Free Speech, "The People's Darling Privilege": Struggles for Freedom of Expression in American History

Abstract

Introduction The English and colonial background The debate over the Sedition Act of 1798 Sedition in the courts - enforcement and the free speech tradition Sedition: Reflections and transitions The Declaration, the Constitution, Slavery and Abolition Shall Abolitionists be silenced? Congress confronts the Abolitionists: The Post Office and petitions The demand for Northern legal action against Abolitionists Legal theories of suppression and the defence of free speech Elijah Lovejoy: Mobs, free speech and the privileges of American citizens After Lovejoy: Transformations The free speech battle over Helper's Impending crisis Daniel worth: The struggle for free speech in North Carolina on the eve of the Civil War Lincoln, Vallandigham and suppression: Free speech in the Civil War The free speech tradition confronts the war power A new birth of freedom? The Fourteenth Amendment and the First Amendment Where are they now? Suppression theories in the twentieth century Conclusion