Some people say the rights protected by the First Amendment are the most important in the entire Bill of Rights, because they are listed before the other nine amendments. However, in the original version of the Bill of Rights, what is now the First Amendment came third—after proposed amendments on reapportionment and congressional pay raises. The states failed to ratify these amendments, moving the third amendment into first place.

Whatever its order in the original Bill of Rights, the First Amendment includes the rights many Americans hold most dear, and it forms the foundation of American democratic government. The five freedoms listed in the First Amendment—religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition—enable citizens to participate in the process of self-government. Together, these five rights are sometimes referred to as freedom of expression. Because the First Amendment protects the expression of deep convictions, it can also expose deep differences among the American people. Thus, the First Amendment is often at the center of the nation’s most contentious debates. Without the freedoms in the First Amendment, it would be impossible for Americans to assert any other rights they have, thus making it the most important amendment in the Bill of Rights.