Constitution
Amendment 1: Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly and Petition
Text from National Archives. Explanation last updated September 29, 2026. How we check this
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In plain English
The First Amendment stops Congress from making laws that establish a religion or prohibit its free exercise, and from abridging freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to assemble peaceably, or the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
It is one sentence with six protections. Although it begins “Congress shall make no law,” the Supreme Court has long held that the Fourteenth Amendment applies these protections to state and local governments as well. It limits government, not private employers, websites or individuals.
The text
As printed by the source cited at the end of this page, with its original spelling, capitalization and punctuation.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Explained section by section
Establishment of religion
“An establishment of religion” means government sponsorship or preference for a church or faith. The clause forbids laws “respecting” an establishment, which is broader than laws that create a national church: it also reaches laws that move toward one.
Courts have applied it to school prayer, public funding and religious displays. The tests have changed over time, so a summary of the text is a starting point, not a prediction of any case.
Free exercise of religion
The government may not prohibit “the free exercise thereof”. That protects both belief and, in many circumstances, religiously motivated conduct. The protection is not unlimited: neutral, generally applicable laws can still apply to people of faith, and Congress and the states have passed statutes to add protection beyond the constitutional minimum.
Freedom of speech
The text says the government may not abridge “the freedom of speech”, not that all speech is protected in every circumstance. The Supreme Court recognizes narrow categories that receive little or no protection, for example incitement to imminent lawless action, true threats, and defamation, and it applies stricter scrutiny to laws that target speech because of its viewpoint.
Freedom of the press
The press is protected alongside speech. In the eighteenth century this was understood chiefly as a ban on prior restraints and licensing, meaning government approval before publication. Modern cases extend the principle to broadcast and digital publishers, though the Court has treated the press clause as protecting the activity of publishing rather than granting reporters special privileges.
Peaceable assembly
People may gather, and the word “peaceably” is part of the text: violence is not protected. Governments may regulate the time, place and manner of gatherings, such as requiring a permit for a march on public streets, as long as the rules are content-neutral and leave open other ways to communicate.
Petition for redress of grievances
The right to petition is the right to ask the government to fix something: to lobby, to file suit, to write to officials. It descends from English practice in which subjects petitioned the Crown, and it is why the amendment reads as a guarantee of communication between the governed and the government.
Context and current status
The amendment was one of twelve proposed by the First Congress in 1789 and was ratified on December 15, 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights. It was the third of the twelve in Congress's original numbering: the first two, on apportionment and congressional pay, were not ratified at the time, and the pay amendment became the Twenty-Seventh Amendment in 1992.
Its wording is a response to the ratification debate. Anti-Federalists such as Brutus argued that a constitution granting broad powers needed an explicit declaration of rights. Hamilton argued in Federalist No. 84 that a bill of rights was unnecessary and even risky. The First Amendment is the most quoted result of that argument.
Current textual status: the amendment is in force and has not been amended. Because it begins “Congress shall make no law,” it was originally a limit on the federal legislature only; the Supreme Court began applying its guarantees to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment in the twentieth century.
Terms to know
- Establishment clause
- The first clause: government may not make laws respecting an establishment of religion.
- Free exercise clause
- The second clause: government may not prohibit the free exercise of religion.
- Prior restraint
- A government order blocking speech or publication before it happens, which courts treat as especially suspect.
- Incorporation
- The doctrine that the Fourteenth Amendment makes most Bill of Rights guarantees binding on state and local governments.
- Redress
- A remedy or correction for a wrong.
Common misconceptions
“The First Amendment means nobody can ever be punished or fired for what they say.”
It restrains government action. A private employer, a social media platform or a homeowners’ association is not the government, so the amendment does not itself govern their decisions, though other laws may.
“Free speech protects every kind of statement.”
The Supreme Court treats a few narrow categories, such as incitement to imminent lawless action, true threats and defamation, as outside or only weakly within First Amendment protection.
How it connects
Links to related provisions and documents, with the reason each one matters here.
- Amendment 14Citizenship, Due Process and Equal ProtectionThe Fourteenth Amendment is the route by which First Amendment guarantees came to bind states and cities as well as Congress.
- Anti-Federalist No. 84Brutus II on Consolidation and a Bill of RightsBrutus II is a leading example of the ratification-era demand for an express declaration of rights that led to this amendment.
- Federalist No. 84Objections to the Constitution and the Bill of RightsHamilton’s reply explains why supporters of the Constitution first resisted adding a bill of rights and mentions liberty of the press directly.
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Sources and corrections
- Text: National Archives. Checked against the source on September 29, 2026.National Archives transcription of the engrossed Constitution, with original spelling and capitalization. The signature block and the Convention's interlineation note are not reproduced.
- The Bill of Rights: A Transcription — National Archives
- The Interactive Constitution: First Amendment — National Constitution Center
Educational material, not legal advice. Spotted a mistake? Tell us; corrections change this page’s update date.