to the United States Constitution is a rather brief sentence that guarantees certain liberties. It reads as follows: "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" (Burger, 1992, p.213). The clauses of the amendment provide for the separation of church and state in America. The government cannot interfere with a person's practice of their religion, and it cannot name a religion that is the state religion. The most basic freedom associated with the First Amendment is the right of freedom of speech. The Supreme Court may prevent certain speech that causes violence or breach of peace, but in general Americas are free to express themselves as they choose (Legal Information Institute, n.d., p.1). A part of the freedom of expression is the freedom of the press. Members of the media do not have any special rights that are not afforded to every citizen. Further provisions of the amendment are the right to gather together, unless the groups promote illegal activities, and the right to ask the government for help through the courts if a wrong has been committed.
With this background of understanding about who the Antifederalists were and what is contained within the First Amendment, one can ask, what did the Antifederalists have in mind with this amendment, the first one in what became known as the Bill of Rights? The most famous spokespersons for the Antifederalists were Patrick Henry and James Monroe (Burger, 1992, p.195). Through the leadership of these men and others, they were able to show Federalists such as James Madison that the separate states were prepared to reject the ratification of the Constitution if the document was unamended, a shocking turn of affairs f
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