The document from which the information has been obtained is “American Civil Liberties Union,” authored by Robert C. Cottrell. American Civil Liberties Union is an organization that was founded by Albert DeSilver, Roger Baldwin, and Crystal Eastman in 1920 in response to raids and arrests of anti-war activists by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. Robert C. Cottrell is a professor of History and American studies at California State University at Chico. He is also an author of many other books like smokejumpers of the civilian public service in World War II, Izzy: A biography of I.F Stone, Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘N’Roll, Modern American Lives individuals and issues in American History since 1945, All-American Rebels among others. Robert C. Cottrell was awarded an outstanding professor award in 1998-1999 by California State University.
The author focuses on the need for freedom for individuals (Foner 136), and civil liberties should apply equally to all Americans. An attack on the freedom of speech was considered a violation of the legal rights of Americans. The author argues that all matters of public concern should be expressed freely without interference (Foner 136) because social progress is achieved by unrestricted freedom of opinion. The author further argues that orderly progress can never be achieved when individuals are punished for their mere opinion on crucial matters. The author elucidates further that suppression of individuals’ opinions breeds violence and bloodshed, hence transforming.
The fight for civil liberties was initially published in the American civil liberties Union in 1921(Foner 136), focusing fight for freedom of speech. The American civil liberties union refers to separate entities that fight for the liberation of the oppressed in society. The document was published in 2000 and has inspired many generations about the significance of freedom of speech. The document’s audience is the Americans who have been oppressed for many years by the authorities by being denied the freedom of speech. The Americans have been sensitized about the importance of freedom of speech, the culture that needs to be passed from one generation to another.
The document focuses on the freedom that all Americans are entitled to in courtesy of the democratic movements in the 19th century. The authors argue that people should have the freedom of assembly and restrictions against meetings in public places, parades, and processions uplifted. Individuals have the right to picket during strikes (Foner 136); hence, peaceful picketing should be allowed and only regulated by court order, police edict, or injunction. The law should not infringe the right of the workers to strike and organize strikes, and compulsory arbitration should be condemned if it violates their rights.
All Americans should have the freedom of speech, and what individuals say should never be controlled. People should never be questioned for meeting and speaking freely because that would violate their rights. Individuals should never be prosecuted for expressing their opinions on crucial matters of public concern. Freedom can be termed to exist when all the above aspects are in play in American conditions today. The author outlines that there should be tolerance to expressing opinions (Foner 136), however radical. The government should set aside unique places in parks, streets or public buildings for public meetings. Furthermore, all Americans should be entitled to a free press. The post office should have no censorship over the mails at any time because all individuals have the right to privacy. The printed information should never be subjected to political censorship, and the government should not have control over the distribution of literature in meetings.
The author outlines that individuals should never be denied admission to the United States on the grounds of holding objectionable opinions. The existing restrictions against radicals of different beliefs from migrating to the United States should never be allowed. There should also be no deportation of aliens to express opinions or be a radical or revolutionary organization. Such action is deemed as the prosecution of citizens in their efforts to express their opinions. The aliens should not be deported for the perversion of the law unless it is a fraud case, and aliens should not be denied citizenship papers because of expressing their radical views or complaints in their labor. No arrests should be made to individuals without a warrant (Foner 136), and people charged with offenses have the right to a fair trial, and aid is essential for the poor who cannot afford to fund their appeal.
The author’s sentiments fit in with the contemporary issues because of the infringement of the freedom of expression for the individuals in some countries in the world. Whistleblowers are fired from organizations because of disclosing heinous acts. Such actions depict that oppression exists in society today because firing an employee for whistleblowing is a violation of freedom of expression. The document reveals that freedom of expression has been fought over the years since the 1920s (Foner 136), and the author’s passion for the interest of the Americans influenced the authorship of the document.
Work Cited
Chapter 20 Foner, Eric. Voices Of Freedom: A Documentary Reader Sixth Edition, Volume 2. 6th ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2019. P 134-141.