“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal ” “it is the great parent of science & of virtue: and that a nation will be great in both, always in proportion as it is free” “our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost”

“The Revolution of 1800,” as Jefferson described his party’s successful election many years later, was “as real a revolution in the principles of our government as that of 1776 was in its form”

we shall have peace

Jefferson believed that these achievements were the high points of a life dedicated to the promotion of human freedom Education, he held, freed the mind from ignorance, tolerance freed the will from coercion, and the assertion of human liberty and equality freed the body from the chains of tyranny

Jefferson believed that the Statute guaranteed religious freedom for “the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo, and infidel of every denomination” He believed that such broad freedom and toleration was essential in a republic with people from such different religions, ethnicities, and races

Nelson Mandela

“Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature”

Another very important freedom to the Founding Fathers was freedom of speech They didn’t want the new government to keep people from speaking up about issues and concerns they had with the government This freedom prevents the government from punishing people for expressing their opinions

James Madison

In United States constitutional law, false statements of fact are statements of fact (as opposed to points of law) that are false Such statements are not always protected by the First Amendment This is usually due to laws against defamation, that is making statements that harm the reputation of another

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the freedom of speech and expression against all levels of government censorship Direct censorship of the internet is prohibited by the First Amendment with the exception of obscenity such as child pornography

Free speech is defined in terms of the endpoints, in terms of the rights of the senders and receivers Censorship is defined in terms of control over the medium The methods of suppressing free speech and the methods of censoring are very different