This article was edited and reviewed by FindLaw Attorney Writers | Last updated January 20, 2022
When the First Amendment was adopted in 1791, the nation's greatest legal minds couldn't have imagined the many and varied ways freedom of speech would be interpreted. Over the years. the Supreme Court has had to balance the interests of the government with society's interest in free and open discourse on important issues.
"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."