When Frederick Douglass spoke in Boston, or when President Roosevelt outlined his Four Freedoms, neither could have imagined the extent to which free expression would change. It’s a question worth asking-and one, from my perspective, with no easy answer.īut what amazes me is that more than 240 years after our founding, and more than 150 years after Frederick Douglass’s stirring defense of the First Amendment, the freedom of speech is still vital to the functioning of our democracy. For example, on many college campuses today, students are testing and contesting where free speech ends and hate speech begins. Of course, free speech is not a panacea and while some speech allows us to confront injustice, there are plenty of instances when our speech can perpetuate injustice and harm. It’s no wonder that Frederick Douglass called free speech the “dread of tyrants.” He knew that, as he put it, “Thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, founded in injustice and wrong, are sure to tremble, if men are allowed to reason of righteousness, temperance and of a judgment to come in their presence.” Speech and reason are bulwarks against an unjust society. Without freedom of speech, there is no women’s suffrage or March on Washington, no marriage equality or Black Lives Matter or #MeToo movement. Without freedom of speech, we cannot cast our vote or call our representatives. Without freedom of speech, there is no preacher in the pulpit, no defense at a trial. It must come first because our right to speak freely is a prerequisite for all of our other freedoms-and for living in a free society. ![]() Constitution, and why it is the first freedom that President Roosevelt asserted in his iconic speech. This power to remake ourselves is partially why the freedom of speech is enshrined in the very first amendment to the U.S. We can address damages, tear down harmful walls, open new doors, and even restore a crumbling foundation. It was in their eyes, as in the eyes of all thoughtful men, the great moral renovator of society and government." 2 “Moral Renovator”: The power of free speechĪs the phrase “moral renovator” suggests, free speech gives us the tools to repair, update, and improve our society and its principles, the way one might consider rebuilding a home. He said: “No right was deemed by the fathers of the Government more sacred than the right of speech. ![]() In Boston’s storied Music Hall, Douglass delivered his iconic, timeless oration about the incident, and about the importance of the freedom of speech. So he did what anyone who seeks to defend free speech should do: he spoke up. The week before Douglass issued his plea, a meeting was scheduled in Boston to discuss what was, in 1860, a controversial question: “How Shall Slavery be Abolished?” But before the meeting could make any progress, it was “invaded, insulted, captured” by an unruly mob, who sought to silence the abolitionists.Īs Douglass explained, the mayor “refused to protect” the meeting-or the free speech of the abolitionists-and instead, simply cancelled it.īut Frederick Douglass knew the real danger the mob posed was not in their disorder, but in denying their fellow citizens the right to free speech. That line-and that speech-emerged from a rather unfortunate incident. ![]() In December 1860, the great American orator and former slave Frederick Douglass delivered one of his finest speeches, “A Plea for Free Speech in Boston.” In it, he boldly declared that “liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one’s thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist.”
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