ABSTRACT
The First Amendment is the legal foundation of the American freedoms to speak and publish, and courts have labored for decades to define the extent of those freedoms. The result has been an evolving First Amendment story, with a colorful cast of characters. This chapter tells that story, addressing who and what the First Amendment protects, the theories that underlie the First Amendment, how those theories inform real-world cases, and the tests and doctrines that have arisen from those theories and cases.
