Flag Burning and Free Speech

Flag Burning and Free Speech PDF Author: Robert Justin Goldstein
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Get Book Here

Book Description
When Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag as part of a political protest, he was convicted for flag desecration under Texas law. But the Supreme Court, by a contentious 5 to margin, overturned that conviction, claiming that Johnson's action constituted symbolic -- and thus protected -- speech. Heated debate continues to swirl around that controversial decision, both hailed as a victory for free speech advocates and reviled as an abomination that erodes the patriotic foundations of American democracy. Such passionate yet contradictory views are at the heart of this landmark case. Book jacket.

Flag Burning and Free Speech

Flag Burning and Free Speech PDF Author: Robert Justin Goldstein
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Get Book Here

Book Description
When Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag as part of a political protest, he was convicted for flag desecration under Texas law. But the Supreme Court, by a contentious 5 to margin, overturned that conviction, claiming that Johnson's action constituted symbolic -- and thus protected -- speech. Heated debate continues to swirl around that controversial decision, both hailed as a victory for free speech advocates and reviled as an abomination that erodes the patriotic foundations of American democracy. Such passionate yet contradictory views are at the heart of this landmark case. Book jacket.

Flag Burning

Flag Burning PDF Author: Michael Welch (Ph. D.)
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
ISBN: 9780202366128
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 244

Get Book Here

Book Description
Responses to flag burning as a particular form of street protest tend to polarize into two camps: one holding the view that action of this sort is constitutionally protected protest; the other, that it is subversive and criminal activity. In this well-researched and richly documented volume, Welch examines the collision of these ideologies, and shows the relevance of sociological concepts to a deeper understanding of such forms of protest. In exploring social control of political protest in the United States, this volume embarks on an in-depth examination of flag desecration and efforts to criminalize that particular form of dissent. It seeks to examine the sociological process facilitating the criminalization of protest by attending to moral enterprises, civil religion, authoritarian aesthetics, and the ironic nature of social control. Flag burning is a potent symbolic gesture conveying sharp criticism of the state. Many American believe that flag desecration emerged initially during the Vietnam War era, but the history of this caustic form of protest can be traced to the period leading up to the Civil War. The act of torching Old Glory differs qualitatively from other forms of defiance. With this distinction in mind, attempts to penalize and deter flag desecration transcend the utilitarian function of regulating public protest. Despite popular claims that American society is built on genuine consensus, the flag-burning controversy brings to light the contentious nature of U.S. democracy and its ambivalence toward free expression. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is often viewed as one of the more unpopular additions to the Bill of Rights. One constitutional commentator underscores this point by noting that the First Amendment gives citizens the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. Flag Burning is a well-written, informative volume suitable for courses in deviance, social problems, social movements, mass communication, criminology, and political science, as well as in sociology of law and legal studies.

Statutory and Constitutional Responses to the Supreme Court Decision in Texas V. Johnson

Statutory and Constitutional Responses to the Supreme Court Decision in Texas V. Johnson PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Constitutional amendments
Languages : en
Pages : 584

Get Book Here

Book Description


Flag

Flag PDF Author: Marc Leepson
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1429906472
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 494

Get Book Here

Book Description
Flag: An American Biography is a vivid narrative that uncovers little-known facts and sheds new light on the more than 200-year history of the American flag. The thirteen-stripe, fifty-star flag is as familiar an American icon as any that has existed in the nation's history. Yet the history of the flag, especially its origins, is cloaked in myth and misinformation. Flag: An American Biography rectifies that situation by presenting a lively, comprehensive, illuminating look at the history of the American flag from its beginnings to today. Journalist and historian Marc Leepson uncovers scores of little-known, fascinating facts as he traces the evolution of the American flag from the colonial period to the twenty-first century. Flag sifts through the historical evidence to--among many other things--uncover the truth behind the Betsy Ross myth and to discover the true designer of the Stars and Stripes. It details the many colorful and influential Americans who shaped the history of the flag. "Flag," as the novelist Nelson DeMille says in his preface, "is not a book with an agenda or a subjective point of view. It is an objective history of the American flag, well researched, well presented, easy to read and understand, and very informative and entertaining." "Our love for the flag may be incomprehensible to others, but at least we now have a comprehensive guide to its unfolding."--The Wall Street Journal

The Confederate Battle Flag

The Confederate Battle Flag PDF Author: John M. COSKI
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674029866
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 450

Get Book Here

Book Description
In recent years, the Confederate flag has become as much a news item as a Civil War relic. Intense public debates have erupted over Confederate flags flying atop state capitols, being incorporated into state flags, waving from dormitory windows, or adorning the T-shirts and jeans of public school children. To some, this piece of cloth is a symbol of white supremacy and enduring racial injustice; to others, it represents a rich Southern heritage and an essential link to a glorious past. Polarizing Americans, these flag wars reveal the profound--and still unhealed--schisms that have plagued the country since the Civil War. The Confederate Battle Flag is the first comprehensive history of this contested symbol. Transcending conventional partisanship, John Coski reveals the flag's origins as one of many banners unfurled on the battlefields of the Civil War. He shows how it emerged as the preeminent representation of the Confederacy and was transformed into a cultural icon from Reconstruction on, becoming an aggressively racist symbol only after World War II and during the Civil Rights movement. We gain unique insight into the fine line between the flag's use as a historical emblem and as an invocation of the Confederate nation and all it stood for. Pursuing the flag's conflicting meanings, Coski suggests how this provocative artifact, which has been viewed with pride, fear, anger, nostalgia, and disgust, might ultimately provide Americans with the common ground of a shared and complex history.

The American Flag

The American Flag PDF Author: John R. Vile
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 434

Get Book Here

Book Description
At a time when the U.S. flag is both a source of both pride and controversy, this volume provides the first encyclopedic A-to-Z treatment of the U.S. flag in American history, culture, and law. This title is a comprehensive resource for understanding all aspects of the American flag and its relationship to the American people. The encyclopedia provides a thorough historical examination of key developments in the flag's design as well as laws and court decisions related to the flag and the First Amendment. In relation to the flag's history, it also discusses evolving public attitudes about its importance as a national symbol. The encyclopedia contains illuminating scholarly essays on presentations of the flag in American politics, the military, and popular culture including art, music, and journalism. Additionally, these essays address important rules of flag etiquette and modern controversies related to them, from flag-burning to refusing to stand during the playing of the U.S. National Anthem.

Blood Sacrifice and the Nation

Blood Sacrifice and the Nation PDF Author: Carolyn Marvin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521626095
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 424

Get Book Here

Book Description
This compelling book argues that American patriotism is a civil religion of blood sacrifice, which periodically kills its children to keep the group together. The flag is the sacred object of this religion; its sacrificial imperative is a secret which the group keeps from itself to survive. Expanding Durkheim's theory of the totem taboo as the organizing principle of enduring groups, Carolyn Marvin uncovers the system of sacrifice and regeneration which constitutes American nationalism, shows why historical instances of these rituals succeed or fail in unifying the group, and explains how mass media are essential to the process. American culture is depicted as ritually structured by a fertile center and sacrificial borders of death. Violence plays a key part in its identity. In essence, nationalism is neither quaint historical residue nor atavistic extremism, but a living tradition which defines American life.

Capture the Flag

Capture the Flag PDF Author: Arnaldo Testi
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814783228
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 176

Get Book Here

Book Description
Now an acclaimed European professor of American history brings a fresh perspective to the American flag, exploring its political, social, and cultural significance across the broad swath of its history. Mining a rich vein of materials from history, literature, music, and popular culture, Arnaldo Testi analyzes the symbolic importance of the flag to the national consciousness of this "nation of immigrants" and sees in it the very contradictions that make up our history: secularism and sacredness, freedom and empire, inclusiveness and aggressive self-confidence.

Constitutional Amendment Authorizing Congress to Prohibit the Physical Desecration of the Flag of the United States

Constitutional Amendment Authorizing Congress to Prohibit the Physical Desecration of the Flag of the United States PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Constitutional amendments
Languages : en
Pages : 12

Get Book Here

Book Description


Long May She Wave

Long May She Wave PDF Author: Kit Hinrichs
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
ISBN: 0307816737
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Get Book Here

Book Description
From one of the world's leading graphic designers comes a stunning tribute to America's most enduring icon-the Stars and Stripes.The Revolutionary Congress resolved in 1777 that "the flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white, that the Union be 13 white stars in a blue field representing a new constellation." Since that time, the American flag has been raised high in wartime triumph and peacetime celebration; burned in fervent protest; sewn lovingly onto quilts, caps, pillows, and bags; appropriated by the commercial sphere to sell goods as varied as cigars, and designer clothing, and rock-and-roll albums; and faithfully honored every 4th of July to celebrate America's independence. This collection of more than 3,000 Stars and Stripes artifacts ranges from Civil War-era banners and Native American braided moccasins to an early 20th-century "friendship" kimono and original flag art by several of the world's leading designers. In its deluxe format with over 500 illustrations, LONG MAY SHE WAVE gives wide berth to the flag in all its manifestations, and the result is a stunning visual history of America'¬?s most treasured symbol.Full-color throughout, with over 500 illustrations in a deluxe 11 x 14-inch volume-LONG MAY SHE WAVE is the perfect gift for folk-art appreciators, history buffs, and collectors.Features the 3,000-piece exhibit that was displayed at the American Institute of Graphic Arts and the San Jose Museum of Art in 2000. From toy soldiers to collectable spoons, cigar blankets to historic flags—the breadth of the collection is unrivaled.For a list of appearances by this author, check out our Calendar of Events.