Freedom of Association: Rights and Liberties under the Law

by Robert J. Bresler

Overview

From colonial times to the information age, an exhaustive survey of one of America's most contentious constitutional rights.

Freedom of Association: Rights and Liberties under the Law chronicles the evolution of a right derived from but not granted in the First Amendment—freedom of association. An opening analysis of the Supreme Court's ruling against a gay adult member of the Boy Scouts of America illustrates the range and complexity of this issue.

Historical discussions of colonial America, including the British Parliament's efforts to suppress political associations, set the stage for a careful scrutiny of the political and legislative activities of the 1950s and 1960s when the Supreme Court established freedom of association as a constitutionally protected right. A concluding chapter delves into the contemporary issues of antidiscriminatory and campaign finance laws and explores the ever-present tension between liberty—freedom from the state—and equality—protection by the state.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781576077726
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/15/2004
Series:	America's Freedoms
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Robert J. Bresler is visiting professor of government at Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA, and professor emeritus of public policy at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

Table of Contents

	Series Foreword	xi
	Preface and Acknowledgments	xxi
1	Introduction	1
	Associational Rights and the War on Terror	1
	Plan of the Book	7
	References and Further Reading	10
2	Origins	11
	Associations as a Counterweight to the Power of the State	13
	Associations as a Source of Social Capital	16
	Associations as a Source of Personal Enrichment	18
	Associations as an Element in Strengthening Self-Government	21
	First Constitutional Origins	22
	References and Further Reading	26
3	Twentieth-Century Issues	29
	Freedom of Association and the Civil Rights Movement: The Court Defines a Doctrine	31
	A Doctrine Reaffirmed	35
	Freedom of Association and the Communist Party: The Question of Guilt by Association	38
	The Communist Party of the United States of America: Heretics or Conspirators?	40
	The Court Asserts Associational Rights	45
	The Question of Loyalty Oaths	48
	The Issue of Blacklisting	50
	The Legacy of the NAACP and Communist Party Cases	56
	Associational Rights versus Civil Rights	57
	The Roberts Decision and the Right Not to Associate	62
	The O'Connor Perspective	67
	The Roberts Trilogy	70
	Hurley and Parades	72
	Freedom of Association and the Rights of Political Parties	75
	The White Primary Cases	76
	Parties Gain Associational Rights	78
	References and Further Reading	82
4	Twenty-First Century Issues	85
	James Dale Challenges the Boy Scouts	85
	The New Jersey Courts Respond	86
	The Boy Scouts Supreme Court Brief	88
	The Dale Supreme Court Brief	91
	A Divided Court Speaks	93
	The Court's Critics Speak	97
	The Defenders of the Court Speak	98
	The Legacy of the Dale Decision	100
	California Democratic Party v. Jones	105
	The Scalia Opinion	107
	The Stevens Dissent	109
	Conclusion	111
	References and Further Reading	112
5	Key People, Cases, and Events	115
6	Documents	149
	George Washington's Farewell Address (1796)	149
	Bryant v. Zimmerman (1928)	154
	De Jonge v. State of Oregon (1937)	158
	The Smith Act (1940)	161
	Thomas v. Collins (1945)	162
	Waldorf Statement (1947)	169
	Watkins v. United States (1957)	170
	NAACP v. Alabama (1958)	178
	Barenblatt v. United States (1959)	183
	Gibson v. Florida Legislative Investigation Committee (1963)	190
	Elfbrandt v. Russell (1966)	195
	United States v. Robel (1967)	199
	Roberts v. United States Jaycees (1984)	205
	Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston (1995)	211
	Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (1996)	214
	California Democratic Party v. Jones (2000)	219
	Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000)	223
	Chronology	235
	Table of Cases	241
	Annotated Bibliography	245
	Index	251
	About the Author	265

Editorial Reviews

An excellent overview of one of today's most intellectually slippery and politically relevant constitutional issues . . . Recommended. Undergraduate or graduate students of constitutional law.” —Choice

“This work, part of the America's Freedoms reference series, excels in showing how the Supreme Court has been influenced by the political situation in the United States at the time of the court's decisions . . . The material is presented in an engaging manner.” —VOYA

“Professor Bresler's book is recommended for public, high school, and undergraduate libraries that need an up-to-date overview of the law.” —American Reference Books Annual

From the Publisher