Ep. 170 Free speech and the American Founding

This Saturday, Sept. 17, is Constitution Day. It was on this day
in 1787 that delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed
America’s Constitution. And while the First Amendment was not
ratified until 1791, discussions over the role of free speech and
expression in a democratic society were alive long before then.


Pepperdine University professor and author Gordon Lloyd joins the
show this week to explore how the American conception of free
speech came to be, from the colonial era to the ratification of
the Bill of Rights.

Drawing from over 40 years of research, Lloyd discusses examples
of free speech and expression during the founding, ranging from
1641, when the Massachusetts Body of Liberties — the earliest
known protection of free speech in the colonies — was published;
to 1776, when free speech aided the decision to declare
independence from Great Britain; to the late 1780s, when
federalist and anti-federalist publications sparked, in Lloyd’s
words, “the greatest pamphlet war the world has ever seen.”


Show notes:


Transcript

The Bill of Rights Online Exhibit on AmericanFounding.org

“The Essential Bill of Rights: Original Arguments and
Fundamental Documents” edited by Gordon Lloyd and Margie Lloyd

The Federalist Papers by James Madison, John Jay, and
Alexander Hamilton and edited by George W. Carey and James
McClellan

“The Essential Antifederalists” edited by William B. Allen
and Gordon Lloyd

“Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787” by James Madison
and edited by Gordon Lloyd

“Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media” by
Jacob Mchangama



www.sotospeakpodcast.com


YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/c/SotoSpeakTheFreeSpeechPodcast
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freespeechtalk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sotospeakpodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freespeechtalk/
Email us: sotospeak@thefire.org