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Jessie Ball duPont Library

Rhetoric 101: Public Speaking

A guide for research and sources to support the speeches in Public Speaking 101

Getting Started with First Amendment Context

The First Amendment of the United States Consitution states: "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." (congress.gov)

For your first speech, you're investigating a challenge to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. We've connected to sources below that can help you locate more resources on the court case, like transcripts, C-Span footage, and more.

Discover Topics with Databases

Choosing a Topic is Research!

Check out this helpful video about the process of choosing a topic!

(Put together by the librarians at North Carolina State University)

 

Polling and Issues Websites

These sites include data and infographics that can help you see what people think about your controversy.

Think Tanks

Think tanks do research and present reports on issues, but they should be viewed with caution by information-seekers, since they are often partisan. Because of this bias, they may be helpful for research into a particular viewpoint. Often the general consensus will align think tanks with a particular place on the political spectrum. Those alignments are noted in the descriptions below.