The First Freedom: The Tumultuous History of Free Speech in America

Opposite Ends: Why the United States and Singapore have Drastically Different Models of Free Speech

“…182 Even by 1918, the First Amendment had generated almost no public debate since the rati cation debate in 1791, and both the public and the Bar had a relatively hazy understanding of the law. 183 Until Cohen v. California(1971), 184 "The Supreme Court itself had never ruled in favor of a free speech claim and lower courts had approved all manner of speech restrictions including the censorship of books and lms, the prohibition of street corner speeches, and asserted bans on labor protests, profanity, and commercial advertising." 185 Further, federal courts rarely entertained First Amendment cases because, until Gitlow v. New York 186 in 1925, it was widely accepted that the First Amendment did not apply to state governments.…”

“…Charles Schenck, the general secretary of the American Socialist Party, was convicted under the Espionage Act for attempting to cause insubordination among men drafted for the military. 203 In his lea ets, which were mailed directly to drafted men, he argued that the Conscription Act was unconstitutional and, therefore drafted men had the right to oppose the act. 204 Justice Holmes was assigned to write the majority opinion, ruling unanimously in favor of the government to uphold the conviction.…”

“…240 Similarly to the other speech cases brought before the Court that year (Schenck, Debs, and Frohwerk), in Abrams V. United States, 241 the defendants were convicted for printing and distributing lea ets that encouraged resistance to the US war e ort. 242 Scholar David Dewberry writes that "In Abrams v. United States, Jacob Abrams' actions are strikingly similar to Schenck's," 243 however, instead of mailing the lea ets directly to drafted men, such as in the case of Schenk, Abrams indiscriminately threw lea ets out of windows in New York City. 244 The lea ets, printed in both English and Yiddish, advocated for munition factory workers to stop "producing bullets, bayonets, cannons, to murder not only the Germans but also your dearest best who are in Russia and are ghting for freedom."…”