Hopefully most United States citizens can tell you the Constitution of the United States was written in 1787, some eleven years after the Declaration of Independence which declared the independence of the thirteen colonies from England. After that, American’s detailed knowledge of United States’ history probably drops off considerably.

New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify the Constitution in June 1788 making it the official governing document of the United States. There were heated disagreements between the Founding Fathers which led to a dozen amendments being proposed that were introduced in June, 1789. Upon these amendments passing the Congress, President Washington sent them to the individual states in October 1789. The remaining four states then ratified the Constitution by the end of 1790. Ten of the twelve amendments were ratified by the states on December 15th, 1791 giving us what is now called “The Bill of Rights”. The second of the original twelve proposed amendments became the 27th Amendment in 1992 and the first one is “still pending”.

For citizens to be informed, and they had better be informed to be fully involved, a basic knowledge of the First Amendment is required. And, a basic knowledge is the overall significance -- not just the “when” or “how” shared above.

Ask the man on the street about the First Amendment and you will probably get “Freedom of Speech”, or “Freedom of Religion”, or maybe both. This is good, but incomplete. The First Amendment actually has five “freedoms”: religion; speech; press; assemble; and petition. Simply put, these five freedoms have much to do in making the United States a free country!

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.

Notice a couple of things of great significance, the first being it is freedom of religion (“prohibiting the free exercise thereof”) and not freedom from religion. The Freedom from Religion Foundation located in Madison, Wisconsin is certainly misguided! This organization was founded on the cherished principle of separation of church and state which is not in the Constitution! “Separation of church and state” comes from, instead, a private letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut. The phrase also dates from 1644 when Roger Williams simply desired an opportunity to worship freely without government interference.

Remember, many of America’s early settlers came here to escape the King dictating the method and content of worship. They came for freedom of religion! They did not want to be free from religion but instead have freedom of religion! They still wanted to worship.

Earlier this summer the government’s Internal Revenue Service was in the news for relaxing some of the restrictions of the Johnson Amendment of 1954. That was the Amendment that greatly curtailed churches (and other non-profits) from voicing opinions on political matters and candidates. Up until the Johnson Amendment of 1954, it was quite common across America for pastors to give an “Election Sermon” with guidance on campaign issues and possibly candidates.

In spite of the general term “freedom of speech”, not all speech is protected. Obscenity, child pornography, defamatory speech, false advertising, true threats, fighting words, and incitement all may refer to unprotected speech. As one source implied, you may want to consult a lawyer!

In an effort to inform concerned citizens, there will be a First Amendment Forum on Sunday, October 5th at 5 pm at the Sparta American Legion. Speakers will include a representative from Wisconsin Family Action and from Wisconsin Faith and Freedom Coalition. This event is being facilitated by the Republican Party of Monroe County and every concerned citizen is invited to attend. (A $10 donation will cover the cost of a light supper.)