General warrants were unpopular in the American colonies, where they were used to search for evidence of smuggling. In a five-hour speech in February 1761, James Otis spoke out against them, saying that they would "totally annihilate" the British common-law tradition that "A man's house is his castle."

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American colonists' strong objections to British trade laws and the use of general warrants contributed to the American Revolution.

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General warrants allowed British officials to search people, businesses, homes, and property indiscriminately. British officials in the American colonies used such warrants to collect taxes, to recover stolen goods --including enslaved people -- and to prosecute smugglers.

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Americans inherited from British history the principle that "a man's home is his castle." This idea can be traced to the opinion of Sir Edward Coke in Semayne's Case in 1604.

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More than one hundred fifty years ago, French political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville commented on Americans' habitual practice of joining together to solve common problems. The exercise of freedom of association was, Tocqueville believed, one of the outstanding characteristics of American citizenship.

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Over the years, the courts and legislators have grappled with the question of whether the right to associate means that one has the right not to associate with certain people. The difficulties reflect the tension between two important ideals: (1) eliminating unfair discrimination in American life and (2) the right of each individual to live his or her own life as free as possible from government interference.

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The right to associate freely with other citizens is part of living in a free society.

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The Supreme Court has emphasized the importance of the right to assemble in a free society, but it has approved certain restrictions.

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Freedom of assembly was effectively used by the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s to bring about societal change. The right to petition government for a redress of grievances is widely used today at the local, state, and national levels.

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Throughout the nation's history, American women have used their right to petition government for a redress of grievances to secure their rights and effect societal change.

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