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The Free Speech Century
The Supreme Court's 1919 decision in Schenck vs. the United States is one of the most important free speech cases in American history. Written by Oliver Wendell Holmes, it is most famous for first invoking the phrase "clear and present danger." Although the decision upheld the conviction of an individual for criticizing the draft during World War I, it also laid the foundation for our nation's robust protection of free speech. Over time, the standard Holmes devised made freedom of speech in America a reality rather than merely an ideal.
In The Free Speech Century, two of America's leading First Amendment scholars, Lee C. Bollinger and Geoffrey R. Stone, have gathered a group of the nation's leading constitutional scholars--Cass Sunstein, Lawrence Lessig, Laurence Tribe, Kathleen Sullivan, Catherine McKinnon, among others--to evaluate the evolution of free speech doctrine since Schenk and to assess where it might be headed in the future. Since 1919, First Amendment jurisprudence in America has been a signal development in the history of constitutional democracies--remarkable for its level of doctrinal refinement, remarkable for its lateness in coming (in relation to the adoption of the First Amendment), and remarkable for the scope of protection it has afforded since the 1960s. Over the course of The First Amendment Century, judicial engagement with these fundamental rights has grown exponentially. We now have an elaborate set of free speech laws and norms, but as Stone and Bollinger stress, the context is always
shifting. New societal threats like terrorism, and new technologies of communication continually reshape our understanding of what speech should be allowed.
Publishing on the one hundredth anniversary of the decision that laid the foundation for America's free speech tradition, The Free Speech Century will serve as an essential resource for anyone interested in how our understanding of the First Amendment transformed over time and why it is so critical both for the United States and for the world today.
In The Free Speech Century, two of America's leading First Amendment scholars, Lee C. Bollinger and Geoffrey R. Stone, have gathered a group of the nation's leading constitutional scholars--Cass Sunstein, Lawrence Lessig, Laurence Tribe, Kathleen Sullivan, Catherine McKinnon, among others--to evaluate the evolution of free speech doctrine since Schenk and to assess where it might be headed in the future. Since 1919, First Amendment jurisprudence in America has been a signal development in the history of constitutional democracies--remarkable for its level of doctrinal refinement, remarkable for its lateness in coming (in relation to the adoption of the First Amendment), and remarkable for the scope of protection it has afforded since the 1960s. Over the course of The First Amendment Century, judicial engagement with these fundamental rights has grown exponentially. We now have an elaborate set of free speech laws and norms, but as Stone and Bollinger stress, the context is always
shifting. New societal threats like terrorism, and new technologies of communication continually reshape our understanding of what speech should be allowed.
Publishing on the one hundredth anniversary of the decision that laid the foundation for America's free speech tradition, The Free Speech Century will serve as an essential resource for anyone interested in how our understanding of the First Amendment transformed over time and why it is so critical both for the United States and for the world today.
376 pages, Paperback
Published December 12, 2018
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About the author
Geoffrey R. Stone
91 books45 followersGeoffrey Stone is Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor at The University of Chicago Law School.
Geoffrey Stone has been a member of the law faculty since 1973. From 1987 to 1993, Mr. Stone served as Dean of the Law School, and from 1993 to 2002 he served as Provost of the University of Chicago. Mr. Stone received his undergraduate degree in 1968 from the University of Pennsylvania and his law degree in 1971 from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review. Mr. Stone served as a law clerk to Judge J. Skelly Wright of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and to Justice William J. Brennan Jr. of the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Stone was admitted to the New York Bar in 1972.
Mr. Stone teaches and writes primarily in the area of constitutional law. His most recent books are Top Secret: When Our Government Keeps Us in the Dark (2007) and War and Liberty: An American Dilemma (2007). Mr. Stone’s Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on Terrorism (2004) received numerous national awards, including the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for 2005, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for 2004 as the best book in the field of history, the American Political Science Association's Kammerer Award for 2005 for the best book in Political Science, the Hefner Award for the best book on the First Amendment, and Harvard University's 2005 Goldsmith Award for the best book in the field of Public Affairs.
Mr. Stone is currently chief editor of a fifteen-volume series, Inalienable Rights, which is being published by the Oxford University Press between 2006 and 2012. The authors in the series include, among others, Richard Posner, Richard Epstein, Alan Dershowitz, Larry Lessig, Martha Nussbaum, Jack Rakove, Pamela Karlan, Lee Bollinger, and Larry Tribe.
Mr. Stone is working on a new book, Sexing the Constitution, which will explore the historical evolution in western culture of the intersection of sex, religion, and law. His past works include Eternally Vigilant: Free Speech in the Modern Era (2001), The Bill of Rights in the Modern State (1992) (with Mr. Epstein and Mr. Sunstein), Constitutional Law (6th ed. 2009) (with Mr. Sunstein), and The First Amendment (3d ed. 2008) (with Mr. Sunstein). Mr. Stone also serves as an editor of the Supreme Court Review (with Mr. Hutchinson and Mr. Strauss), and he writes frequently for huffingtonpost.com and for such publications as the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the Wall Street Journal.
Among his many public activities, Mr. Stone is a member of the national Board of Directors of the American Constitution Society, a member of the National Advisory Council of the American Civil Liberties Union, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the American Philosophical Society, a member of the American Law Institute, a member of the Straight for Equality Project of PFLAG, and a member of the Board of the Chicago Children's Choir.
Geoffrey Stone has been a member of the law faculty since 1973. From 1987 to 1993, Mr. Stone served as Dean of the Law School, and from 1993 to 2002 he served as Provost of the University of Chicago. Mr. Stone received his undergraduate degree in 1968 from the University of Pennsylvania and his law degree in 1971 from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review. Mr. Stone served as a law clerk to Judge J. Skelly Wright of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and to Justice William J. Brennan Jr. of the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Stone was admitted to the New York Bar in 1972.
Mr. Stone teaches and writes primarily in the area of constitutional law. His most recent books are Top Secret: When Our Government Keeps Us in the Dark (2007) and War and Liberty: An American Dilemma (2007). Mr. Stone’s Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on Terrorism (2004) received numerous national awards, including the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for 2005, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for 2004 as the best book in the field of history, the American Political Science Association's Kammerer Award for 2005 for the best book in Political Science, the Hefner Award for the best book on the First Amendment, and Harvard University's 2005 Goldsmith Award for the best book in the field of Public Affairs.
Mr. Stone is currently chief editor of a fifteen-volume series, Inalienable Rights, which is being published by the Oxford University Press between 2006 and 2012. The authors in the series include, among others, Richard Posner, Richard Epstein, Alan Dershowitz, Larry Lessig, Martha Nussbaum, Jack Rakove, Pamela Karlan, Lee Bollinger, and Larry Tribe.
Mr. Stone is working on a new book, Sexing the Constitution, which will explore the historical evolution in western culture of the intersection of sex, religion, and law. His past works include Eternally Vigilant: Free Speech in the Modern Era (2001), The Bill of Rights in the Modern State (1992) (with Mr. Epstein and Mr. Sunstein), Constitutional Law (6th ed. 2009) (with Mr. Sunstein), and The First Amendment (3d ed. 2008) (with Mr. Sunstein). Mr. Stone also serves as an editor of the Supreme Court Review (with Mr. Hutchinson and Mr. Strauss), and he writes frequently for huffingtonpost.com and for such publications as the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the Wall Street Journal.
Among his many public activities, Mr. Stone is a member of the national Board of Directors of the American Constitution Society, a member of the National Advisory Council of the American Civil Liberties Union, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the American Philosophical Society, a member of the American Law Institute, a member of the Straight for Equality Project of PFLAG, and a member of the Board of the Chicago Children's Choir.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 14, 2024
The book contains a good collection of scholar articles on some of the most important topics regarding the First Amendment/freedom of speech, a topic always fascinating to me.
The articles discuss the development of modern day First Amendment jurisprudence (it became active only during the antiwar protests against the World War I and arguably also had its origin in the socialist fight against capitalism). They also discuss First Amendment’s international influence and its tension with another foundational value in Europe (I.e., human dignity and the resulting limitation on hate speech). Finally, several articles also discuss the transformative impact social media has on freedom of speech, censorship, and getting all worthy ideas heard in an era of scattered audience attention.
The discussion on the case law around financing political campaign was especially enlightening to me.
The articles discuss the development of modern day First Amendment jurisprudence (it became active only during the antiwar protests against the World War I and arguably also had its origin in the socialist fight against capitalism). They also discuss First Amendment’s international influence and its tension with another foundational value in Europe (I.e., human dignity and the resulting limitation on hate speech). Finally, several articles also discuss the transformative impact social media has on freedom of speech, censorship, and getting all worthy ideas heard in an era of scattered audience attention.
The discussion on the case law around financing political campaign was especially enlightening to me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2020
It's a collection of essays so tough to judge as a whole. I will say most of the chapters are rather good. I especially enjoyed the ones about the groups that fought for the modern First Amendment, the dual discussions of Citizens United and contribution limits, the chapter on keeping secrets in the new First Amendment world, and the discussion of what other nations do with freedom of expression in their constitutions and laws. I can't think of a really poor chapter in here, though I will say the last Part on the future of the First Amendment left some to be desired. Especially given one of the chapters is written by a social media employee, who makes some good points but ultimately can't be trusted to address the many issues at the intersection of speech and social media.
May 10, 2019
I learned a great deal from this fascinating collection of essays about free speech by a variety of authors. Some writings were a bit difficult for this layman (I did a lot of online searches to define terminology). Others were more readable. All were informative and I feel like I came away from the reading with a working understanding of the history and challenges of free speech.
April 9, 2020
As a collection of essays from various authors, the quality and viewpoint of each chapter varies.
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December 7, 2018This collected volume commemorates the one hundredth anniversary of the first Supreme Court decision interpreting the speech clause of the First Amendment, Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919). An all-star team of top legal minds tackle topics such as the history of First Amendment jurisprudence, critiques of that jurisprudence, its international influence, and the impact of new technologies. A fascinating and important volume. - Thomas J. Miles
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews