Freedom of the Press Essay -- The First Amendment

Freedom of the press is part of the five main freedoms represented in the first amendment of the constitution of the United States. The constitution was ratified in 1791 putting freedom of the press in full development. Since then many cases have evolved with this freedom, and the freedom had some role of developing future amendments and technology in modern day. Freedom of the press had a history even before its ratification, it helped to solve many court cases, and is used throughout modern times. First of all, this is the definition of freedom of the press from lawbrain.com. Freedom of the press guarantees the rights, â€Å"to gather, publish, and distribute information and ideas without government restriction or restraint†. Also it is guaranteed that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press. This means that one can post his own opinions in a newspaper or a magazine and no matter what the story is, unless it does not follow the laws of libel, obscenity, or sedition it is legal to post. There have been many critics that said there is no difference between freedom of speech and freedom of the press. It was a key issue and was not resolved until the late 20th century. According to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger in 1978, there is no difference between freedom of speech and freedom of the press unless; â€Å"the courts or the government determine who or what the press is and what activities fall under its special protection†( Burger). The history of the Freedom of the Press leads to the middle 18th century, especially the Stamp Act of 1865 and the events that followed. Samuel Adams, a radical used the colonial press to resist the Stamp Act and repeal it. He succeeded and soon after the Stamp Act was repealed. After ... ...inition, Court Cases, Articles, History - LawBrain." Legal Community | LawBrain - Making Laws Accessible and Interactive. Web. 01 June 2011. . Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 01 June 2011. . Branzburg v. Hayes/ New York Times v. United States/ Schenck v. United States http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1971/1971_70_85 / / http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1918/1918_437. "First Amendment Resources Freedom of Press History." Free First Amendment and Constitution Day Education Materials. Web. 01 June 2011. . "Sedition Act of 1798." Index. Web. 01 June 2011. .