The Forgotten Fifth Freedom: The Right to Petition

Five Freedoms in One Sentence

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights. It protects religion, speech, the press, assembly, and petition. Most of us can recite the first four from memory. The fifth often gets left out.

Here is the amendment's text on the subject: "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." The last clause is the petition clause. It is one of the oldest ideas in the document.

A Parade Question

Kirk Beck, the teacher who founded Remedy at Law, once tested how well the five freedoms are remembered. He describes it this way in his course introduction: "I participated in a 4th of July parade. While there I went around to the many participants and asked them if they could name the five rights that were protected by the first amendment. Sadly not one person was able to give me all five, one boy scout was able to list four of them, speech, religion, assembly and the press, but virtually no one even mentioned the fifth right."

That is an informal sample at one parade, and nobody should treat it as a survey. It does match a common experience, though. Ask a few friends and you may get the same pattern: speech, religion, and the press come quickly, and petition comes last, if it comes at all.

Where the Petition Clause Came From

The idea of asking those in power to fix a wrong is far older than the United States. In England, subjects had long petitioned the Crown and Parliament, and the English Bill of Rights of 1689 recognized a right of subjects to petition the king. Colonists in America carried that habit with them.

They used it, too. In the years before independence, colonial assemblies and colonists sent petitions to the Crown. The Declaration of Independence says that in every stage of the oppressions listed there, the colonists had "Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms." When the Constitution's authors added the Bill of Rights, protecting the ability of ordinary people to ask for a remedy was a natural inclusion.

What Petitioning Looks Like Today

When most people hear the word petition, they picture a clipboard and a list of signatures. That is one form, but the right is much broader than that. Ordinary people use it all the time without calling it by name.

• Writing a letter to an elected official about a concern.
• Speaking during public comment at a city council, school board, or county meeting.
• Sending a formal written request to a government agency.
• Signing or circulating a petition for a ballot measure or a local issue.
• Testifying at a public hearing.

Courts and legal scholars have also connected the clause to the ability to bring a grievance to a court. The exact reach of the clause is a matter of detailed case law, and it is not something a short article can settle.

What the Clause Does and Does Not Do

The petition clause protects your ability to ask. Courts have generally not read it as guaranteeing that the government will agree with you, and how far an office must respond to a petition depends on the law governing that office and that process. Rules differ by state, by agency, and by the kind of request.

That is a useful thing to know before you write. A petition is strongest when it is specific and well documented, and weakest when it relies on the hope that a response is automatic. Keeping your own record of what you sent and when gives you something to point to whatever the answer turns out to be.

Learning the Process

Remedy at Law exists to teach this right. Its approach centers on a simple principle: "Put the facts in writing. Establish the record. Require accountability." The Power of Paper course runs 14 modules for $49 one-time, the companion book is $29.95, and a $5 monthly subscription bundles the course, the book, and community Zoom meetings.

If you are curious about what the course covers, call (951) 660-2856 or visit the course page. Remedy at Law is a legal-education organization, not a law firm, and it does not represent anyone. This article is general education, not advice about a specific situation.