The First Amendment, Freedom of Speech: Its Constitutional History and the Contemporary DebateVikram Amar This volume collects, edits and presents some of the most important classic and cutting-edge thinking on the constitutional freedom of speech. Students of law, political science, or any other person interested in understanding the basics of American self-government will be able to see the important themes, values, conflicts, and possible resolutions concerning this, our most cherished, democratic freedom. Editor Vikram David Amar has organized the collection into three major sections: historical foundations, theoretical paradigms, and selected doctrinal battlegrounds. Within this framework, he has selected some of the most significant works that address these various themes, including: William Blackstone’s classic "Commentaries on the Laws of England" (1769) and Zacharia Chaffee’s timeless essay "Free Speech in War Time" (1919), as well as works from more contemporary constitutional giants such as Cass Sunstein’s "Free Speech Now" (1992), Alexander Meiklejohn’s "The First Amendment is an Absolute" (1961), Kathleen Sullivan’s "Political Money and Freedom of Speech" (1997), and many more influential articles. At a time when America is trying to export democracy abroad and preserve it at home against a backdrop of international security concerns, figuring out how society should permit its citizens to identify and represent themselves and come together to deliberate collectively is arguably more crucial now than ever before. |
Contents
Series Editors Preface | 9 |
Commentaries on the Laws of England | 23 |
An Inquiry into the Foundations | 32 |
Copyright | |
13 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
abridged advertising Alexander Meiklejohn Amendment interest American argued argument Beef Bill of Rights Blackstone Buckley campaign finance reform candidates Cato's Letters Chaplinsky citizens communicative impact compelled speech compelled subsidization Congress Constitution content-based/content-neutral content-discriminatory laws content-neutral laws content-neutral restrictions critics CSSD decision discrimination distinction distortion doctrine effect election electoral equal example federal fighting words flag Framers free expression free speech freedom of expression freedom of speech funding government speech governmental hate messages hate speech improper motivation individual issue Johanns judicial Justice legislative Legislature limits market failure marketplace of ideas means ment ordinance particular person picketing political money political speech President press clause principle prior restraint problem prohibited public debate punish racial racist hate racist speech ratified reason restrict expression restrict speech Scalia scrutiny Sedition Act seditious libel Senate statute stringent standards suppression Supreme Court theory tion viewpoint viewpoint-based restrictions viewpoint-discriminatory vote