Ashutosh BhagwatCambridge University Press, 6/4/2020EAN 9781108723671, ISBN10: 1108723675Paperback, 174 pages, 22.6 x 15.6 x 0.9 cmLanguage: EnglishThe First Amendment to the US Constitution protects free speech, freedom of the press, freedom of association and assembly, and the right to petition the government. Why did the Framers protect these particular rights? What role were these rights intended to play in our democracy? And what force do they retain in today's world? In this highly readable account, Ashutosh Bhagwat explores the answers to these questions. The first part of the book looks at the history of the First Amendment, early political conflicts over its meaning, and the lessons to be learned from those events about the nature of our system of government. The second part applies those lessons to our modern, fractious democracy as it has evolved in the age of the Internet and social media. Now as then, the key to maintaining that democracy, it turns out, is an active citizenry that fully embraces the First Amendment.IntroductionPart I. The Framers' Democrocratic First Amendment1. Freedom of speech and of the press2. Assembly and association3. The petition clause4. Cognate rights and democratic citizenshipPart II. The Democratic First Amendment in the Age of Twitter5. Cacophonyspeech and press in the Internet era6. DeSiloingof civic associations, book clubs, and taverns7. Why assembly and petition still matterConclusion.
