Freedom of Speech: First Amendment »

Vikram David Amar is professor law at the University of California, Davis. He is the author of many books and articles on law including Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials (with William Cohen and Jonathan D. Varat), 12th edition, and Federal Practice and Procedure, Jurisdiction 3D, Vols. 17, 17A, and 17B (with Charles A. Wright, Arthur R. Miller, and Edward H. Cooper). He authors a biweekly online column on constitutional matters on one of the most frequently visited Web site devoted to legal matters.

"Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech...."
-From the First Amendment

This volume collects, edits and presents some of the most important classic and cutting-edge thinking on the constitutional freedom of speech. Students of law, political science, or any other person interested in understanding the basics of American self-government will be able to see the important themes, values, conflicts, and possible resolutions concerning this, our most cherished, democratic freedom.
Editor Vikram David Amar has organized the collection into three major sections: historical foundations, theoretical paradigms, and selected doctrinal battlegrounds. Within this framework, he has selected some of the most significant works that address these various themes, including: William Blackstone's classic "Commentaries on the Laws of England" (1769) and Zacharia Chaffee's timeless essay "Free Speech in War Time" (1919), as well as works from more contemporary constitutional giants such as Cass Sunstein's "Free Speech Now" (1992), Alexander Meiklejohn's "The First Amendment is an Absolute" (1961), Kathleen Sullivan's "Political Money and Freedom of Speech" (1997), and many more influential articles.
At a time when America is trying to export democracy abroad and preserve it at home against a backdrop of international security concerns, figuring out how society should permit its citizens to identify and represent themselves and come together to deliberate collectively is arguably more crucial now than ever before.

Series Editor's Preface David B. Oppenheimer 9

Introduction Guided Tour 13

Part I Historical Foundations

Commentaries on the Laws of England Sir William Blackstone 23

Free Speech in War Time Zechariah Chafee Jr. 25

Righting the Balance: An Inquiry into the Foundations and Limits of Freedom of Expression Steven J. Heyman 32

Seditious Libel and the Lost Guarantee of Freedom of Expression William T. Mayton 50

The Origins of the Press Clause David A. Anderson 65

Part II Theoretical Paradigms

Must Speech Be Special? Frederick Schauer 85

Free Speech Now Cass R. Sunstein 100

Scope of the First Amendment: Freedom of Speech C. Edwin Baker 115

The First Amendment Is an Absolute Alexander Meiklejohn 125

Equality as a Central Principle in the First Amendment Kenneth L. Karst 141

Part III Selected Doctrinal Battlegrounds

Content Regulation and the First Amendment Geoffrey R. Stone 153

Rules of Engagement for Cultural Wars: Regulating Conduct, Unprotected Speech, and Protected Expression in Anti-Abortion Protests Alan E. Brownstein 179

The Concept of the Public Forum Harry Kalven 192

The Case of the Missing Amendments: R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul Akhil Reed Amar 198

Public Response to Racist Speech: Considering the Victim's Story Mari J. Matsuda 214

Compelled Subsidization of Speech: Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Association Robert Post 233

Political Money and Freedom of Speech Kathleen M. Sullivan 251

From Watergate to Ken Starr: Potter Stewart's "Or of the Press" a Quarter Century Later Vikram David Amar 272

Appendixes

Constitution of the United States of America 279

The Amendments to the Constitution 295