Monday, May 12, 2008

First Amendment Center

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.
- United States Constitution
  Bill of Rights
First Amendment

Founded in 1991 by John Siegenthaler, the First Amendment Center serves to educate the public on their rights as afforded by the First Amendment.  In a speech given during the announcement of the Center's founding on December 15, 1991, Siegenthaler said that the Center would be a "catalyst" for studying the values protected by the First Amendment.  He made the announcement on the 200th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights.

The John Siegenthaler First Amendment Center (left) is located on the Vanderbilt University Campus in Nashville and is associated with the Freedom Forum and Newseum in Washington, DC.  As I mentioned, the First Amendment Center strives to educate the public on its rights as American citizens.  There is a display (above) in the upstairs hallway with papers and photos documenting some of the fights for freedom various citizens have faced over the life of this country.  In addition, the Center sponsors workshops, speeches and concerts (See yesterday's post.).

Many people don't realize the Center even exists, much less that it is in Nashville.  If you get a chance to visit the area, I highly suggest a trip over.

For more information, check out the website by clicking here.

6 comments:

Jim Klenke said...

You are right, I never knew it existed. I am going to have to spend more time tonight at home on their website, very interesting.

brian stout said...

cool post... i never paid much attention to politics til a few years ago, but i love it now =)

Halcyon said...

Neat!

Anonymous said...

It is a beautiful building and it is a good idea to educate the citizens on their first amendment rights.

Does it also give examples of how those rights have been abused by our Federal government?

I only mention this as the case of the American citizens who were moved to "camps" during World War II because they were of Japanese descent.

I don't suppose it covers the abuses but it should as they are still going on today.

Ming the Merciless said...

How cool is that! We all need to learn more about the 1st Amendment and its impact on American history.

Clueless in Boston said...

Great post. I never knew there was such a center before either. We always learn so much from each other here on CDPB.