Martin Luther's 95 Theses
The Magna Carta -- signed by King John in 1215, established the principal of a fundamental law which even the King could not abrogate. (For historical background on the Magna Carta, click here.)
Areopagitica by John Milton -- written in 1644, the first extended defense of free speech
Milton's Areopagitica and the Modern First Amendment -- speech given by Columbia University law professor Vincent Blasi
The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce (1643) -- Milton argues that people should be able to get divorced on the basis of incompatibility. When the state refused his license to publish this tract, he wrote Areopagitica
Leviathan (1651) -- Thomas Hobbes sets out the idea of the "social contract"
Second Treatise on Government by John Locke (1690)
John Locke's Letter Concerning Toleration (1689)
Tractatus Theologico-Politicus ("A Theological - Political Treatise") by Baruch Spinoza (1670). See especially Chapter 20, which is entitled "That in a Free State Every Man May Think What He Likes, and Say What He Thinks."
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John Stuart Mill |
On Liberty (1859) by John Stuart Mill -- complete text of the classic. (file takes a long time to load, but it's worth the wait); Pay special attention to chapter 2, which is devoted to freedom of expression
John Stuart Mill on Free Speech -- a short but useful student project containing quotes from Mill on the subject of speech Utilitarianism (1863) by J.S. Mill -- while not strictly a defense of speech, Mill explains his political philosophy |
Electronic Fronteir Foundation -- this group is focused on freedom of expression issues as they relate to cyberspace. This organization spearheaded the "Blue Ribbon Campaign," a campaign against the Communications Decency Act.
"The First Amendment on the Information Superhighway" -- from Harvard Law Review (1994)
Censorship by America On-Line -- a discussion of how AOL's customer agreement places limits on speech
Choice in Free Speech -- this group advocates self-regulation on the Internet, and asks that web site authors include warnings (similar to motion-picture ratings) indicating the appropriate age for viewing web sites
Banned Web Sites -- the Electronic Fronteir Foundation believes that if an "indecency" standard is adopted for the Internet, web sites like the ones listed on their site could be banned, like Michaelangelo's David, Huckleberry Finn, and many others
Oral Argument in Reno v. ACLU -- read the transcript of oral argument held before the Supreme Court in this case in which it declared the Communications Decency Act unconstitutional
First Amendment Cyber-Tribune -- a on-line newspaper devoted to issues related to free expression on the Internet. Great source of info.
Center for Democracy and Technology -- a non-profit public interest organization based in Washington, DC. that works for public policies that advance civil liberties and democratic values in new computer and communications technologies. If you're into free speech in cyberspace, this is a fantastic site!
Internet Library Act of 1998 -- sponsored by John McCain (R-AZ), would require schools and libraries receiving federal funds for their computers to install "filters" to limit access by children to pornography and other material.
The Internet and Free Speech -- this is an argument from a Christian perspective
The Censorship Pages -- collects information about on-line censorship
The Pentagon Papers 
-- read excerpts from the papers that led to New York Times v.U.S.. See what all the fuss was about
Freedom of the Press: An Annotated Bibliography -- this site is an incredible list of scholarly and popular writings about freedom of the press
The Most Frequently Banned Books, 1990 - 1992
Banned Books On-line -- Fantastic Site!!! Not only does this site tell you which books have been banned, but it provides links to on-line copies of those readings. Read these banned classics for free! See what the fuss is about.
Censored Editorial Cartoons -- this site contains information about editorial cartoonists banned by governments around the world, along with examples of their work Has cartoons from South America, North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Kurt Vonnegut Speaks About Censorship
Institute for First Amendment Studies -- liberal group with a focus on all aspects of the First Amendment, including freedoms of religion and association
United Nations Declaration of Human Rights
People for the American Way -- this site highlights this liberal groups efforts in defense of freedom of expression
First Amendment Lawyers Association -- " FALA is an organization of lawyers dedicated to the defense of the
First Amendment of the United States Constitution, and who represent clients in anti-censorship matters."
The National Coalition Against Censorship
Public Speech -- a speech given by Thomas F. Green of Syracuse University
The Freedom Forum -- fantastic site that provides comprehensive and updated news about threats to First Amendment freedoms
Family Research Council -- a conservative advocacy group that seeks restrictions on offensive material
American Civil Liberties Union -- organization devoted to the vigorous defense of the Bill of Right. Site contains information on every conceivable topic. See especially their free speech page
| The Flag Burning Page -- this page contains an argument against the constitutional amendment to ban flag burning. Site also allows you to burn a virtual flag. |  |
Foodspeak Coalition for Free Speech -- formed in response to the proliferation of "veggie libel" laws, this group fights for the right of consumer-rights groups to speak about environmental and health threats potentially posed by foods
Free Speech Movement Archives -- this site is a history of the Berkeley free speech movement of the 1960s, including images of original leaflets, writings by Mario Savio, pictures, and more
Harassment Law and Free Speech Doctrine -- this essay by UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh argues that our laws against sexual harassment violate the free speech clause of the Constitution
Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression -- what more do you need to know?
The Free Speech Museum -- a collection of writings about free speech
Campaign Reform and Free Speech -- a nice collection of documents and essays regarding the constitutional dimensions of the campaign finance reform debate
SJSU Academic Senate Statement on Speech and Diversity
