Which amendment, ratified in 1791, protects freedom of speech in the United States?

The First Amendment, ratified in 1791, protects freedom of speech in the United States.

It is part of the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution. The amendment also addresses religion, the press, peaceful assembly, and petitions to the government. Its text limits Congress, and later constitutional interpretation applied many of these protections to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Freedom of speech is not unlimited in every circumstance. Courts have recognized that certain categories of expression may receive less protection, and governments may impose narrowly defined rules that serve important public purposes. The exact boundaries have developed through court decisions rather than through the amendment’s short wording alone.

The Bill of Rights was proposed in 1789 and ratified by the states in 1791. James Madison introduced many of the amendments in Congress after concerns that the original Constitution did not sufficiently protect individual liberties.