Laine McKay Norton

“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.” The Bill of Rights is slowly fading as a relevant document in our society. The five freedoms explained in the First Amendment ensure that the United States is able to remain free from corruption. 1. The Freedom of Religion Not only does the First Amendment protect the Freedom of Religion, but it also protects the separation of church and state. This means that if the First Amendment is repealed, religion could potentially take over as the driving political force of the United States. Thomas Jefferson explained, “religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & ...

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson penned one of the greatest documents of freedom of all time, the Declaration of Independence. He states in that document that, “...whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” The American Colonies believed that their unalienable rights were being infringed upon and their original system of government was being deteriorated. Jefferson once again wrote about injustice that he saw in the new American Republic in 1798. The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were written by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, and were a response to the unconstitutional Alien and Sedition Acts. Jefferson wrote, “whenever the [federal] government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no f...