Free speech doctrine strengthened across the twentieth century despite wartime repression

Evidence

In general, the concept of free speech, despite the outrages of the McCarthy period, showed considerable legal strength. Wars raged in Vietnam, and in Iraq, and in Afghanistan, but there were no new sedition and espionage acts. And the Supreme Court, in fact, expanded the concept of free speech, in areas that had little or nothing to do with high politics. Here, too, there was a sharp difference between the early and the late twentieth century. In the early years of the century, many states and cities subjected the new craze, the motion picture, to strict censorship. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 3998

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: WWI repression of dissent pushed Progressive jurists toward stronger speech protections — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 168; Quoting Holocaust-denial precedent highlighted selective application of free speech law; Repression and war are twin hypotheses about power’s mechanisms — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 36

Broader Connections

• WWI repression of dissent pushed Progressive jurists toward stronger speech protections #corroborates (0.90) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 168
• Repression and war are twin hypotheses about power’s mechanisms #qualifies (0.85) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 36
• Quoting Holocaust-denial precedent highlighted selective application of free speech law #exemplifies (0.80)