The trial of Peter Zenger is widely credited with being the first example of American freedom of "press" and "speech", since Zenger was tried but acquitted of publishing articles in his newspaper that went against the government.
The American Revolution led to many social changes. For instance, the role of women changed during the war because they were given more responsibilities and opportunity. There was also a weakening of aristocratic influence and more ideas challenging the institution of slavery. There was also the separation of church and state.
Southern Democrats found loopholes in several different laws that allowed them to limit the rights gained by former slaves during the era of Reconstruction.
A perfect example of this would be the requirements/obligations put in place to limit former slaves from voting. This included the development of literacy/citizen tests, poll taxes, and the grandfather clause. The tests given were often near impossible to pass, the poll taxes were ridiculously expensive, and the grandfather clause stopped individuals from voting based on whether or not their grandfather could vote. All of these laws lasted several years before their repeal.
