"abridging the freedom of speech"

Freedom of Speech. We've all heard this phrase. Abridging is an interesting word. It carries the concept both of not depriving the citizenry of the freedom of speech, but also not to change the content of speech. In totalitarian regimes such as China, censorship of speech, specifically political speech, is commonplace.

What kinds of speech are we talking about here? If you read the The Federalist Papers, you will see that the primary purpose of this phrase is to protect political speech. During the years leading up to the War for Independence, sedition was a crime. The Continental Congress maintained that they were not traitors. The framers of the Constitution remembered this and wrote the section on treason to define it very narrowly. According to the 3rd Article of the Constitution,

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.

But, our memories are short, and early as 1798, Sedition was considered a crime in the United States. Fortunately Thomas Jefferson believed these laws (rightly) to be unconstitutional and pardoned everyone convicted.