--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: First Amendment freedoms are most in…" description: "\"First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks to control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end. The right t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/102/anthony-kennedy-14316_amendment-1_first-amendment-freedoms-are-most-in-dan_238394.jpg" --- # First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the… ![“First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks to control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end. The right to think is the beginning of freedom, and speech must be protected from the government because speech is the beginning of thought.” quote by Anthony Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/102/anthony-kennedy-14316_amendment-1_first-amendment-freedoms-are-most-in-dan_238394.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/102/anthony-kennedy-14316_amendment-1_first-amendment-freedoms-are-most-in-dan_238394.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/102/anthony-kennedy-14316_amendment-1_first-amendment-freedoms-are-most-in-dan_238394.jpg) > “First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks to control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end. The right to think is the beginning of freedom, and speech must be protected from the government because speech is the beginning of thought.” [Anthony Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kennedy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Government attempts to control thought threaten fundamental freedoms; protecting speech safeguards the ability to think freely. **In simple terms:** Thought protection is essential; speech must be free. Key Takeaway Defend free speech to protect thought. Themes free speech government power civil liberties Mood cautious defensive Type legal political When to use this quote - legislative drafting - court arguments - public policy debates - media regulation Key Concepts constitutional law first amendment thought control Questions to Reflect On - How do we limit harmful speech without restricting thought? - What safeguards can prevent government overreach? A Different Perspective Balancing speech protection with preventing harmful misinformation is complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amendment 1](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amendment-1/) [Amendments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amendments/) [Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [First amendment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-amendment/) [Free speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-speech/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom of speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-of-speech/) [Freedom of thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-of-thought/) [Freedom to read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-to-read/) [Freedoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedoms/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks to control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-kennedy/first-amendment-freedoms-are-most-in-danger-when-the-government-seeks-2/) Anthony M. Kennedy > [If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-d-brandeis/if-there-be-time-to-expose-through-discussion-the-falsehood-and/) [Louis D. Brandeis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-d-brandeis/) > [If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/if-there-is-a-bedrock-principle-underlying-the-first-amendment-it-is/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/restriction-of-free-thought-and-free-speech-is-the-most-dangerous-of-2/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/congress-shall-make-no-law-respecting-an-establishment-of-religion-or-3/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [The FBI holds sacred the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment freedoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-a-wray/the-fbi-holds-sacred-the-rights-of-individuals-to-peacefully-exercise/) [Christopher A. Wray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-a-wray/) > [I just think political correctness is a limitation on our First Amendment freedoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-stewart/i-just-think-political-correctness-is-a-limitation-on-our-first/) [Corey Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-stewart/) > [I expect each and every USDA employee to uphold their fellow Americans' First Amendment freedoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonny-perdue/i-expect-each-and-every-usda-employee-to-uphold-their-fellow/) [Sonny Perdue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonny-perdue/) > [The Constitution exists precisely so that opinions and judgments, including esthetic and moral judgments about art and literature, can be formed, tested, and expressed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kennedy/the-constitution-exists-precisely-so-that-opinions-and-judgments/) [Anthony Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kennedy/) > [In many respects, the United States is a great country. Freedom of speech is protected more than in any other country. It is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/in-many-respects-the-united-states-is-a-great-country-freedom-of-2/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Speech is protected in the U.S., and at the risk of repeating a hackneyed aphorism, free speech is worthless unless it applies to offensive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macdonald/speech-is-protected-in-the-u-s-and-at-the-risk-of-repeating-a/) [Neil Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macdonald/) > [“In many respects, the United States is a great country. Freedom of speech is protected more than in any other country. It is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/in-many-respects-the-united-states-is-a-great-country-freedom-of/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Politically popular speech has always been protected: even the Jews were free to say ‘Heil Hitler.’](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/politically-popular-speech-has-always-been-protected-even-the-jews/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [If you and I go into a store to rob it, and I say "shoot," that's not protected. Like all judicial decisions and legislation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-and-i-go-into-a-store-to-rob-it-and-i-say-shoot-that-s-not/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [My feeling is that the Supreme Court reached a reasonable standard of protection of speech in the 1960s, a standard higher than any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/my-feeling-is-that-the-supreme-court-reached-a-reasonable-standard-of/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More by Anthony Kennedy > [Civics isn't something where you learned - learn it for a couple weeks in high school; it is who we are. Americans defined themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kennedy/civics-isn-t-something-where-you-learned-learn-it-for-a-couple-weeks/) [Anthony Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kennedy/) > [The lessons of the First Amendment are as urgent in the modern world as the 18th Century when it was written. One timeless lesson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kennedy/the-lessons-of-the-first-amendment-are-as-urgent-in-the-modern-world/) [Anthony Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kennedy/) > [As the Constitution endures, persons in every generation can invoke its principles in their own search for greater freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kennedy/as-the-constitution-endures-persons-in-every-generation-can-invoke/) [Anthony Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kennedy/) > [No one questions the validity, the urgency, the essentiality of the Voting Rights Act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kennedy/no-one-questions-the-validity-the-urgency-the-essentiality-of-the/) [Anthony Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kennedy/) > [A commitment to the Constitution is not something that's genetic. It's not inherited. It's not automatic. It has to be taught. 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Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kennedy/the-first-amendment-is-often-inconvenient-but-that-is-beside-the/) [Anthony Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kennedy/) > [A law imposing criminal penalties on protected speech is a stark example of speech suppression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kennedy/a-law-imposing-criminal-penalties-on-protected-speech-is-a-stark/) [Anthony Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kennedy/) [Explore all 47 Anthony Kennedy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kennedy/) ## More Amendment 1 quotes > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people duly before them, may attempt to tyrannize,... The people are confirmed by the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tench-coxe/as-civil-rulers-not-having-their-duty-to-the-people-duly-before-them/) [Tench Coxe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tench-coxe/) > [What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-country-can-preserve-its-liberties-if-its-rulers-are-not-warned/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [For an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/for-an-unarmed-man-may-be-attacked-with-greater-confidence-than-an/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are-2/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The balance of power is the scale of peace. 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Can it be supposed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/the-laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [If gun laws in fact worked, the sponsors of this type of legislation should have no difficulty drawing upon long lists of examples of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-hatch/if-gun-laws-in-fact-worked-the-sponsors-of-this-type-of-legislation/) [Orrin Hatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-hatch/) > [A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/a-well-regulated-militia-being-necessary-to-the-security-of-a-free/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [To disarm the people... was the best and most effectual way to enslave them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/to-disarm-the-people-was-the-best-and-most-effectual-way-to-enslave/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [The legislative powers of government reach actions only and not opinions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-legislative-powers-of-government-reach-actions-only-and-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [That the said Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press or the rights of conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/that-the-said-constitution-shall-never-be-construed-to-authorize/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [The powers of the sword are in the hands of the yeomanry of America from sixteen to sixty. The militia of these free commonwealths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tench-coxe/the-powers-of-the-sword-are-in-the-hands-of-the-yeomanry-of-america/) [Tench Coxe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tench-coxe/) > [ When the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British parliament was advised by an artful man \[Sir William Keith\], who… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/when-the-resolution-of-enslaving-america-was-formed-in-great-britain/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) [Browse all 44 Amendment 1 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amendment-1/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks to control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end. 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