Topic: Free Speech

Feb 17,

1917

Senators Denounce Proposed Espionage Bill as War Is Imminent

Jul 16,

1917

“War’s Heretics” – Norman Thomas Makes Historic Plea for the Value of Heresy, Dissent in a Democracy

Sep 16,

1917

Pacifists Arrested for Protesting WW I, Celebrating the Constitution

Sep 14,

1918

Eugene Debs Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Anti-War Speech

Jan 21,

1919

NY Lusk Committee Seeks to Drive Out “Red Periodicals”

Mar 10,

1919

Debs Conviction For Anti-War Speech Upheld by Supreme Court

May 1,

1919

California Criminal Syndicalism Law Takes Effect

Dec 13,

1920

Brandies Dissents as Supreme Court Upholds Minnesota Conviction of Anti-War Leader

Jan 14,

1922

Academic Freedom Commission Advocates Restrictions on Professors’ Speech !!

Aug 12,

1922

Groups Launch “War on Censorship”

Feb 10,

1924

Police in Wilkes-Barre, PA Block Radicals’ Meeting

May 14,

1928

Roger Baldwin’s Conviction Overturned by New Jersey High Court

Jan 15,

1929

Martin Luther King, Jr. is Born

Mar 16,

1931

Rep. Hamilton Fish Denounces ACLU For Defending “All Revolutionary Elements” in the U.S.

Apr 30,

1934

Free Speech for Nazis? ACLU Says Yes

Jun 8,

1935

Young Nazi Guilty of Posting Inflammatory Sign; Hate Speech Controversy Ahead

Feb 17,

1939

NYC Mayor La Guardia Allows Huge German-American Bund Rally

Dec 5,

1941

New Jersey “Race Hatred” Law Held Unconstitutional

Feb 20,

1943

Saturday Evening Post Publishes Iconic Norman Rockwell Illustration: “Freedom of Speech”

Nov 18,

1943

Liberal, Racial Minority, and Labor Groups Urge Post Office Ban on Hate Mail

Jan 8,

1945

Supreme Court Strikes Down Texas Restriction on Labor Union Organizing

Apr 28,

1952

Supreme Court Upholds Illinois “Group Libel” Law

Jan 12,

1956

Erotica Publisher Samuel Roth is Convicted of Obscenity, Heads to Supreme Court

Jun 30,

1960

NYCLU to Defend Free Speech Rights of Top American Nazi

Jun 9,

1961

Berkeley Bans Activist Student Organization — Free Speech Movement Ahead

Nov 19,

1961

Rash of Speaker Bans at City University in New York City, Hits Left, Right Speakers

Jan 2,

1962

Weavers Refuse to Sign Loyalty Oath – Are Banned by NBC

Mar 9,

1964

“Uninhibited, Robust, and Wide-Open:” The Meaning of the First Amendment

Sep 16,

1964

Berkeley Bans Off-Campus Political Advocacy on Campus, Sparks Free Speech Movement

Dec 2,

1964

Free Speech Movement Historic Moment – Mario Savio Denounces “The System”

Jan 4,

1965

Free Speech Movement Hold First “Legal” Rally

Feb 15,

1965

ACLU Criticizes Planned HUAC Investigation of KKK

Jan 15,

1967

Let’s Spend “Some Time” Together – Rolling Stones Censor Themselves on Ed Sullivan Show

Apr 26,

1968

“Fuck the Draft” – Robert Paul Cohen Arrested

Aug 15,

1973

ACLU Backs Klan’s Right to Meet in Public Park

Oct 4,

1976

Nazi Group Requests Skokie Demonstration Permit – National Controversy Erupts

May 22,

1978

7th Circuit Affirms Nazi Free Speech Rights in Skokie

Jul 9,

1978

Nazis Skip Skokie – Demonstrate in Chicago Instead

Nov 17,

1981

CBS Broadcasts Docudrama on Skokie Free Speech Controversy

Dec 25,

1981

Georgia School Board Allows Klan Meeting in Building – ACLU Applauds

Oct 1,

1985

Annual Free Speech Day in California: Commemorates Free Speech Movement

Jun 8,

1992

Court Upholds Professor’s Free Speech Rights on African-American Inferiority

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