Description:
During the nineteenth century, the popular concept of American freedom of speech was still being formed. In An Indispensable Liberty, contributors examine attempts to restrict freedom of speech and the press during and after the Civil War, chronicling the development of modern-day notions of free speech.
Brief description: Mary M. Cronin is an associate professor in the department of Journalism and Mass Communications at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. She is the co-author of The Mass Media: Invention, Development, Application, and Impact and has published numerous essays and articles.
Review Quotes: "As An Indispensable Liberty so clearly demonstrates, freedom of speech is one of the signal pillars of a healthy democracy. And yet, though this freedom is proclaimed by the First Amendment, many judicial, political, and sociocultural issues had to be addressed in the nineteenth century before it could be reified as legal right. In sum, this worthy volume's underlying narrative is the ongoing challenges to the voices of a nation yearning to be truly free."-- David Abrahamson, Northwestern University
"An Indispensable Liberty's strong contribution to our knowledge of the fight for freedom of expression in the nineteenth century and the quality of its scholarship will be welcomed by a number of audiences."-- David B. Sachsman, director of the Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression and holder of the West Chair of Excellence in Communication and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga " An Indispensable Liberty relates valuable stories of how individual journalists coped with all manner of official and public hostility to their dedicated pursuit of free expression."--Civil War Book Review