Class 10/29

First Amendment (basic)

Part of the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791; says “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech.”

Free Speech Before 1920s (U.S.)

Courts allowed suppression of speech seen as threatening, blasphemous, antisocial, or even just uncivil.

ACLU and Labor Movement (1920s)

ACLU lawyers defended free speech to help workers strike, organize, and build the labor movement.

Conservative Business Owners (1930s) & Free Speech

Used free speech as a legal tool to fight New Deal economic regulations.

ACLU–Conservative Alliance in the 1930s

Created internal conflict in the ACLU, but leaders believed protecting business speech was needed to protect picketing and boycotts too.

Instrumental Support for Free Speech

People and groups often support free speech because it helps their side, not because of a neutral principle.

Historically Oppressed Minorities – Pro Free Speech

Want freedom to criticize the status quo and call out injustice.

The Left – Pro Free Speech

Wants protection against abuse of power by the executive branch or the state.

The Right – Pro Free Speech

Wants protection from what they see as dominant left-wing control in culture and institutions.

Historically Oppressed Minorities – For Restrictions

May favor limits on hate speech to reduce hate crimes and harassment.

The Left – For Restrictions

May support limits on speech they see as harmful, hateful, or dangerous.

The Right – For Restrictions

May use executive power to push back against what they view as left-wing control over elite institutions (universities, media, etc.).

Partisan Nature of Free Speech Support

Support for free speech often shifts with who is in power and whose speech is at risk.

When Bipartisan Free Speech Support Exists

When speech on both sides is threatened, both left and right have a reason to defend it.

European Context (1848/1849)

Old monarchs and aristocratic elites face rising demands for democracy and socialism; riots and uprisings spread across Europe.

Goal of Early Hate Speech Laws (Europe)

Help rulers control political conflict and limit speech seen as dangerous to the state.

1849 Prussian Decree

King of Prussia bans “seeking publicly to incite hatred or contempt of members of the state against each other.”

1851 Prussian Criminal Code

Parliament adds the king’s hate-incitement ban into Prussia’s criminal code.

1871 German Unification

Unified Germany adopts the Prussian criminal code, including the hate-incitement rule.

Unequal Enforcement Against Socialists

The law is used more harshly against socialists who challenge the state.

Conservative Attempts in 1870s & 1890s

Conservatives try (and fail) to expand the law to ban attacks on marriage, family, and property—aimed at socialists.

Unequal Enforcement Against German Poles (1900s)

Law is used against German Poles who oppose the state and its Germanization policies.

German Jews Using the Law (1900s)

Jews who support the state use the hate speech law against antisemites, with some success.

Debate in 1920s–1933

Jewish groups want stronger hate speech protections; socialists oppose strengthening the law.

1950: Socialists Strengthen Hate Speech Law

After WWII, socialists reinforce and expand the hate speech law in Germany.