The Taming of Free Speech : America’s Civil Liberties Compromise / Laura Weinreib.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weinreib, Laura., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American Civil Liberties Union.

Freedom of speech--United States--History--20th century.

Freedom of speech.

Employee rights--United States--History--20th century.

Employee rights.

Civil rights--United States--History--20th century.

Civil rights.

Labor movement--United States--History--20th century.

Labor movement.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (472 pages)

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, [2017]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

In the early decades of the twentieth century, business leaders condemned civil liberties as masks for subversive activity, while labor sympathizers denounced the courts as shills for industrial interests. But by the Second World War, prominent figures in both camps celebrated the judiciary for protecting freedom of speech. In this strikingly original history, Laura Weinrib illustrates how a surprising coalition of lawyers and activists made judicial enforcement of the Bill of Rights a defining feature of American democracy. The Taming of Free Speech traces our understanding of civil liberties to conflict between 1910 and 1940 over workers’ right to strike. As self-proclaimed partisans in the class war, the founders of the American Civil Liberties Union promoted a bold vision of free speech that encompassed unrestricted picketing and boycotts. Over time, however, they subdued their rhetoric to attract adherents and prevail in court. At the height of the New Deal, many liberals opposed the ACLU’s litigation strategy, fearing it would legitimize a judiciary they deemed too friendly to corporations and too hostile to the administrative state. Conversely, conservatives eager to insulate industry from government regulation pivoted to embrace civil liberties, despite their radical roots. The resulting transformation in constitutional jurisprudence—often understood as a triumph for the Left—was in fact a calculated bargain. America’s civil liberties compromise saved the courts from New Deal attack and secured free speech for labor radicals and businesses alike. Ever since, competing groups have clashed in the arena of ideas, shielded by the First Amendment.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction

1. Freedom of Speech in Class War Time

2. The Citadel of Civil Liberty

3. The Right of Agitation

4. Dissent

5. The New Battleground

6. Old Left, New Rights

7. The Civil Liberties Consensus

8. Free Speech or Fair Labor

Epilogue

Abbreviations

Notes

Acknowledgments

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed Feb. 24, 2017)

ISBN:

9780674974685

0674974689

9780674974708

0674974700

OCLC:

984687852