“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”

Michael Schwab was three miles away at the time, but was convicted because of a speech he made. Convicted and sentenced because he gave a speech.  Adolph Fischer was convicted because he printed a flyer.  Oscar Neebe was convicted and sentenced to fifteen years because he paid $2 in a donation to purchase a printing press.  Though at the time the state denied these men their rights, according to the first amendment to the United States Constitution, their rights to free speech were violated.  

Dr. Edelman related that after he spoke on television about the incident, the police statue was blown up.  Should Dr. Edelman be arrested for inciting a bombing?

Was the government right in putting Japanese-Americans into concentration camps during World War II?  Why was this different from German-Americans?

Some of these issues we immediately know how we feel while others are more gray.  President Obama has been pressured to close Guantanamo Prison.  I do not know enough about the evidence relating to reasons people are held there, and I haven’t heard any discussions lately that the first amendment is involved.  Does the Constitution extend to non-Americans?  I have not made myself the most informed person on the Guantanamo issue, so I need to elicit your responses to maybe help me clarify.  We Americans need to make sure we hold ourselves accountable to the tenets that built our country.  

The Constitution is not a static document.  The foresight that the men who constructed it continues to amaze me.  We need to get students to understand that it has been and will be changed, and even if it is not changed, the Supreme Court is there to interpret what the document means in the current circumstances.

I am now planning a lesson on the First Amendment and dealing with the interpretation of it.  Our students need to know the evolution of thought in our country toward the Consitution.

 

 

Pullman

The Pullman place was an interesting experiment, though every scientist knows that there will come a time when the experiment is over.  Was it irresponsible to set up this system with no place for the offspring to go once they were of working age?

After viewing Pullman, this song is a little more appropriate.