از حملات پالمر تا قانون پاتریوت: تاریخچه‌ای از مبارزه برای آزادی بیان در آمریکا

After Upton Sinclair, famed author of The Jungle, was arrested for reading the First Amendment on Liberty Hill in 1923, The Nation commented: “When we contemplate the antics of the chief of police of Los Angeles, we are deterred from characterizing him as an ass only through fear that such a comparison would lay us open to damages from every self-respecting donkey.” In this lively history of our most fundamental and perhaps most vulnerable right, Chris Finan traces the lifeline of free speech from the War on Terror back to the turn of the last century.During the YMCA’s 1892 Suppression of Vice campaign, muttonchopped moralist Anthony Comstock railed against writings by that “Irish smut dealer” George Bernard Shaw. In the midst of the country’s first Red Scare, the government rounded up thousands of Russian Americans for deportation during the Palmer raids. Decades later, a second Red Scare gripped the country as Senator Joseph McCarthy spearheaded a witch-hunt for “egg-sucking liberals” who defended “Communists and queers.”Finan’s dramatic review of such touchstones as the Scopes trial and Edward R. Murrow’s challenge to Joseph McCarthy are revelatory; many of his narratives are entirely fresh and have as much relevance to our post–PATRIOT Act world as his final chapter on the twenty-first century. The story of the fight for free speech, in times of war and peace—when writers, publishers, booksellers, and librarians are often on the front lines—is essential reading."Christopher Finan has given us a marvelously readable account of the struggle for free speech in the United States. Beginning with the birth of the American civil liberties movement during World War I, Finan traces the often grueling battles over free speech in wartime, book censorhip, McCarthyism, and freedom of the press that have marked the gradual evolution of American freedom. It is a story every American should know, for it is our nation's greatest achievement." —Geoffrey R. Stone, author of Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from The Sedition Act of 1798 to The War on Terrorism"The Founding Fathers gave us the First Amendment, but we have had to fight for free speech. Radicals, reactionaries, feminists, religious zealots, African Americans, Klansmen, college students, even schoolchildren, have played a role in expanding free speech. They are all present in Chris Finan's colorful narrative, which shows how much progress we have made-and how far we have to go." —Nadine Strossen, President of the American Civil Liberties Union and Professor of Law, New York Law School“In this masterful work, Chris Finan deftly chronicles the challenges to free speech in the twentieth century; an accessible, thought provoking history that not only informs, but also engages the reader.” —Joyce Meskis, Owner, Tattered Cover Book Store, Denver"Concisely detailed and researched, From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act reads like high powered fiction. Characters as diverse as Roger Baldwin, Bernie Sanders, Allen Ginsberg, Fatty Arbuckle, Jane Russell, Anthony Comstock, John Ashcroft and Dwight Eisenhower share the stage to tell the tale of a nation at odds with its Puritan heritage. A timely addition to bookshelves as the United States wrestles with issues of privacy and personal freedoms in an age of terrorism tied to an unpopular war." —Kenton Oliver, Intellectual Freedom Committee Chair, the American Library Association “American history is marred by recurrent episodes of hate—Red scares, super-patriotism, fear of sexual expression. Christopher Finan brilliantly paints that record, and shows how courageous Americans have fought for freedom.” —Anthony Lewis, author of Gideon's Trumpet and Make No Law"At a time when America’s freedoms and liberties are under attack in Washington, Finan’s book is a powerful reminder of why we must carry on the fight to preserve the central underpinning of the American democratic system—the right to free andd uncensored discourse." —Senator Bernie Sanders“Unlike many commentators, Finan treats the villains fairly, presenting them not as wild-eyed fanatics but as people who thought they were doing what was right. The book is a welcome and much-needed change from the simplistic good-versus-evil treatment this subject often gets. Could be the definitive study of a perpetually complex, contentious issue.” —Booklist, starred review“This is one of the most important—and readable—books written about the price of freedom in a democracy. Do we want to pay for our freedom and security with our free speech? Timely and urgent, this is an essential book for citizens, politicians, and government officials to read and embrace.” —Alicia Greene, Olsson's Books & Records, Washington, DC“From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act is a nicely paced history with a list of fascinating characters...a well-researched and analytical study oof the persistent arguments Americans have had regarding the Firsssst Amendment.” —Dennis Lythgoe, Deseret Morning News“Finan’s engaging book is a work of many well-told stories, all true... Christopher Finan does an admirable job in revealing how America’s most fundamental freedom has too often become its most vulnerable one. From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act is a book to be read and discussed by freedom-loving Americans and by teachers, too. For there—in the classroom—is where Finan’s free-speech stories most need to be read ... and remembered.” —Ronald K.L. Collins, www.firstamendmentcenter.org Chris Finan is the president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression and the chair of the National Coalition Against Censorship. He is also the author of Alfred E. Smith: The Happy Warrior. Finan lives in Brooklyn, New York. Christopher M. Finan received Eli M. Oboler Memorial Award for 2008. The award is presented for the best published work in the area of intellectual freedom. Eligible books were published between 2006 and 2007.

In 1919, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer launched a government roundup of thousands of Russian immigrants and deported 800 of them for their radical ideas, a flagrant violation of First Amendment rights. Decades later, a second Red Scare gripped the United States as Senator Joseph McCarthy spearheaded a witch-hunt for Russian agents while sneering at "egg-sucking liberals" who defended "Communists and queers."

The nearly century-long battle between heresy hunters and civil libertarians makes the story of free speech in this country a colorful one, filled with dramatic episodes and larger-than-life personalities. Historian and free-speech advocate Christopher Finan introduces us to a cast of characters as varied as a young G.I. named Hugh Hefner and the ever-vigilant Emma Viets, chair of the Kansas City censorship board, who cheerfully cut scenes that weren't "clean and wholesome" from Hollywood films, shortening onscreen kisses and excluding any image of a woman "in the family way."
This history has enormous relevance in post-Patriot Act America. At a time when government is warning citizens and the press to watch what they say, the words of Murray I. Gurfein, a judge from another era, have special resonance: "The security of the Nation is not at the ramparts alone. Security also lies in the value of our free institutions. A cantankerous press, an obstinate press, a ubiquitous press must be suffered by those in authority in order to preserve the even greater values of freedom of expression and the right of the people to know."

From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act traces the fight for free speech from the turn of the nineteenth century through the War on Terror. Christopher Finan has given us a vital history of our most fundamental, and most vulnerable, constitutional right.

Chris FinanFrom the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act: A History of the Fight for Free Speech in AmericaThe first comprehensive history of the evolution of free speech in America for a general readership, from a respected historian and free speech activist.After Upton Sinclair, famed author of The Jungle, was arrested for reading the First Amendment on Liberty Hill in 1923, The Nation commented: "When we contemplate the antics of the chief of police of Los Angeles, we are deterred from characterizing him as an ass only through fear that such a comparison would lay us open to damages from every self-respecting donkey". In this lively history of our most fundamental and perhaps most vulnerable right, Chris Finan traces the lifeline of free speech from the War on Terror back to the turn of the last century.During the YMCA’s 1892 Suppression of Vice campaign, muttonchopped moralist Anthony Comstock railed against writings by that "Irish smut dealer" George Bernard Shaw. In the midst of the country’s first Red Scare, the government rounded up thousands of Russian Americans for deportation during the Palmer raids. Decades later, a second Red Scare gripped the country as Senator Joseph McCarthy spearheaded a witch-hunt for "egg-sucking liberals" who defended "Communists and queers."Finan’s dramatic review of such touchstones as the Scopes trial and Edward R. Murrow’s challenge to Joseph McCarthy are revelatory; many of his narratives are entirely fresh and have as much relevance to our post–PATRIOT Act world as his final chapter on the twenty-first century. The story of the fight for free speech, in times of war and peace — when writers, publishers, booksellers, and librarians are often on the front lines — is essential reading. Introduction -- -- ch. 1. Ground zero -- -- ch. 2. Mob rule, 1921-1930 -- -- ch. 3. Banned in Boston -- -- ch. 4. The court takes a hand -- -- ch. 5. The second Red scare -- -- ch. 6. The fight for artistic freedom, 1945-1966 -- -- ch. 7. Let the sunshine in -- -- ch. 8. The counterattack, 1970-2002 -- 9/11 -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Index.