Ratified on December Fifteenth, 1791, The Bill Of Rights is one of history’s most impactful documents, ensuring citizens of the United States the rights and freedoms that have now become one of the nation’s most prominent trademarks. In addition to this, The Bill Of Rights was “the first step to making the Constitution a living document that can be amended to reflect the changes in society”, an aspect of the document that historians can use to help understand the evolution of political and social ideals throughout American history. When the Constitution and Bill Of Rights were initially brought forth for ratification, the United States was in the midst of a period of great uncertainty of what shape its new government would take after the Revolutionary
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One of the most famous of these conflicts was the 1964 court case New York Times v. Sullivan, a libel suit filed by Alabama Police Commissioner L.B Sullivan against the Times in response to inaccurate facts printed in one of the newspaper’s leading articles. In the article, the New York Times had published falsities regarding Martin Luther King’s arrests by the Alabama Police Department. L.B Sullivan, the commissioner of the Alabama Police Department, interpreted this as defamatory to his reputation, and sent a letter to the Times requesting public retraction of the article. The Times received Sullivan’s letter, but chose not to retract the article, instead writing a letter to Sullivan expressing their wondering as to how the article referred to him in any way. After this, Sullivan official filed a libel suit against the Times and four African-American ministers mentioned in the article. Sullivan argued his case in Alabama state court, and eventually won 500,000. Despite Sullivan’s success, the case was still not over. After Sullivan’s victory in Alabama court, The Governor of Alabama, John Patterson sent the Times another request for the article’s retraction. This time, The Times responded and retracted the …show more content…
This has allowed ideas and knowledge to be conveyed to mass audiences around the United States through printed (and now also online) articles, which has helped contribute to the multitude of citizen-led campaigns, such as the Civil Rights Movement, that have shaped America as millions know it today. While it may occasionally seem that Freedom Of The Press is merely a phrase inscribed on the pages of history books, The presence the amendment in today’s society has only become stronger over the last decade with the rise of the entirely new literary platform of the internet and social media. The issue over the subject of Freedom Of The Press has also gained a large foothold on an international level, as continued print and online censorship in various nations around the world has sparked civil unrest and hundreds of protests. Through studying Freedom Of The Press, I have gained a newfound appreciation for the level of freedom that we have access to as citizens of the United States and how the governmental decisions, which initially can appear to be only significant as words on a document, truly do play a very large part in the life of everyday citizens. This new understanding of how laws and amendments play a role in the daily
One of the most famous of these conflicts was the 1964 court case New York Times v. Sullivan, a libel suit filed by Alabama Police Commissioner L.B Sullivan against the Times in response to inaccurate facts printed in one of the newspaper’s leading articles. In the article, the New York Times had published falsities regarding Martin Luther King’s arrests by the Alabama Police Department. L.B Sullivan, the commissioner of the Alabama Police Department, interpreted this as defamatory to his reputation, and sent a letter to the Times requesting public retraction of the article. The Times received Sullivan’s letter, but chose not to retract the article, instead writing a letter to Sullivan expressing their wondering as to how the article referred to him in any way. After this, Sullivan official filed a libel suit against the Times and four African-American ministers mentioned in the article. Sullivan argued his case in Alabama state court, and eventually won 500,000. Despite Sullivan’s success, the case was still not over. After Sullivan’s victory in Alabama court, The Governor of Alabama, John Patterson sent the Times another request for the article’s retraction. This time, The Times responded and retracted the …show more content…
This has allowed ideas and knowledge to be conveyed to mass audiences around the United States through printed (and now also online) articles, which has helped contribute to the multitude of citizen-led campaigns, such as the Civil Rights Movement, that have shaped America as millions know it today. While it may occasionally seem that Freedom Of The Press is merely a phrase inscribed on the pages of history books, The presence the amendment in today’s society has only become stronger over the last decade with the rise of the entirely new literary platform of the internet and social media. The issue over the subject of Freedom Of The Press has also gained a large foothold on an international level, as continued print and online censorship in various nations around the world has sparked civil unrest and hundreds of protests. Through studying Freedom Of The Press, I have gained a newfound appreciation for the level of freedom that we have access to as citizens of the United States and how the governmental decisions, which initially can appear to be only significant as words on a document, truly do play a very large part in the life of everyday citizens. This new understanding of how laws and amendments play a role in the daily