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Title An indispensable liberty : the fight for free speech in nineteenth-century America / edited by Mary M. Cronin
Published Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, 2016
©2016

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Description 1 online resource (238 pages) : illustrations
Contents Cover Page; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Contents; List of Illustrations; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Part 1. National Conflict and Freedom of Expression; 1. A Press Ablaze: Violent Suppression of Abolitionist Speech, Press, Petition, and Assembly; 2. "Palpable Injury": Abraham Lincoln and Press Suppression in the Civil War North; 3. Freedom of the Press in a Slave Society at War: The Confederate Congress and Others Really Did Make No Law; 4. Fight, Fold, Flip, or Flee: The Confederate Press and Enemy Occupation, 1861-65
5. Disturbing the Public Peace: Radical and Conservative Editors in the Reconstruction SouthPart 2. The Fight for Freedom of Expression; 6. The Rocky Road to Truth as a Defense: Libel Construction in the Nineteenth Century; 7. Keeping the Light under the Bushel: Laws, Mores, and Reading; 8. No Rights for the Working Man: Laboring before the First Amendment Had Force; 9. Freedom of Expression for Women: The Fight for Suffrage and Personal Liberty; 10. The National Defense Association: Liberal Protector of Free Speech
11. Davis v. Massachusetts: Expressive Conduct and Regulated Liberty in the Nineteenth CenturyContributors; Index; Back Cover
Summary "This collection of eleven essays examines nineteenth-century legal and extralegal attempts to restrict freedom of speech and the press as well as the efforts of others to push back against those restrictions"-- Provided by publisher
"Most Americans today view freedom of speech as a bedrock of all other liberties, a defining feature of American citizenship. During the nineteenth century, the popular concept of American freedom of speech was still being formed. In An Indispensable Liberty: The Fight for Freedom of Expression in the Nineteenth Century, contributors examine attempts to restrict freedom of speech and the press during and after the Civil War. The nine essays that make up this collection show how, despite judicial, political, and public proclamations of support for freedom of expression, factors like tradition, gender stereotypes, religion, and fear of social unrest often led to narrow judicial and political protection for freedom of expression by people whose views upset the status quo. These views, expressed by abolitionists, suffragists, and labor leaders, challenged rigid cultural mores of the day, and many political and cultural leaders feared that extending freedom of expression to agitators would undermine society. The Civil War intensified questions about the duties and privileges of citizenship. After the war, key conflicts over freedom of expression were triggered by Reconstruction, suffrage, the Comstock Act, and questions about libel. The volume's contributors blend social, cultural, and intellectual history to untangle the complicated strands of nineteenth-century legal thought. By chronicling the development of modern-day notions of free speech, this timely collection offers both a valuable exploration of the First Amendment in nineteenth-century America and a useful perspective on challenges to today's civil liberties."-- Provided by publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes English
Print version record
Subject Freedom of speech -- United States -- History
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Media Studies.
HISTORY -- Essays.
HISTORY -- United States -- 19th century.
LAW -- Legal History.
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Political Freedom & Security -- Civil Rights.
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Political Freedom & Security -- Human Rights.
Freedom of speech
United States
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
Author Bulla, David W., 1959- author.
Bekken, Jon
Davidson, Sandra
Dupont, Nancy McKenzie
Hayden, Joseph
Jolliffe, Lee
Kilmer, Paulette D
Pribanic-Smith, Erika J
Van Tuyll, Debra Reddin
Cronin, Mary M
ISBN 9780809334735
0809334739
0809334720
9780809334728