In Defense of American Liberties, Second Edition

In Defense of American Liberties, Second Edition

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SKU: 9780809322701
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Description

This updated comprehensive history of the American Civil Liberties Union recounts the ACLU’s stormy history since its founding in 1920 to fight for free speech and explores its involvement in some of the most famous causes in American history, including the Scopes “monkey trial,” the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, the Cold War anti-Communist witch hunts, and the civil rights movement. The new introduction covers the history of the organization and developments in civil liberties in the 1990s, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s declaration of the Communications Decency Act as unconstitutional in ACLU v. Reno.

Samuel Walker is Kiewit Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is the author of ten books, most recently The Rights Revolution: Community and Rights in America.
“This book is more than a compelling history of the ACLU. It is the fascinating story of America’s most exciting legal struggles and of rights reviled in one era and vindicated in the next.” —Eleanor Holmes Norton
“[A] marvelous history of the ACLU. It made me relive some of my past life and taught me things I had either forgotten or never knew.” —William Kunstler
“[A] fusion of masterful scholarship with libertarian thinking. An indispensable access to the very essence of American ethos.”—JerzyKosinski“The story is so dramatic it sometimes tells itself.”—New York Times Book Review“A definitive history . . . written tightly and well.”—Washington Post Book World“A rich, textured history of the ACLU . . . brings the group and its members to life. . . . Walker’s discussion of anticommunism within the ACLU is one of the best examples of his own lack of bias and his willingness to present the organization’s history, warts and all.”—Harvard Law Review

Additional information

Weight 1 oz
Dimensions 1 × 6 × 9 in