Which case held that the First Amendment does not apply to the states?

Which case held that the First Amendment does not apply to the states?

• A. Marbury
• B. Barron
• C. Gitlow
• D. McDonald

Answer: (B)

The essential idea here is how the Bill of Rights interacts with state governments. In its early interpretation, the Supreme Court said these protections only restrained the federal government, not the states. Barron v. Baltimore is the case that makes this clear: the Court held that the First Amendment does not apply to state actions, so state governments could regulate speech or other freedoms without being bound by the First Amendment in the way the federal government is. This set up the long-standing distinction between federal limits and state action for most of American history. Over time, the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause led to incorporation, letting many of those protections bind the states. That shift is why later cases like Gitlow v. New York began applying First Amendment rights to state governments, and even though McDonald deals with the Second Amendment, Barron remains the landmark in establishing that, at the outset, the First Amendment did not apply to the states. Marbury v. Madison, by contrast, is about judicial review and not this question of state applicability.

The essential idea here is how the Bill of Rights interacts with state governments. In its early interpretation, the Supreme Court said these protections only restrained the federal government, not the states. Barron v. Baltimore is the case that makes this clear: the Court held that the First Amendment does not apply to state actions, so state governments could regulate speech or other freedoms without being bound by the First Amendment in the way the federal government is. This set up the long-standing distinction between federal limits and state action for most of American history.

Over time, the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause led to incorporation, letting many of those protections bind the states. That shift is why later cases like Gitlow v. New York began applying First Amendment rights to state governments, and even though McDonald deals with the Second Amendment, Barron remains the landmark in establishing that, at the outset, the First Amendment did not apply to the states. Marbury v. Madison, by contrast, is about judicial review and not this question of state applicability.