In the United States of America, the Bill of Rights refers to the first ten amendments of the constitution. These were additions of the already governing document, and were added by federalists. The Bill of Rights is supposed to protect and guarantee human basic liberties and freedoms. Among the first seven amendments, the first one is the best. This amendment protects the freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of press, as well as the right to assemble and petition the government (Divine et al. 17).
The freedom of speech is a providence of one’s right to express or communicate his/her ideas and/opinions. It includes the impartation and seeking of information regardless of the means used. This right is closely related to the freedom of press, which allows an individual to express and communicate through mediums which may include all published materials and electronic media. Before the enactment of this right, its violation was evident in different scenarios in the history of America (Divine et al. 27). Martin Luther’s freedom of speech was violated when he became critical of the Catholic Church. His teachings, which later played a crucial role in the shaping of America, were not accepted by the Catholic Church priests. This is because he believed that everybody had the same power claimed by the priest. After posting his famous 95 theses, the pope tried to silence and eventually excommunicated him, violating his freedom of speech. It is possible to argue that, if his freedom was not violated the positive effect of his teachings would be greater than it really was.
The freedom of religion provides a community or an individual with the right to express, manifest and practice a religion, teaching or a belief both in private and in public. The violation of this right leads to the death of many people during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots (1553), and thereafter in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Mary, Queen of Scots persecutes Protestants while during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, war and man slaughter erupts in the name of Christianity. The amendment of this right later enables ease in worship and different expression religions.
The freedom to assemble provides the right to individual(s) to come together, associate and pursue promote or defend common interests (Davidson et al. 24). The Americans who were slaves to their colonialists were denied this freedom. This made sure that they remained weak and rather loyal to their masters, who persecuted them. The colonialist also made sure that their subjects, the Americans never associated in a manner that could influence their decision for independence.
The right to petition the government allows individual(s) to come together and present their grievances to the government. The Americans were not allowed to present any grievances to the colonial government. The denial of this right compelled them to fight for independence through rebellion. Although independence is achieved later on, any lives are lost, property lost during wars. Women and children suffer hunger and lack of basic needs as their husbands and fathers work as soldiers in the American army. The implementation of this amendment cuts across the board, touching every aspect in the reform and shaping of the people of America.
Works Cited
Davidson, James, et al. Nation of Nations: A Concise Narrative of the American Republic. New York, NY: McGrawhill, 2006. Print.
Divine, Robert A., et al. America Past and Present, Brief Edition, Volume I: To 1877. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc, 2011. Print.
