How Free Speech Saved Democracy

The Untold History of How the First Amendment Became an Essential Tool for Securing Liberty and Social Justice

Foreword by Randall Kennedy

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“A historical demonstration of the indispensability of the First Amendment [and] … an earnest and timely argument for [its] enduring value.” —Kirkus Reviews

"Great storytelling about the history and importance of the First Amendment, from someone who has spent his life defending — and using — it." —Mary Beth Tinker

Free speech is not an obstacle to change: it is the way change happens

Uncovering vivid and engaging stories about First Amendment pioneers, How Free Speech Saved Democracy shows how their struggle made possible the surging protests that aim to expand democracy today.

How Free Speech Saved Democracy is a revealing reminder that First Amendment rights have often been curtailed in efforts to block progress, and that current measures to reduce hurtful language and to end hate speech could…

$22.95

April 26, 2022

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Christopher M. Finan has been involved in the fight against censorshiop for 35 years. He is executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship and the former president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. After working as a newspaper reporter, he studied American history at Columbia University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1992. He is the author of Alfred E. Smith: The Happy Warrior, Drunks: An American History, and From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act: A History of the Fight for Free Speech in America, winner of the American Library Association’s Eli M. Oboler Award.