All nations have their own set of rules for governing and protecting the interest of their citizens. The American nation made it its duty to protect the interest of the American people and to provide equality to all regardless of religion, race, and class. The First Amendment states that the United States Congress shall not make any law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise, abridging the freedom of speech of its citizens, or of the press, or the right of people to peacefully assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances (Editorials, 2017) . The First Amendment was introduced after the first constitution was ratified when peoples concern grew that the American law did not protect the personal liberty of its people. These individuals had a fear that the authority would misuse its power and thus take away the right of the people. Therefore an agreement of adding a Bill of Rights to the constitution that ensured that the personal liberties of the people living in America were protected was reached. It assured that the establishment of state-supported churches was prohibited and required the separation of state and church. Furthermore, it guaranteed the freedom of speech and the press, the rights to peaceful assembly, association and petition (Editorials, 2017) . The First Amendment to the constitution by introducing the Bill of Rights is of most importance to the American nation as a whole.
Although freedom of speech is not a luxury, it is considered as a necessity for a democratic government to function and therefore continue to exist. There must be a free expression and educated criticism which has been seen in the development of the American free society as a result of public debate and disclosure, both in oratory and written form (Campbell, 2017-2018) . Since many people came to the United States as a way of avoiding religious persecution favoring one religion over another is considered to be divisive. Therefore, guaranteeing the freedom of religion to every person in the United States prevents this from happening (Campbell, 2017-2018) . Moreover, the First Amendment protects the citizens of US against coercion in matters of religious beliefs and practices as pressure is contrary to the nature of belief and thoughts. Although individuals can sometimes be coerced into conformity, however, it is not possible to impose a change of mindset through external laws which may sometimes thrust a person into agreement till the force of threat is removed. More importantly, attempting to impose an agreement on someone without an understanding is against the nature of thought. Therefore, the natural liberty of thought in declaration cannot be alienated.
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The freedom of thought and speech is of most importance to every rational being as the freedom to make own choices comes from thinking about what is valuable and after that making a judgment. This freedom which is found when an individual understands and acts to achieve a specific goal is protected by the First Amendment in that the essence of human nature lies in the fact that they are thinking beings (Bhagwat, 2018) . Therefore, any attempt at limiting this freedom to humans is considered an attack on human dignity. Consequently, the First Amendment is essential as it allows for freedom of thinking and pursuing of life meaning in that the need of the American people to publicly deliberate their beliefs more so in the areas where they remain divided is taken into account. Moreover, since people often become divided and disagree on most of their fundamental beliefs, the Amendment gives them the freedom to believe and practice their particular religions in addition to the freedom to discuss and debate over their differences (Caplan, 2015) . Therefore, understanding the role fundamental beliefs in interpreting experiences as an individual or a group will make people understand why an agreement is essential.
The freedom of speech, the press, assembly and the right to petition the government in addition to seeking redress of grievances proclaimed by citizens makes it possible for people to have the right to call the government into account and to maintain the democracy of the United States (Bhagwat, 2018) . This freedom of speech and press thus gives the American people the right to communicate their ide as both verbally and in writing in that the freedom of assembly allows them to publicly express their common interests (Bhagwat, 2018) . Furthermore, the right of the people to petition gives citizens the mandate to publicly poi nt out the government on areas where it did not follow the law, seek changes in addition to the damages caused by such missteps (Editorials, 2017) . If in any case, people were unable to criticize the government, it would not be possible to regulate order in the United States. Moreover, the freedom of the press that allows one the right to have their press and type or express their ideas enable the nation to have a perfect but not so perfect authority as people will have knowledge of truth and thus push for correction in places where the government mess up (Editorials, 2017) .
Although there are limits to these freedoms that are not protected by the First Amendment, the introduction of the Bill of Rights to the American Constitution significantly impacted the way of life of the people. It provided them with the right to express their ideas and to publicly state their interests. It helped in maintaining the democracy on which the American nation was built on as it allowed citizens and the government to work side by side for the interest of the nation and what it hoped to achieve.
References
Bhagwat, A. (2018). The Democratic First Amendment. Northwestern University Law Review, 110 (5), 1097-1123.
Campbell, J. (2017-2018). Natural Rights and the First Amendment. The Yale Law Journal, 127 (2), 246-489.
Caplan, L. (2015, March 4). The Embattled First Amendment. Retrieved May 2018, from The American Scholar: https://theamericanscholar.org/the-embattled-first-amendment/#.WvWOLpq-nIU
Editorials. (2017, February 20). U.S. Institutions - Why is the First Amendment Important? Retrieved May 2018, from Editorials: https://editorials.voa.gov/a/the-importance-of-the-first-amendment-/3733070.html
