A. Beginnings
1. Life before the Bill of Rights/ Constitution
i. Independence ii. Constrained freedom of speech iii. Reprimands for violating constraints iv. Establishment of the Constitution/ Bill of Rights
v. Evolution into having freedom of speech, though the Bill of Rights
2. Details
i. King Henry VIII necessitates licensing for printing anything ii. Mary Dyer attempts to express her Quaker understandings, she is hung for doing so iii. Peter Zenger trial
1. Zenger publishes content that attacks William Cosby
2. He wins this trial
3. This triggers a discouragement in further prosecution concerning freedom of speech. iv. Seditious libel
1. Instigated chaos
2. Revolt and rebellion
3. History Class
i. We learned about King Henry VIII and his…show more content… Odious or Contemptible?
1. Big Ideas
i. Sedition Act (end) ii. Communication of opinion iii. Interpretation of the Constitution
2. Details
i. Sedition Act- said to protect the country from French terrorism (during the French Revolution of 1789) ii. Federalists vs. those who were pro- Jefferson iii. Matthew Lyon writes letter to Vermont journal
1. He said that the president was “engaged in a continual grasp for power”
2. Lyon was convicted and sentenced to four months in prison and a fine of $1000
3. Connection
i. In history a few years ago, we had to read, and analyze an article (http://mrnussbaum.com/history-2-2/trials_tribulations/ ) This article discusses many topics that this chapter revolved around.
4. ???
i. Didn’t the Sedition Act contradict the First Amendment?
C. As All Life Is an Experiment
1. Big Ideas
i. “Long silence” ii. Fourteenth amendment iii. Justice Holmes
2. Details
i. The first amendment was only for the federal government, rather than the states ii. The federal gov. had no laws restricting speech of publication from the end of the sedition act in 1801 until 1917 iii. First ten amendments cover only federal action iv. Fourteenth amendment- “no state could deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of