Permissible Speech and Press
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Over the years, the First Amendment has become the focus of many debates in regards to one's free speech and free press. When the Ten Amendments were originally written, they were designed to give government specific limits on the power they had over the people. Today, we have the Supreme Court to help us interpret each amendment every time that an issue arises. To have free speech and free press clarified; the Supreme Court produced the clear and present danger test. Justice Holmes in the case of Schenck v. United States (1919) developed this test. Schenck wrote pamphlets that urged young men to resist the draft of World War I. During this time in our nation's history, the Supreme Court felt this was a serious threat against the nation's safety. Justice Holmes stated that the government had a right to prevent a speech if it caused immediate danger to the government's interests giving the government the right to punish such acts. This is how the clear and present danger test became a guideline to the First Amendment...