Author Description

This volume examines major challenges to the First Amendment using illustrative case studies of the various forms of governmental suppression in our history. Essays show that governmental forces have used rhetorical strategies in simple and sophisticated ways to silence opponents.By studying which strategies are effective, how they evolve, and how they are unmasked, we gain a better understanding to combat them in the future. The case studies include the crisis surrounding the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts, Abraham Lincoln's suspension of Habeas Corpus during the Civil War, the Radical Republican's revenge on he South during reconstruction, the marginalization of Native Americans throughout our history, the suppression of labor unions at the end of the nineteenth century, Senator Joseph McCarthy's allegations that the government had been infiltrated by Communists at the outset of the Cold War, and Lyndon Johnson's and Richard Nixon's strategies for silencing their opponents during the Vietnam War. The editor concludes the study by comparing and contrasting the various cases and the lessons that can be drawn from them.