The nationalization of the First Amendment

The nationalization of the First Amendment from Jim Stovall on Vimeo.

During the 19th century, the First Amendment had not meant much to individual Americans. States still assumed enormous powers to restrict freedoms. But after World War I, a set of Supreme Court decisions – Gitlow v. New York and Near v. Minnesota – established the precedent that the First Amendment applied to states and to individuals. University of Tennessee professor Dwight Teeter discusses how these decisions came about.

Other discussions of the First Amendment on JPROF.com:

• How we got the First Amendment (video with Dr. Dwight Teeter)
• The First Amendment, Luther Baldwin and the Alien and Sedition Acts (video with Dr. Dwight Teeter)
• The nationalization of the First Amendment (video with Dr. Dwight Teeter)
• The First Amendment in times of crisis (video with Dr. Dwight Teeter)
• The First Amendment today (video with Dr. Dwight Teeter)