The First Amendment protects freedom of speech and freedom of religion in the United States Constitution. It also protects freedom of the press, peaceful assembly, and petitioning the government.
Congress proposed the amendment in 1789 as part of twelve amendments sent to the states. The states ratified ten of those proposals on December 15, 1791; those ten amendments became known as the Bill of Rights. The original First and Second proposals were not ratified at that time, which is why the third proposal became the modern First Amendment.
Its opening religion provisions contain both an Establishment Clause and a Free Exercise Clause. The amendment’s language limits government action, rather than creating an unlimited right to say anything in every setting.
Courts have interpreted the First Amendment through many cases involving government censorship, religious practice, public demonstrations, journalism, and political expression. The amendment is therefore broader than speech alone, but it does not cover every private dispute or every category of expression equally.