Free Speech, The People's Darling Privilege: Struggles for Freedom of Expression in American HistoryModern ideas about the protection of free speech in the United States did not originate in twentieth-century Supreme Court cases, as many have thought. Free Speech, “The People’s Darling Privilege” refutes this misconception by examining popular struggles for free speech that stretch back through American history. Michael Kent Curtis focuses on struggles in which ordinary and extraordinary people, men and women, black and white, demanded and fought for freedom of speech during the period from 1791—when the Bill of Rights and its First Amendment bound only the federal government to protect free expression—to 1868, when the Fourteenth Amendment sought to extend this mandate to the states. A review chapter is also included to bring the story up to date. Curtis analyzes three crucial political struggles: the controversy that surrounded the 1798 Sedition Act, which raised the question of whether criticism of elected officials would be protected speech; the battle against slavery, which raised the question of whether Americans would be free to criticize a great moral, social, and political evil; and the controversy over anti-war speech during the Civil War. Many speech issues raised by these controversies were ultimately decided outside the judicial arena—in Congress, in state legislatures, and, perhaps most importantly, in public discussion and debate. Curtis maintains that modern proposals for changing free speech doctrine can usefully be examined in the light of this often ignored history. This broader history shows the crucial effect that politicians, activists, ordinary citizens—and later the courts—have had on the American understanding of free speech. Filling a gap in legal history, this enlightening, richly researched historical investigation will be valuable for students and scholars of law, U.S. history, and political science, as well as for general readers interested in civil liberties and free speech. |
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Page 10
... guarantees of the federal Bill of Rights limited only the national government, notstateorlocalgovernments.24(Asamatteroforiginalunderstanding, the decision probably was correct.) The Barron decision protected statutes that Southern ...
... guarantees of the federal Bill of Rights limited only the national government, notstateorlocalgovernments.24(Asamatteroforiginalunderstanding, the decision probably was correct.) The Barron decision protected statutes that Southern ...
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... guarantees of the First Amendment, and simple concern about possible disturbance would not be enough tojustify suppression.29 Modern commentators are rightly critical of the idea of a heckler's veto—that an arrest of a speaker can be ...
... guarantees of the First Amendment, and simple concern about possible disturbance would not be enough tojustify suppression.29 Modern commentators are rightly critical of the idea of a heckler's veto—that an arrest of a speaker can be ...
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... guarantee welled up from American citizens—newspaper editors, ministers, politicians, antislav- ery activists, lawyers,andothers whowere respondingto attacks on free speech. There had been seeds of such a protective tradition among ...
... guarantee welled up from American citizens—newspaper editors, ministers, politicians, antislav- ery activists, lawyers,andothers whowere respondingto attacks on free speech. There had been seeds of such a protective tradition among ...
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... guarantee. The Nationalization of Free Speech In the mid- s, Congress rejected even very limited national legislation against abolitionist speech. But in this case, arguments were often based on the division of powers between the ...
... guarantee. The Nationalization of Free Speech In the mid- s, Congress rejected even very limited national legislation against abolitionist speech. But in this case, arguments were often based on the division of powers between the ...
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... guarantee of republican government.38 In Republicans in Congress proposed the Fourteenth Amendment, which provided that no state should abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States or deny to any person ...
... guarantee of republican government.38 In Republicans in Congress proposed the Fourteenth Amendment, which provided that no state should abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States or deny to any person ...
Contents
1 | |
23 | |
2 The Debate over the Sedition Act of 1798 | 52 |
Enforcement and Its Aftermath | 80 |
Reflections and Transitions | 105 |
5 The Declaration the Constitution Slavery and Abolition | 117 |
6 Shall Abolitionists Be Silenced? | 131 |
The Post Office and Petitions | 155 |
Transformations | 246 |
12 The Free Speech Battle over Helpers Impending Crisis | 271 |
The Struggle for Free Speech in NorthCarolina on the Eve of the Civil War | 289 |
Lincoln and Vallandigham | 300 |
15 The Free Speech Tradition Confronts the War Power | 319 |
16 A New Birth of Freedom? The Fourteenth Amendment and the First Amendment | 357 |
17 Where Are They Now? A Very Quick Review of Suppression Theories in the Twentieth Century | 384 |
Conclusion | 414 |
8 The Demand for Northern Legal Action Against Abolitionists | 182 |
9 Legal Theories of Suppression and the Defense of Free Speech | 194 |
Mobs Free Speech and the Privileges of American Citizens | 216 |
Notes | 438 |
Index | 513 |
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Common terms and phrases
1st Sess abolition abolitionists abridge action Adams advocated American antislavery argument arrest attack Bill of Rights blacks Boston called cause citizens Civil claim clause common Cong Congress Constitution Court criticism dangerous debate defense demanded Democrats discussion election Emancipator equal expression federal Federalists Fourteenth Amendment Free Press free speech freedom of speech Globe guarantees hereafter History House ideas insisted issue James John judge jury Justice legislature Letter Levellers libel liberty limited Lincoln Lovejoy Massachusetts meaning meeting ment newspaper North Carolina Northern opinion party passed peace person petition political popular Post President principles privileges protection published punished question quoting reason rejected Representative Republicans resolutions rule Sedition Act Senator slave slavery Society South Southern suggested suppression supra note Supreme Court theory thought tion tradition trial truth United Vallandigham violated Virginia writing wrote York