The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United
States consists of a single sentence:
"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."
When that sentence became law in 1791, the clause pertain- ing to the press rendered Congress powerless to enact any law...