The Revolution in Freedoms of Press and Speech

The Revolution in Freedoms of Press and Speech PDF Author: Wendell Bird
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197509215
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 409

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Book Description
This book discusses the revolutionary broadening of concepts of freedom of press and freedom of speech in Great Britain and in America in the late eighteenth century, in the period that produced state declarations of rights and then the First Amendment and Fox's Libel Act. The conventional view of the history of freedoms of press and speech is that the common law since antiquity defined those freedoms narrowly, and that Sir William Blackstone in 1769, and Lord Chief Justice Mansfield in 1770, faithfully summarized the common law in giving a very narrow definition of those freedoms as mere liberty from prior restraint and not liberty from punishment after something was printed or spoken. This book proposes, to the contrary, that Blackstone carefully selected the narrowest definition that had been suggested in popular essays in the prior seventy years, in order to oppose the growing claims for much broader protections of press and speech. Blackstone misdescribed his summary as an accepted common law definition, which in fact did not exist. A year later, Mansfield inserted a similar definition into the common law for the first time, also misdescribing it as a long-accepted definition, and soon misdescribed the unique rules for prosecuting sedition as having an equally ancient pedigree. Blackstone and Mansfield were not declaring the law as it had long been, but were leading a counter-revolution about the breadth of freedoms of press and speech, and cloaking it as a summary of a narrow common law doctrine that in fact was nonexistent. That conflict of revolutionary view and counter-revolutionary view continues today. For over a century, a neo-Blackstonian view has been dominant, or at least very influential, among historians. Contrary to those narrow claims, this book concludes that the broad understanding of freedoms of press and speech was the dominant context of the First Amendment and of Fox's Libel Act, and that it enjoyed greater historical support.

The Revolution in Freedoms of Press and Speech

The Revolution in Freedoms of Press and Speech PDF Author: Wendell Bird
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0197509193
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 409

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Book Description
This book discusses the revolutionary broadening of concepts of freedom of press and freedom of speech in Great Britain and in America in the late eighteenth century, in the period that produced state declarations of rights and then the First Amendment and Fox's Libel Act. The conventional view of the history of freedoms of press and speech is that the common law since antiquity defined those freedoms narrowly, and that Sir William Blackstone in 1769, and Lord Chief Justice Mansfield in 1770, faithfully summarized the common law in giving a very narrow definition of those freedoms as mere liberty from prior restraint and not liberty from punishment after something was printed or spoken. This book proposes, to the contrary, that Blackstone carefully selected the narrowest definition that had been suggested in popular essays in the prior seventy years, in order to oppose the growing claims for much broader protections of press and speech. Blackstone misdescribed his summary as an accepted common law definition, which in fact did not exist. A year later, Mansfield inserted a similar definition into the common law for the first time, also misdescribing it as a long-accepted definition, and soon misdescribed the unique rules for prosecuting sedition as having an equally ancient pedigree. Blackstone and Mansfield were not declaring the law as it had long been, but were leading a counter-revolution about the breadth of freedoms of press and speech, and cloaking it as a summary of a narrow common law doctrine that in fact was nonexistent. That conflict of revolutionary view and counter-revolutionary view continues today. For over a century, a neo-Blackstonian view has been dominant, or at least very influential, among historians. Contrary to those narrow claims, this book concludes that the broad understanding of freedoms of press and speech was the dominant context of the First Amendment and of Fox's Libel Act, and that it enjoyed greater historical support.

Revolutionary Dissent

Revolutionary Dissent PDF Author: Stephen D. Solomon
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1466879394
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
When members of the founding generation protested against British authority, debated separation, and then ratified the Constitution, they formed the American political character we know today-raucous, intemperate, and often mean-spirited. Revolutionary Dissent brings alive a world of colorful and stormy protests that included effigies, pamphlets, songs, sermons, cartoons, letters and liberty trees. Solomon explores through a series of chronological narratives how Americans of the Revolutionary period employed robust speech against the British and against each other. Uninhibited dissent provided a distinctly American meaning to the First Amendment's guarantees of freedom of speech and press at a time when the legal doctrine inherited from England allowed prosecutions of those who criticized government. Solomon discovers the wellspring in our revolutionary past for today's satirists like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, pundits like Rush Limbaugh and Keith Olbermann, and protests like flag burning and street demonstrations. From the inflammatory engravings of Paul Revere, the political theater of Alexander McDougall, the liberty tree protests of Ebenezer McIntosh and the oratory of Patrick Henry, Solomon shares the stories of the dissenters who created the American idea of the liberty of thought. This is truly a revelatory work on the history of free expression in America.

Legacy of Suppression

Legacy of Suppression PDF Author: Leonard Williams Levy
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Freedom of speech
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description


Freedom of Speech and the Press

Freedom of Speech and the Press PDF Author: Ian C. Friedman
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
ISBN: 1438100264
Category : Freedom of speech
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
American democracy owes much to the rights guaranteed to individuals in the U.S. Constitution and specifically in its first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights. Each book in the new six-volume American Rights set provides the history of a specific right or rights, from the right to vote to the right to bear arms. The volumes begin with brief colonial history, discussing the war fought by American Revolutionaries to gain independence from Great Britain - and their opportunity to decide what rights every American should possess. Coverage also includes later and ongoing struggles by groups such as women and people of color to gain these rights - both in law and in practice. Students will learn to appreciate the value of these rights by reading of the battles fought to secure them and, in some cases, by learning of their relative rarity around the world. Graphs, maps, photographs, and box features enhance the lively and accessible narrative, calling out important details and bringing this exciting material to life. Providing a wealth of information, American Rights is a thought-provoking, must-have set perfect for the young readers of today.

Press and Speech Under Assault

Press and Speech Under Assault PDF Author: Wendell R. Bird
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190461624
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 565

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Book Description
The early Supreme Court justices wrestled with how much press and speech is protected by freedoms of press and speech, before and under the First Amendment. This book discusses the Supreme Court justices before John Marshall and their confrontations with those freedoms. Its conclusions are surprising about their broad understanding of freedoms of press and speech before 1798, and about their split over the constitutionality of the Sedition Act of 1798. The book also summarizes the recognized prosecutions under that law, and then doubles their number by confirming 22 additional prosecutions under the Sedition Act.

Guardians of Liberty

Guardians of Liberty PDF Author: Linda Barrett Osborne
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1683356276
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
A riveting introduction to the crucial role of First Amendment rights and the media Guardians of Liberty explores the essential and basic American ideal of freedom of the press. Allowing the American press to publish—even if what they’re reporting is contentious— without previous censure or interference by the federal government was so important to the Founding Fathers that they placed a guarantee in the First Amendment to the Constitution. Citing numerous examples from America’s past, from the American Revolution to the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement to Obama’s and Trump’s presidencies, Linda Barrett Osborne shows how freedom of the press has played an essential role in the growth of this nation, allowing democracy to flourish. She further discusses how the freedoms of press and speech often work side by side, reveals the diversity of American news, and explores why freedom of the press is still imperative to uphold today. Includes endnotes, bibliography, and index

Revolutionary Sparks

Revolutionary Sparks PDF Author: Margaret A. Blanchard
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195054369
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 591

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Book Description
Margaret Blanchard has had experience as a newspaper reporter as well as a teacher of journalism. Her book is a broad-gauged discussion of freedom of expression in America - that is, the right of Americans to speak their minds and to have access to a variety of information necessary for informed self-government. Subjects discussed range 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. The book also includes controversies involving the press, the national government, the Supreme Court, and civil liberties and civil rights concerns. Many famous incidents and doctrines will be discussed, including Watergate and secrecy in government.

Emergence of a Free Press

Emergence of a Free Press PDF Author: Leonard Williams Levy
Publisher: Ivan R. Dee Publisher
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Book Description
A wonderful combination of judiciousness and vigor. Henry Steele Commager

Policing Public Opinion in the French Revolution

Policing Public Opinion in the French Revolution PDF Author: Charles Walton
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199710015
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
In the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, French revolutionaries proclaimed the freedom of speech, religion, and opinion. Censorship was abolished, and France appeared to be on a path towards tolerance, pluralism, and civil liberties. A mere four years later, the country descended into a period of political terror, as thousands were arrested, tried, and executed for crimes of expression and opinion. In Policing Public Opinion in the French Revolution, Charles Walton traces the origins of this reversal back to the Old Regime. He shows that while early advocates of press freedom sought to abolish pre-publication censorship, the majority still firmly believed injurious speech--or calumny--constituted a crime, even treason if it undermined the honor of sovereign authority or sacred collective values, such as religion and civic spirit. With the collapse of institutions responsible for regulating honor and morality in 1789, calumny proliferated, as did obsessions with it. Drawing on wide-ranging sources, from National Assembly debates to local police archives, Walton shows how struggles to set legal and moral limits on free speech led to the radicalization of politics, and eventually to the brutal liquidation of "calumniators" and fanatical efforts to rebuild society's moral foundation during the Terror of 1793-1794. With its emphasis on how revolutionaries drew upon cultural and political legacies of the Old Regime, this study sheds new light on the origins of the Terror and the French Revolution, as well as the history of free expression.

Cato's Letters

Cato's Letters PDF Author: John Trenchard
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Church and state
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description