Free Speech and Censorship
Free Speech and Censorship

Author: Cari Lee Skogberg Eastman

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2022-02-15

Total Pages: 450

ISBN-13:

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This annotated document collection surveys the history and evolution of laws and attitudes regarding free speech and censorship in the United States, with a special emphasis on contemporary events and controversies related to the First Amendment. The United States' collective understanding of First Amendment freedoms was formed by more than 200 years of tensions between the power of word and the power of the government. During that time, major laws and legal decisions defined the circumstances and degree to which personal expression could be rightfully expressed—and rightfully limited. This struggle to define the parameters of free speech continues today. Vibrant and passionate debates about First Amendment limitations once inspired by the dissemination of birth control information now address such issues as kneeling during the national anthem, removing controversial books from public libraries, attempts by the Trump administration to discredit the press, and disseminating false or hateful information through social media platforms. By exploring diverse examples of censorship victories and triumphs of free expression, readers will better understand the enormous impact of First Amendment freedoms on American society.

The Power of Free Expression in America
The Power of Free Expression in America

Author: Frank Harris

Publisher: Cognella Academic Publishing

Published: 2019-01-17

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781516574346

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The rights to free speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition are among the most important in a democracy. Without freedom to express one's ideas, democratic values such as the right to criticize government and society become hollow. To protect these freedoms, citizens must understand the roots, of the First Amendment, how it is challenged, and why it is so essential to a free people. The Power of Free Expression in America introduces the five freedoms protected by the First Amendment and explores the historic roots of freedom of expression from John Milton's Areopagitica to current law. It teaches the value of free speech, the role of the press in a free society, and the public's right to know. It defines news, addresses journalism ethics, public trust in the news media, hate speech, media ownership, broadcast regulations, invasion of privacy, and more -- including advice for using the power of free speech effectively. The text includes examples, articles, and court cases to illustrate the First Amendment in action and discuss its power. The second edition features new content that speaks to "fake news," expression in the digital age, and the impact of social media on free speech. Chapters on the Internet, the news, politics and the media, and what the future might hold have been updated to reflect recent developments. The Power of Free Expression in America is ideal for courses in journalism, communication, media studies, history, government, civics, or any course that explores the First Amendment and press in the United States. It is a valuable tool for teachers and students as society wrestles with the evolving role of First Amendment rights in America.

Free Expression and Democracy in America
Free Expression and Democracy in America

Author: Stephen M. Feldman

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2009-05-15

Total Pages: 596

ISBN-13: 0226240746

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From the 1798 Sedition Act to the war on terror, numerous presidents, members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, and local officials have endorsed the silencing of free expression. If the connection between democracy and the freedom of speech is such a vital one, why would so many governmental leaders seek to quiet their citizens? Free Expression and Democracy in America traces two rival traditions in American culture—suppression of speech and dissent as a form of speech—to provide an unparalleled overview of the law, history, and politics of individual rights in the United States. Charting the course of free expression alongside the nation’s political evolution, from the birth of the Constitution to the quagmire of the Vietnam War, Stephen M. Feldman argues that our level of freedom is determined not only by the Supreme Court, but also by cultural, social, and economic forces. Along the way, he pinpoints the struggles of excluded groups—women, African Americans, and laborers—to participate in democratic government as pivotal to the development of free expression. In an age when our freedom of speech is once again at risk, this momentous book will be essential reading for legal historians, political scientists, and history buffs alike.

Freedom of Speech and Expression
Freedom of Speech and Expression

Author: Richard Sorabji

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2021-03-19

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 0197532179

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This is the second volume of the new Rutgers Lectures in Philosophy series, which publishes lectures of prominent intellectuals and philosophers delivered annually on the Rutgers New Brunswick campus. Sir Richard Sorabji here examines free speech through a historical lens from antiquity up to today. He first traces the concept's origins in ancient India, Rome, and Greece, and follows its evolution through early Christian, medieval, and Arabic philosophy. He then evaluates historical threats to free speech in literary, political, and religious contexts, and various legal constraints that have attempted to protect it. He discusses the tension between the benefits of free speech and its frustations and abuses, and argues for the use of voluntary self-restraint on such speech that frustrates its benefits, citing for example the art identified by Gandhi as "opening ears." Finally, he closes with an analysis of free speech on social media and the abuse of personal data and voter manipulation. With Freedom of Speech and Expression, Sorabji provides a comprehensive overview of the topic informed by his distinct philosophical analysis and perceptive commentary.

Freedom of Expression Revisited
Freedom of Expression Revisited

Author: Ulla Carlsson

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789186523749

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The theme of this volume could be summarized as critical perspectives on experiences and conceptions of freedom of expression and the media in contemporary communication societies. The book reflects Nordic as well as global perspectives. The contributors are leading Nordic scholars, but also professionals outside the Nordic region, who have been engaged for years in research on freedom of expression from different angels.

The Boundaries of Freedom of Expression & Order in American Democracy
The Boundaries of Freedom of Expression & Order in American Democracy

Author: Thomas R. Hensley

Publisher: Kent State University Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 9780873386920

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On Monday, May 4th, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired 61 rounds of bullets into the Kent State University students protesting about the invasion of Cambodia. This work develops the ideas of the first symposium on American democracy established to commemorate the tragedy.

Case Against the New Censorship
Case Against the New Censorship

Author: Alan Dershowitz

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2021-04-20

Total Pages: 141

ISBN-13: 1510767746

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In The Case Against the New Censorship: Protecting Free Speech from Big Tech, Progressives, and Universities​, Alan Dershowitz—New York Times bestselling author and one of America’s most respected legal scholars—analyzes the current regressive war against freedom of speech being waged by well-meaning but dangerous censors and proposes steps that can be taken to defend, reclaim, and strengthen freedom of speech and other basic liberties that are under attack. Alan Dershowitz has been called “one of the most prominent and consistent defenders of civil liberties in America” by Politico and “the nation’s most peripatetic civil liberties lawyer and one of its most distinguished defenders of individual rights” by Newsweek. He is also a fair-minded and even-handed expert on the Constitution and our civil liberties, and in this book offers his knowledge and insight to help readers understand the war being waged against free speech by the ostensibly well-meaning forces seeking to constrain this basic right. The Case Against the New Censorship is an analysis of every aspect of the current fight against freedom of speech, from the cancellations and deplatformings practiced by so-called progressives, to the powerful, seemingly arbitrary control exerted by Big Tech and social media companies, to the stifling of debate and controversial thinking at public and private universities. It assesses the role of the Trump presidency in energizing this backlash against basic liberties and puts it into a broader historical context as it examines how anti-Trump zealots weaponized, distorted, and weakened constitutional protections in an effort to “get” Trump by any means. In the end, The Case Against the New Censorship represents an icon in American law and politics exploring the current rapidly changing attitudes toward the value of free speech and assessing potential ways to preserve our civil liberties. It is essential reading for anyone interested in or concerned about freedom of speech and the efforts to constrain it, the possible effects this could have on our society, and the significance of both freedom of speech and the battle against it in a greater historical and political context.

Revolutionary Sparks
Revolutionary Sparks

Author: Margaret A. Blanchard

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 1992-05-07

Total Pages: 591

ISBN-13: 0195363736

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The governmental pledge to the American people is found in the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." Written more than two hundred years ago, these words now protect a wide range of expressive activity. A broad-gauged discussion of freedom of expression in America, this book begins by studying the period after the Civil War and Reconstruction when new and unsettling ideas appeared with great regularity on the American scene. So many of these ideas were floating around during this period that the nation's leaders often joined forces to repress aberrant notions. In response to such suppression, individuals seeking to better their lives through the expression of new ideas began to demand their rights to speak, write, and associate together to advance their points of view. Blanchard traces this contest for control through the Watergate scandal of the 1970s and the Reagan and early Bush administrations. Blanchard presents a lively discussion of freedom of speech ranging from questions of national security to those of public morality, from loyalty during times of national stress to the right to preach on a public street corner. Including examinations of controversies involving the press, the national government, the Supreme Court, and civil liberties and civil rights concerns, Revolutionary Sparks presents a strong case for the right of Americans to speak their minds and to have access to knowledge necessary for informed self-government.

Freedom of Speech and the Function of Rhetoric in the United States
Freedom of Speech and the Function of Rhetoric in the United States

Author: Michael Donnelly

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2016-11-30

Total Pages: 121

ISBN-13: 1498513565

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This book is about Freedom of Speech and public discourse in the United States. Freedom of Speech is a major component of the cultural context in which we live, think, work, and write, generally revered as the foundation of true democracy. But the issue has a great deal more to do with social norms rooted in a web of cultural assumptions about the function of rhetoric in social organization generally, and in a democratic society specifically. The dominant, liberal notion of free speech in the United States, assumed to be self-evidently true, is, in fact, a particular historical and cultural formation, rooted in Enlightenment philosophies and dependent on a collection of false narratives about the founding of the country, the role of speech and media in its development, and the relationship between capitalism and democracy. Most importantly, this notion of freedom of speech relies on a warped sense of the function of rhetoric in democratic social organization. By privileging individual expression, at the expense of democratic deliberation, the liberal notion of free speech functions largely to suppress rather than promote meaningful public discussion and debate, and works to sustain unequal relations of power. The presumed democratization of the public sphere, via the Internet, raises more questions than it answers—who has access and who doesn’t, who commands attention and why, and what sorts of effects such expression actually has. We need to think a great deal more carefully about the values subsumed and ignored in an uncritical attachment to a particular version of the public sphere. This book seeks to illuminate the ways in which cultural framing diminishes the complexity of free speech and sublimates a range of value-choices. A more fully democratic society requires a more critical view of freedom of speech.

Free Speech in an Open Society
Free Speech in an Open Society

Author: Rodney A. Smolla

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13:

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"Should we tolerate speech designed to spread intolerance? As we grope for a response, we find our constitutional and moral imperatives for tolerance and equality in conflict with the equally imperative value of free speech. This is but one of the many such pressing issues dealt with in this timely, important book." "Exploring the question "What should freedom of speech mean in a democracy?," Rodney Smolla argues that it is a value of overarching significance. Freedom of speech, he says, is not merely an aid to self-governance, but is uniquely connected to all that defines the human spirit--to imagination, creativity, enterprise, rationality, love, worship, and wonder." "In a complex modern society, freedom of speech is constantly threatened by other social interests and values, which often seem more important in the short term: national security, personal reputation and privacy, eliminating racism and sexism, instilling values of decency and tolerance in children, controlling the corrupting influences of money on the political process, and bringing order to global electronic communications--all worthy social interests." "Smolla shows how even seemingly reasonable regulation of speech tends to progress inexorably toward censorship. He takes on the difficult issue of Who Decides, and he analyzes symbolic and violent dissent, and the "clear and present danger" doctrine. He probes the disturbing issues of hate speech, obscenity, tolerating intolerance, and truth and falsehood in political campaigns. He looks at personal confidentiality, ponders the possible criteria for creating an objective definition of newsworthiness and public speech--especially with reference to governmental funding of the arts, education, and broadcasting--and explores the implications of the Noriega case, Persian Gulf censorship issues, attempts to export the American concept of free speech, and the challenge of new technologies." "Throughout, the discussion of pros and cons is balanced, yet Smolla helps us see clearly why we should defend vigorously our endangered First Amendment rights."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved