The Soul of the First Amendment

Unlike most other people around the world, even in democracies such as Canada and England, we Americans are free to speak our minds without government approval or oversight. The Constitution’s First Amendment and the law that has grown up under it ensures that right, even when the speech is politically controversial or otherwise offensive. Yet the battle to protect free speech is never finally won, as our campuses and courtrooms attest. And no one has done more in that battle to defend that right than Floyd Abrams, who has gone before the Supreme Court in cases ranging from the struggle over the Pentagon Papers to Citizens United and more, much more. With this new, accessible book, The Soul of the First Amendment, Abrams draws on a lifetime of experience defending our right to speak freely. Please join us for a discussion of this bedrock principle in our constitutional order.