Freedom of Expression/Legal Codification/US
Is it contained in the US Constitution?
The right to free expression is not stated verbatim in the United States constitution. Though, it is universally accepted to be covered by the First Amendment (American Civil Liberties Union). Furthermore, the First Amendment asserts, “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.” Specifically, the listed rights to free speech, press, assembly, and petition are broadly viewed as Americans’ rights to free expression. Though, the nature of free expression, as enshrined by the Constitution, has been heavily debated. Some believe that only political speech is protected by the First Amendment (Legal Infornation Institute, Cornell Law School). Others assert that the individual freedoms outlined by the First Amendment should not be grouped together as Americans’ general freedoms to expression. Rather, these individuals argue that the individual freedoms entitled by the First Amendment ought to be addressed as distinct rights (Bogen). Consequently, in 1799, John Hay, in criticizing the Sedition Act, argued that freedom of speech, as entitled by the First Amendment, protects all forms of expression. Specifically, using freedom of the press as an example, Hay asserts that the same degree of freedom is applied to each First Amendment right, stating “To ascertain what the "freedom of the press" is, we have only to ascertain what freedom itself is. For, surely, it will be conceded, that freedom applied to one subject, means the same, as freedom applied to another subject.” Ultimately, Hay’s argument developed the belief in Americans’ general right to free expression, which is still commonly accepted today to be protected by the First Amendment