Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men’s minds.

The line expresses a core First Amendment and due-process intuition: in the American constitutional tradition, the state may regulate conduct in limited ways, but it is fundamentally suspect for government to attempt to dictate belief, conscience, or thought. Marshall’s phrasing ties this to “constitutional heritage,” invoking a long arc of jurisprudence resisting compelled orthodoxy—whether in politics, religion, or ideology. The quote is often used to underscore that freedom of speech and freedom of conscience are not merely permissions to speak, but protections against state efforts to shape citizens’ inner convictions. It also implies a warning: once government claims authority over minds, other liberties quickly become contingent.