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From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act: A History of the Fight for Free Speech in America
Christopher M. Finan received Eli M. Oboler Memorial Award for 2008. The award is presented for the best published work in the area of intellectual freedom. Eligible books were published between 2006 and 2007. In 1919, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer launched a government roundup of thousands of Russian immigrants and deported 800 of them for their radical ideas, a flagrant violation of First Amendment rights. Decades later, a second Red Scare gripped the United States as Senator Joseph McCarthy spearheaded a witch-hunt for Russian agents while sneering at "egg-sucking liberals" who defended "Communists and queers."
The nearly century-long battle between heresy hunters and civil libertarians makes the story of free speech in this country a colorful one, filled with dramatic episodes and larger-than-life personalities. Historian and free-speech advocate Christopher Finan introduces us to a cast of characters as varied as a young G.I. named Hugh Hefner and the ever-vigilant Emma Viets, chair of the Kansas City censorship board, who cheerfully cut scenes that weren't "clean and wholesome" from Hollywood films, shortening onscreen kisses and excluding any image of a woman "in the family way."
This history has enormous relevance in post-Patriot Act America. At a time when government is warning citizens and the press to watch what they say, the words of Murray I. Gurfein, a judge from another era, have special "The security of the Nation is not at the ramparts alone. Security also lies in the value of our free institutions. A cantankerous press, an obstinate press, a ubiquitous press must be suffered by those in authority in order to preserve the even greater values of freedom of expression and the right of the people to know."
From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act traces the fight for free speech from the turn of the nineteenth century through the War on Terror. Christopher Finan has given us a vital history of our most fundamental, and most vulnerable, constitutional right.
The nearly century-long battle between heresy hunters and civil libertarians makes the story of free speech in this country a colorful one, filled with dramatic episodes and larger-than-life personalities. Historian and free-speech advocate Christopher Finan introduces us to a cast of characters as varied as a young G.I. named Hugh Hefner and the ever-vigilant Emma Viets, chair of the Kansas City censorship board, who cheerfully cut scenes that weren't "clean and wholesome" from Hollywood films, shortening onscreen kisses and excluding any image of a woman "in the family way."
This history has enormous relevance in post-Patriot Act America. At a time when government is warning citizens and the press to watch what they say, the words of Murray I. Gurfein, a judge from another era, have special "The security of the Nation is not at the ramparts alone. Security also lies in the value of our free institutions. A cantankerous press, an obstinate press, a ubiquitous press must be suffered by those in authority in order to preserve the even greater values of freedom of expression and the right of the people to know."
From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act traces the fight for free speech from the turn of the nineteenth century through the War on Terror. Christopher Finan has given us a vital history of our most fundamental, and most vulnerable, constitutional right.
360 pages, Paperback
First published April 4, 2007
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About the author
Christopher M. Finan
7 books6 followersChris Finan is executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship, an alliance of 56 national non-profits that defends free speech. A native of Cleveland he is a graduate of Antioch College. After working as a newspaper reporter, he studied American history at Columbia University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1992.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 14, 2024
Excellent history of the long struggle to protect the freedoms of speech, press, and expression from those promoting censorship. Christopher Finan, President of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression when this book was published, does a great job of showing how attacks on civil liberties have persisted over time, though the book begins with the 1910s and ends with the early 2000s. An interesting recurring feature of this issue is the swings towards greater government scrutiny during times of war (World War I and the "War on Terror" especially) and times of intensive security concerns (i.e. much of the Cold War). He also deftly shows how the right to write, read, record, or film what you choose intersects with battles over abortion, women's rights, African-American civil rights, academic freedom, and various forms of political dissent. It was also intriguing to see unexpected players in this story, from the Post Office's censorship system, to the private censorship systems set up by movie studios and comic book publishers, to the abuse of many people's rights by local police and self-appointed moral guardians. Finan does a good job explaining the background of numerous Supreme Court cases, how they influenced public policy, and how legal precedents evolved with time.
March 26, 2018
3/26/18 I think it's so important to see how fragile free speech is even in a nation that has it as the first amendment. What we consider self evident has so often been undermined. Knowing the history shows us the pitfalls and successes in the constant struggle for our rights.
I agree that often the greatest threat to the American government is not from "radicals calling for its overthrow, but from patriotic officials bent on suppressing dangerous beliefs."
"Censorship can't eliminate evil, it can only kill freedom."
I agree that often the greatest threat to the American government is not from "radicals calling for its overthrow, but from patriotic officials bent on suppressing dangerous beliefs."
"Censorship can't eliminate evil, it can only kill freedom."
December 11, 2023
Excellent important read, but I have to find a good book that focuses on WWI problems
August 16, 2008
"Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it." So writes Judge Learned Hand in 1944 and so ends (almost) this book on the fight for free speech in America. The author actually concludes that "we are fortunate to live in a country that includes many brave souls. They have made freedom of speech one of the glories of American civilization." This suggests that the book is somewhat of an ode to the past heroes of the fight for free speech, but I think it's best to read this as a challenge to us in the present, in this moment, to become engaged in the free speech fight. The book is a reminder of the need for constant debate and active efforts to preserve free speech, an important reminder for a time when concerns about national security seem to trump all other concerns and an mindless adherence to the conviction that patriotism demands we should suppress critiques of government actions and actors and be wary of every instance of dissent. It's not about the successes of the past, because in that it offers little that is new or surprising. Rather it is call to action and, for that reason alone, worth reading.
November 11, 2015
As a writer I've long assumed that First Amendment rights were enshrined in the Constitution. However, after readying Christopher M. Finan's history I realized for the first time just how tenuous those rights are in U.S. history. It is truly amazing to read a book that attempts to compile in one place all of the efforts to restrain free speech and the free press. I was familiar with many if not most of the individual incidents but to have them covered at one time certainly leaves an impression that there has been a segment of U.S. society willing to muzzle this freedom based on real or imagined threats.
My only reservation about the book is the quasi political bent it takes toward the more recent censorship efforts. I had the impression the author was attempting to make a political point that certain parties are more prone to abandon the First Amendment of the Constitution. Perhaps this is true although the treatment in this book compromises the unbiased quality of the historical research.
Books such as this one are a reminder the Constitution is under constant threat and requires constant vigilance by all citizens.
My only reservation about the book is the quasi political bent it takes toward the more recent censorship efforts. I had the impression the author was attempting to make a political point that certain parties are more prone to abandon the First Amendment of the Constitution. Perhaps this is true although the treatment in this book compromises the unbiased quality of the historical research.
Books such as this one are a reminder the Constitution is under constant threat and requires constant vigilance by all citizens.
March 10, 2009
This is a must read to understand the pattern of suspension of free speech and habeaus corpus when the US government perceives a threat. It begins when the government started rounding up communists in the early 20th century. There were 10 year olds sentenced to prison for passing out leaflets. Appalling.
Japanese Americans wer rounded up and sent to concentration camps during WWII.
The patriot act was just another example of government overkill. Librarians and others stood up to the CIA. Immigrants again were targeted for government and citizen abuse.
Our democratic ideals and Constitution are strong enough to allow free speech. We just get so paranoid when a crisis occurs, we seem to rush to suspend basic freedoms.
Japanese Americans wer rounded up and sent to concentration camps during WWII.
The patriot act was just another example of government overkill. Librarians and others stood up to the CIA. Immigrants again were targeted for government and citizen abuse.
Our democratic ideals and Constitution are strong enough to allow free speech. We just get so paranoid when a crisis occurs, we seem to rush to suspend basic freedoms.
January 13, 2008
I am always amazed at how people continue to get books with no new information in them published. Books like this one drive me to the fiction section of my library and make me want to write a collection of completely obvious and irrelevant observations so that I too might bore the hell out of some unsuspecting reader...
January 20, 2009
This book is more of a history of the ACLU. It's not bad; it's just slow. In some places, I would have prefered more depth. It's also not entirely clear when a sit-in is censorship and when it's freedom of expression. It still is a good overall history, and I did learn somethings. I prefer, however, Freedom for the Thought We Hate.
May 7, 2012
A fine, often inspiring overview of the fight to protect free speech rights during the 20th and early 21st century. Readable, accessible, and informative. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to familiarize themselves with an important aspect of U.S. history.
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May 4, 2009I used this book to remind myself about what it means to be an American. Despite then President Bush.
June 17, 2012
Finan has condensed a ton of research here - fun to learn about First Amendment heroes I didn't know I had!
August 13, 2017
I wanted to like this more. It was slow and quite dry.
March 22, 2017
Another dark chapter of US government suppression of free speech and the deportation of alleged subversives brought to light.
Palmer (US Attorney General) enforced the Espionage Act of 1917 and others to justify thousands of deportations of anti-imperialist, anti-war leftist and anarchists such as EMMA GOLDMAN (who was married to a US Citizen) during WWI. A young Herbert Hoover was in charge of compiling the list of 10,000 subversives (read: labor activists, socialists, anti-war activists) across the country that were targeted and detained for questioning and possible deportation.
This book also details how Palmer influenced the postmaster general to seize anti-war periodicals and essentially shut down the distribution by mail of labor, socialist, and anti-draft periodicals. It also touches on how the Palmer abuses prompted Justice Holmes to move further left to attack the governments suppression of speech.
Well worth the read as history yet again foretold the Bush Patriot Act Era.
Palmer (US Attorney General) enforced the Espionage Act of 1917 and others to justify thousands of deportations of anti-imperialist, anti-war leftist and anarchists such as EMMA GOLDMAN (who was married to a US Citizen) during WWI. A young Herbert Hoover was in charge of compiling the list of 10,000 subversives (read: labor activists, socialists, anti-war activists) across the country that were targeted and detained for questioning and possible deportation.
This book also details how Palmer influenced the postmaster general to seize anti-war periodicals and essentially shut down the distribution by mail of labor, socialist, and anti-draft periodicals. It also touches on how the Palmer abuses prompted Justice Holmes to move further left to attack the governments suppression of speech.
Well worth the read as history yet again foretold the Bush Patriot Act Era.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews