Introduction
After winning the American Revolution the new nation needed a government. Its first attempt at such a government was formed under The Articles of Confederation but it was not successful. The Colonists were so afraid of creating a government that would become too powerful that this new government was doomed to failure. It was too weak. The state governments remained more powerful and this allowed foreign powers to take advantage of the young nation. Many of the nation’s leaders saw that a stronger central government would be necessary and ultimately the United States Constitution* was written.
This, however, was not the answer for those who still feared that the government would be too strong. These men, called anti-federalists (against a strong federal government) insisted that a Bill of Rights be included. This Bill of Rights** was to protect the natural rights of American Citizens from being abused by a central government that might otherwise become too strong.
*
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.overview.html
**
http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/billrights/billmain.html
The Bill of Rights contains ten amendments, each protecting various rights of the citizens. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution ensures five rights to American Citizens. This Webquest is an investigation of the First Amendment.
Task
Each student will be assigned to a group. Each group will be responsible for locating the answers to a set of questions and reporting back to the rest of the class.
Process
Answer the following questions.
a. The term Freedom of Speech does not only refer to the things people say. What other rights are implied by the term Freedom of Speech?
b. How does protecting Freedom of Speech keep the government from becoming too powerful?
c. Should Freedom of Speech ever be limited and if so how? Be sure to refer to the issues discussed in the articles and other issues with which you may already be familiar.
Resources for Freedom of Speech:
http://eric.uoregon.edu/publications/digests/digest117.html
http://www.antonnews.com/floralparkdispatch/2003/10/03/news/flag.html
http://www.liberator.net/articles/KKKrally.html
http://www.mlaforum.org/volumeI/issue1/suppression.html
Evaluation
Your group will be evaluated on the quality of the information and the quality of the presentation.
Conclusion
What have you learned about your right to Freedom of Speech? Respond in a flipgrid.