicted

1969

A Ku Klux Klan member faces a sentence by the state of Ohio mainly due to a speech he made during a Ku Klux Klan rally. The Supreme Court reaches the unanimous verdict that the speech he made supporting crime and violence is not under the protection of law, in the circumstances that (1) the speech is "directed to inciting or producing lawless action" and (2) the speech was made "likely to incite or produce" the aforementioned course of action.

Private Shopping And The 1st Amendment

1976

U.S. Supreme Court rules that privately owned shopping centers are not subjected to the 1st Amendment. The Supreme Court also states that as long as the state in which the privately owned business exists does not support or withhold the freedom of speech, the 1st Amendment does not have any sort of reigning over privately owned shopping centers/owners.