![]() ![]() ![]() Madison described these factions as “a group of citizens…actuated by common impulse of passion or desire”, essentially the precursor of today’s “special interests”.Īs explained in Federalist No. He worried about the power of these “factions” overly influencing government. However, Madison also understood that groups of citizens with a common interest might bring a petition to elected officials. The Founders believed many requests would be made by individual people directly to Congress to change a law. When Madison submitted his proposed wording for this clause, he specifically only mentioned citizens “applying to the Legislature…for a redress of their grievances”. This concept has greatly expanded over the years. The right to petition the government for a redress of grievances, as originally imagined by the Founders, essentially meant that the people could take their complaints to elected officials and seek to have their issues resolved. While the right to assemble was guaranteed, what people did while they met and how they conducted themselves mattered. It is important to note that when James Madison drafted this amendment, he included the word “peaceably” in this clause to emphasize that this right did not extend to violent protests and rioting. ![]() Events from town hall meetings to civil rights marches take place because of this provision. They recognized that meetings to discuss important topics of the day, both at the local and national level, were critical to a republican form of government. When creating the Bill of Rights, the Founders wanted to ensure that this essential right would not be restricted. However, King George declared those gatherings to be illegal. To draft a unified response to England, meetings were held in numerous locations. Prior to the American Revolution, many American colonists had issues with the laws and taxes imposed by Parliament on the colonies. These are the rights to peaceably assemble and to petition the government to correct a wrong. The First Amendment: 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.īeyond the freedoms of religion and speech we previously discussed, there are two other equally important rights granted to the people in the First Amendment that receive less fanfare. ![]()
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