Summary

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy expressed his support for free speech and a free press in U.S. society by saying, "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood of ideas in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people." The future of the First Amendment’s guarantees of freedom of expression depends on how much faith the American people have in this belief. The American rights of free speech and free press have often led to complex and uncomfortable dissent and debate, but have ultimately served as the best guarantee that the intent of the framers of the First Amendment is preserved.

Topics include:

• Frederick Douglass and his speeches in support of the abolition of slavery
• Muckraking writers Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, and Upton Sinclair and their exposés
• The role of the ACLU during the 1920s Red Scare
• Edward R. Murrow’s March 1954 commentary on McCarthyism on his show See It Now
• The June 1971 Supreme Court decision in New York Times v. United States, otherwise known as the Pentagon Papers case
• Watergate
• The 1977 controversy over a proposed march of neo-Nazis through Skokie, Illinois
• and more.

Specifications

30 black-and-white photographs. 11 maps and graphs. Index. Appendix. Glossary. Chronology. Further reading list. Box features.

About the Author(s)

Ian C. Friedman holds a B.A. in history from the University of Michigan and an Ed.M. in teaching and curriculum in the field of history from Harvard University. He has an extensive background in learning, teaching, and writing about American history. Friedman has taught in public schools in Lynwood, California, and Chicago, and he has worked as a curriculum and test development specialist. Friedman is a writer for the History News Service and the author of Facts On File's Education Reform in the Library in a Book series.