Freedom of Speech

David L. Hudson, Jr., JD, is an author and educator who has written more than 40 books, including many on the First Amendment.

• IntroductionSedition Act (July 14, 1798)John Quincy Adams's Letter on the "Gag Rule" (May 25, 1836)Robert LaFollette's "Free Speech during Wartime" Speech (October 6, 1917)Eugene Debs's Speech in Canton, Ohio (June 16, 1918)Schenck v. United States (March 3, 1919)Abrams v. United States (November 10, 1919)Whitney v. California (May 16, 1927)President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms" Speech (January 6, 1941)Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (March 9, 1942)West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (June 14, 1943)Margaret Chase Smith's "Declaration of Conscience" Speech (June 1, 1950)Talley v. California (March 7, 1960)Edwards v. South Carolina (February 25, 1963)New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (March 9, 1964)Mario Savio's "Bodies upon the Gears" Speech (December 2, 1964)United States v. O'Brien (May 27, 1968)Pickering v. Board of Education (June 3, 1968)Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (February 24, 1969)Watts v. United States (April 21, 1969)Brandenburg v. Ohio (June 8, 1969)Cohen v. California (June 7, 1971)New York Times Co. v. United States (June 30, 1971)Police Department of Chicago v. Mosley (June 26, 1972)Miller v. California (June 21, 1973)Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville (June 23, 1975)Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (June 27, 1977)Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc. (February 25, 1986)Bethel School District v. Fraser (July 7, 1986)Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (January 13, 1988)Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell (February 24, 1988)Texas v. Johnson (June 21, 1989)Reno v. ACLU (June 26, 1997)Russ Feingold's Speech on the PATRIOT Act (October 25, 2001)Garcetti v. Ceballos (May 30, 2006)Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association (June 27, 2011)Barack Obama's Statement after the Charlie Hebdo Attack (January 7, 2015)House Joint Resolution No. 48 (April 28, 2015)Reed v. Town of Gilbert (June 18, 2015)Timeline of EventsFurther ReadingIndexAbout the Author

This excellent resource could be used by individual student researchers and also by teachers wishing to spark critical thinking and rich discussion in the classroom. Recommended.