Americans are constantly reevaluating their commitment to First Amendment rights and values and rearranging their priorities, asking themselves whether life would be more civil, more orderly, less threatening if the excesses of expression were somehow more subdued. That clear sense of unease permeates this second State of the First Amendment Survey. Findings suggest that Americans appreciate, understand, and endorse First Amendment principles but become wary and occasionally even hostile when it comes to the practices. Following a foreword by Kenneth A. Paulson, the survey results are analyzed by Paul K. McMasters. A total of 1001 interviews were conducted with modified, stratified sample of non-institutionalized adults 18 or older in the contiguous 48 states. Sampling error for a sample of this size is plus or minus 3% a 95% level of confidence. The annotated questionnaire with the results is included, as is a section on the methodology used. (BT)