freedom of expression

Examples of freedom of expression in the following topics:

• Freedom of Expression and its Limits

  • Despite the restrictive nature of early colonial laws, the ideas of freedom of speech and expression emerged steadily over time.
  • Although there remains much work to be done examining freedom of expression in the American colonies, historians generally agree that there were fewer prosecutions for seditious libel in the colonies than there were in England.
  • However, more recent scholarship focusing on seditious speech in the 17th-century colonies has indicated that from 1607 to 1700, freedom of speech expanded dramatically, laying a foundation for the political dissent of the Revolutionary War.
  • One such instance in which the concept of freedom of expression dramatically expanded was the Zenger Trial.
  • Although the judge dismissed this claim entirely, Hamilton persuaded the jury to disregard the laws on libel in favor of this concept—an argument that convinced the jury to return a verdict of "not guilty. " Therefore, not only did the Zenger Trial result in a remarkable instance of jury nullification, but it also established a precedent for protecting the freedom of the press in the American courts.

• Individualism

  • Individualism is a philosophy that stresses the value and rights of the individual vis-a-vis society and government.
  • Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses the moral worth of the individual.
  • This type of argument can occur in policy debates regarding regulation of industries, as well as in relation to personal choice of lifestyle.
  • Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labor, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right to privacy, freedom of conscience, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, and the right to marry and have a family.
  • Civil libertarianism is not a complete ideology; rather, it is a collection of views on the specific issues of civil liberties and civil rights.

• Democracy

  • Second, all citizens enjoy universally recognized freedoms and liberties.
  • Democracies come in several forms, some of which provide better representation and more freedoms for their citizens than others.
  • Furthermore, freedom of political expression, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press are essential so that citizens are informed and able to vote in their personal interests.
  • Democracies must balance conflicting obligations to try to maximize freedom and protect individual rights.
  • This map depicts electoral democracies around the world, as judged by Freedom House in 2006.

• Freedom of Speech

  • The freedom of speech is not absolute.
  • Political speech is the most highly guarded form of speech because of its purely expressive nature and importance to a functional republic.
  • The Supreme Court has recently taken the view that freedom of expression by non-speech means is also protected under the First Amendment.
  • Freedom of speech is a closely guarded liberty in American society.
  • Explain how freedom of speech is protected by the United States Constitution

• An Overview of U.S. Values

  • Despite certain consistent values (e.g. individualism, egalitarianism, freedom, democracy), American culture has a variety of expressions.
  • American culture includes both conservative and liberal elements, such as scientific and religious competitiveness, political structures, risk taking and free expression, materialist and moral elements.
  • Aside from certain consistent ideological principles (e.g. individualism, egalitarianism and faith in freedom and democracy), American culture's geographical scale and demographic diversity has spawned a variety of expressions.
  • "Family values" is arguably a modern politicized subset of traditional values.
  • Defend the notion that America has both consistent values and a variety of expressions

• Deism

  • Deism played a major part in inspiring enlightenment philosophy and in the creation of the principle of religious freedom.
  • In the United States, Enlightenment philosophy (which itself was heavily inspired by Deist ideals) played a major role in creating the principle of religious freedom, which is expressed in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
  • Another major contributor to Deism was Elihu Palmer (1764–1806), who wrote the "Bible" of American deism in his Principles of Nature (1801) and attempted to organize Deism by forming the "Deistical Society of New York. "
  • The principle of religious freedom, guaranteed in the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights, was inspired partially by Deist ideas.
  • Though the influence of Deism on Jefferson's thought is debated, some of his writings on religion contain Deist ideas.

• Freedom of Assembly and Petition

  • The right to petition grants people not only the freedom to stand up and speak out against injustices they feel are occurring, but also grants the power to help change those injustices.
  • Freedom of Assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue, and defend common interests .
  • The right to freedom of association is recognized as a human and political right, and a civil liberty.
  • Freedom of assembly and freedom of association may be used to distinguish between the freedom to assemble in public places and the freedom of joining an association, but both are recognized as rights under the First Amendment's provision on freedom of assembly.
  • The right to petition is generally concerned with expression directed to the government seeking redress of a grievance, while the right to assemble is speaking more so to the right of Americans to gather together.

• Freedom of the Press

  • However, freedom of the press, like freedom of speech, is subject to some restrictions such as defamation law and copyright law .
  • Minnesota used the 14th Amendment to apply the freedom of the press to the states.
  • In 1861, four newspapers in New York City were all given a presentment by a Grand Jury of the United States Circuit Court for "frequently encouraging the rebels by expressions of sympathy and agreement. " This started a series of federal prosecutions of newspapers throughout the northern United States during the Civil War which printed expressions of sympathy for southern causes or criticisms of the Lincoln Administration.
  • Freedom of the press is a primary civil liberty guaranteed in the First Amendment.
  • Indicate the role the Freedom of the Press in the U.S.

• Watching Out for Metaphors

  • Up to a point, the analogies expressed by metaphors can be useful, but beyond that point they can be extremely misleading.
  • As an example of the dangers of taking political metaphors literally, let us consider the concept of freedom applied not at the micro level but at the macro.
  • Rather, individual freedom is presumed to exist in the context of a government whose laws by definition are intended to limit the extent of that freedom in the interest of the general welfare.
  • No similar limit on freedom is generally acknowledged when it comes to the claims of macro-level entities to freedom.
  • Another way of stating this point is that there is a conflict between national freedom and maximizing individual freedom.

• Religious Freedom

  • Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance.
  • Freedom of religion is considered by many nations to be a fundamental human right.
  • In the United States, freedom of religion is a constitutionally guaranteed right provided in the religion clauses of the First Amendment.
  • Freedom of religion is also closely associated with the separation of church and state, a concept advocated by Thomas Jefferson.
  • Illustrate the principle of "religious freedom" in the United States to different scenarios