Free Speech in Its Forgotten Years, 1870-1920 (Paperback)

by David M. Rabban (Author) "Just as most commentators have traced judicial interpretation of the First Amendment from the Espionage Act decisions in 1919, they have followed organized advocacy of..." (more)
Key Phrases: bad tendency theory, free speech league, many free speech fights, United States, Espionage Act, Theodore Schroeder (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Challenging the view that free speech controversies and court cases effectively began during World War I, Rabban (law, Univ. of Texas, Austin) focuses on free speech issues between the Civil War and World War I. Through an impressive marshaling of controversies, cases, and litigants, he persuasively argues that libertarian radicalism and the Free Speech League, more than traditional American liberalism and the American Civil Liberties Union, deserve much of the credit for pushing valuable First Amendment issues to the forefront of American social, political, and legal circles. Of particular note is Rabban's treatment of the tension between libertarian radicalism and American liberalism, especially in the context of the debate over the meaning and application of the free speech provision of the First Amendment. This enlightening work fills a void in First Amendment civil liberties studies. Deserving careful scrutiny by scholars and others alike, it is highly recommended for all libraries.?Stephen Kent Shaw, Northwest Nazarene Coll., Nampa, Id.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
...[an] absorbing revisionist history ... Free Speech in Its Forgotten Years shows us how vulnerable to violation, how unprotected by law and the courts, were the people's rights of free speech in those years. -- The Nation, Edward de Grazia --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 420 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521655374
• ISBN-13: 978-0521655378
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #169,224 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lessons from the not-so-distant past, February 12, 2000

By	Allegra Young (United States) - See all my reviews

Today's America is awash in information, a by-product of the burgeoning economy and the freedom of speech we have enjoyed during our lifetime.

However, there was a time we were not always so careful with the First Amendment -- approximately our first 125 years as a country. This book recalls the tale of this America, when "order" prevailed above individual liberty. The list voices of the past -- workers struggling for decent working conditions, women dying from lack of access to birth control information -- were silenced by those in power who knew the First Amendment lacked teeth. Rabban's critically acclaimed book focuses on the transformation of this society from Civil War to World War 1. He deftly illustrates that in America's tumultuous relationship with the First Amendment, the outcome of this struggle was neither inevitable nor easy. As Rabban writes 'no group of Americans was more hostile to free speech claims before WWI than the judiciary, and no judges were more hostile than the justices on the United States Supreme Court.'

Free Speech is enjoyable from a lay perspective and rich and challenging for those immersed in the nation's laws. It's a slice of history we rarely consider, but today, as we search for ways to manage the flow of information coming into our homes through the Internet, we would be unwise to take for granted.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Especially interesting material on the IWW, May 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Free Speech in its Forgotten Years, 18701920 (Cambridge Historical Studies in American Law and Society) (Hardcover)

What I admired about this book was the long second chapter, in which the author discusses the issue of free speech in connection with the Industrial Workers of the World, IWW, also known as the "Wobblies".
Rabban leads us to wondering, does the first amendment protect the sort of thing the wobblies had in mind when they spoke of "direct action"?
Separately, one also asks one's self, were the wobblies themselves genuinely opposed to censorship, or just opposed to efforts to censor the wobblies? This is a question worth asking about many real or alleged victims of suppression, because those who come into the inheritance of the martyrs of the past often turn into the censors of the future.
In Rabban's words, "IWW commentary on the legal treatment of free speech frequently invoked basic Marxist class analysis and exhibited contempt for American law and legal institutions," so much so that for the wobblies, "contempt for the capitalist legal system...extended to rejection of the underlying worth of constitutional rights under any circumstances."