Parties: United States v. Rumely
Date: 1953-03-09
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Paragraph: 34 - The command that 'Congress shall make no law * * * abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press' has behind it a long history. It expresses the confidence that the safety of society depends on the tolerance of government for hostile as well as friendly criticism, that in a community where men's minds are free, there must be room for the unorthodox as well as the orthodox views.
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Phrase match: the freedom of speech, or of
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Paragraph: 34 - N41* We have here a publisher who through books and pamphlets seeks to reach the minds and hearts of the American people. He is different in some respects from other publishers. But the differences are minor. Like the publishers of newspapers, magazines, or books, this publisher bids for the minds of men in the market place of ideas. The aim of the historic struggle for a free press was N42* 'to establish and preserve the right of the English people to full information in respect of the doings or misdoings of their government.'
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Phrase match: the right of the English people
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Paragraph: 34 - The aim of the historic struggle for a free press was N22* 'to establish and preserve the right of the English people to full information in respect of the doings or misdoings of their government.' Grosjean v. American Press Co., 297 U.S. 233, 247, 56 S.Ct. 444, 448, 80 L.Ed. 660. That is the tradition behind the First Amendment. Censorship or previous restraint is banned. Near v. State of Minnesota ex rel. Olson, 283 U.S. 697, 51 S.Ct. 625, 75 L.Ed. 1357. Discriminatory taxation is outlawed. Grosjean v. American Press Co., supra. The privilege of pamphleteering, as well as the more orthodox types of publications, may neither be licensed, Lovell v. City of Griffin, 303 U.S. 444, 58 S.Ct. 666, 82 L.Ed. 949, nor taxed. Murdock v. Com. of Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105, 63 S.Ct. 870, 87 L.Ed. 1292. Door to door distribution is privileged. Martin v. City of Struthers, 319 U.S. 141, 63 S.Ct. 862, 87 L.Ed. 1313. These are illustrative of the preferred position granted speech and the press by the First Amendment. The command that 'Congress shall make no law * * * abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press' has behind it a long history. It expresses the confidence that the safety of society depends on the tolerance of government for hostile as well as friendly criticism, that in a community where men's minds are free, there must be room for the unorthodox as well as the orthodox views.
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Phrase match: the First Amendment. Censorship or previous restraint
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Paragraph: 35 - If the present inquiry were sanctioned the press would be subjected to harassment that in practical effect might be as serious as censorship. A publisher, compelled to register with the federal government, would be subjected to vexatious inquiries. A requirement that a publisher disclose the identity of those who buy his books, pamphlets, or papers is indeed the beginning of surveillance of the press. True, no legal sanction is involved here. Congress has imposed no tax, established no board of censors, instituted no licensing system. But the potential restraint is equally severe. The finger of government leveled against the press is omnious. Once the government can demand of a publisher the names of the purchasers of his publications, the free press as we know it disappears.
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Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: as serious as censorship. A publisher, compelled
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