Revolutionary Sparks: Freedom of Expression in Modern America / Edition 1

by Margaret A. Blanchard

Overview

The governmental pledge to the American people is found in the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." Written more than two hundred years ago, these words now protect a wide range of expressive activity. A broad-gauged discussion of freedom of expression in America, this book begins by studying the period after the Civil War and Reconstruction when new and unsettling ideas appeared with great regularity on the American scene. So many of these ideas were floating around during this period that the nation's leaders often joined forces to repress aberrant notions. In response to such suppression, individuals seeking to better their lives through the expression of new ideas began to demand their rights to speak, write, and associate together to advance their points of view. Blanchard traces this contest for control through the Watergate scandal of the 1970s and the Reagan and early Bush administrations. Blanchard presents a lively discussion of freedom of speech ranging from questions of national security to those of public morality, from loyalty during times of national stress to the right to preach on a public street corner. Including examinations of controversies involving the press, the national government, the Supreme Court, and civil liberties and civil rights concerns, Revolutionary Sparks presents a strong case for the right of Americans to speak their minds and to have access to knowledge necessary for informed self-government.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195054361
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/07/1992
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	592
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.56(h) x 1.77(d)

About the Author

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Table of Contents

1.	Seeking Conformity: Freedom of Expression in the Age of Enterprise	3
2.	Setting the Stage for Repression: Freedom of Expression in the Early Twentieth Century	38
3.	Making the World Safe for Democracy: Freedom of Expression during World War I	71
4.	Facing New Challenges: Freedom of Expression in the 1920s	110
5.	Inching toward a Marketplace of Ideas: Freedom of Expression in the 1930s	149
6.	Fighting the Good War: Freedom of Expression during World War II	189
7.	Combating the Red Menace: Freedom of Expression in the Cold War	230
8.	Manning the Barricades: Freedom of Expression in the Vietnam Era	279
9.	Striking Back at Dissenters: Freedom of Expression in the Early Nixon Years	334
10.	Toppling a President: Freedom of Expression in the Age of Watergate	378
11.	Reaping the Whirlwind: Freedom of Expression in an Age of Reaction	430
	Epilogue	489
	Notes	493
	Index	551

Editorial Reviews

"A book that was a big contender for the Pulitzer Prize for history, this is the story of how since the Civil War, the First Amendment has put on flesh....The author...has a special feel for how small protests and dogged dissents can blossom into nationwide movements....Spirited."—Fayetteville Observer-Times

"A masterly work of synthesis, this study is without question a major achievement."—Choice

From the Publisher