Table of Contents
The Law and Free Speech
The legal landscape for free speech was defined by the Supreme Court over the past century. This lesson explores the landmark cases and legal reasoning behind the strong speech protections that Americans uniquely enjoy, while correcting some common misconceptions. Topics include the importance of tolerating critical dissent in a democracy, the value of clashing opinions, and the reasons for responding to offensive speech with more speech, not censorship.
The purpose of this prepared curriculum is to provide teachers with a ready-made resource to instruct students in the principles of the First Amendment and—specifically — Freedom of Speech. It is designed to help students understand the origins and reasons for their First Amendment protections, current threats to them, and the reasons why these rights are worth defending. This curriculum is arranged in 5 lessons and each lesson centers on a PowerPoint presentation that is also available in lecture note form.
The lessons are:
- Philosophy of Free Speech
- Speech, Power, and Censorship in American History
- The Law and Free Speech
The lessons are designed to be used together sequentially or separately and individually. The PowerPoint files are fully editable, so you can add or remove slides, change the background, or incorporate other information according to your preferences. You will also find accompanying supplemental materials, including activities, handouts, standards & learning objectives, test questions, critical thinking and discussion questions, videos, and additional recommended resources.
1: Philosophy of Free Speech
This module covers the philosophical underpinnings that influenced our Founders and led to the writing of the First Amendment. Includes texts from John Milton, John Locke, Cato’s Letters, and John Stuart Mill.
2: Speech, Power, and Censorship in American History
This module looks at some familiar historical topics through a free speech lens. Includes discussion of Abolition, Suffrage, and Civil Rights and includes a reading from Frederick Douglass and introduction to a few key First Amendment Supreme Court Decisions.
3: The Law and Free Speech
This module explains the legal exceptions to freedom of speech and the different speech limits between public and private schools and high school and college. It includes activities to practice identifying what speech is protected and what is unprotected.