Free Speech League
Encyclopedia
The Free Speech League was a progressive organization in the United States, in the first two decades of the twentieth century, that fought to support freedom of speech
in the early years of the twentieth century. The League focused on combatting government censorship, particularly relating to political speech and sexual material.
, his son Edward Bond Foote, Emma Goldman
, and Theodore Schroeder
. Other free speech advocates of that era included Ezra Heywood
, Ben Reitman
, Moses Harman
, and D. M. Bennett
. The league was formed in 1902, and advocates published several polemics during the years 1900 to 1910. The League was officially incorporated on April 7, 1911 in Albany, NY. The league's charter included the goal: "by all lawful means to oppose every form of government censorship over any method for the expression, communication or transmission of ideas,... and to promote such legislative enactments and constitutional amendments, state and national, as will secure these ends."
One of the primary targets of the League was the Comstock Laws. After the Civil War, a social purity movement
grew in strength, aimed at outlawing vice
in general, and prostitution
and obscenity
in particular. Composed primarily of Protestant moral reformers and middle-class women, the Victorian-era campaign also attacked contraception
, which was viewed as an immoral
practice which promoted prostitution and venereal disease. A leader of the purity movement was Anthony Comstock
, a postal inspector
who successfully lobbied for the passage of the 1873 Comstock Act, a federal law prohibiting mailing of any material deemed to be obscene or related to sex in any way. Many states also passed similar state laws (collectively known as the Comstock laws), sometimes extending the federal law by outlawing the use of contraceptives, as well as their distribution. Comstock was proud of the fact that he was personally responsible for thousands of arrests and the destruction of hundreds of tons of books and pamphlets.
When an English anarchist named John Turner
was arrested under the Anarchist Exclusion Act and threatened with deportation, Emma Goldman
joined forces with the Free Speech League to champion his cause. The league enlisted the aid of Clarence Darrow
and Edgar Lee Masters
, who took Turner's case to the US Supreme Court. Although Turner and the League lost, Goldman considered it a victory of propaganda
. She had returned to anarchist activism, but it was taking its toll on her. "I never felt so weighed down," she wrote to Berkman. "I fear I am forever doomed to remain public property and to have my life worn out through the care for the lives of others."
Margaret Sanger
supported the cause of free speech throughout her career, with a zeal comparable to her support for birth control. Sanger grew up in a home where iconoclastic orator Robert Ingersoll
was admired. During the early years of her activism, Sanger viewed birth control primarily as a free-speech issue, rather than a feminist issue, and when she started publishing The Woman Rebel in 1914, she did so with the express goal of provoking a legal challenge to the Comstock laws banning dissemination of information about contraception. In New York, Emma Goldman introduced Sanger to members of the Free Speech League, such as Edward Bliss Foote
and Theodore Schroeder
, and subsequently the League provided funding and advice to help Sanger with legal battles.
Around 1917 to 1919 the League gradually disbanded.
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
in the early years of the twentieth century. The League focused on combatting government censorship, particularly relating to political speech and sexual material.
History
The League's main advocates included Edward Bliss FooteEdward Bliss Foote
Edward Bliss Foote was an American doctor and author writing about family and social issues and a pioneering advocate in birth control. He was a co-founder of the Free Speech League....
, his son Edward Bond Foote, Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the twentieth century....
, and Theodore Schroeder
Theodore Schroeder
Theodore Schroeder was a controversial author who wrote on issues pertaining to freedom of expression. Schroeder was perhaps one of the first authors to challenge the state of freedom of speech in the United States, claiming that the US government may be a tyranny and that the way Americans view...
. Other free speech advocates of that era included Ezra Heywood
Ezra Heywood
Ezra Heywood was a 19th century North American individualist anarchist, slavery abolitionist, and feminist.-Philosophy:Heywood saw what he believed to be a disproportionate concentration of capital in the hands of a few as the result of a selective extension of government-backed privileges to...
, Ben Reitman
Ben Reitman
Ben Lewis Reitman was an American anarchist and physician to the poor . He is best remembered today as radical Emma Goldman's lover.Reitman was a flamboyant, eccentric character...
, Moses Harman
Moses Harman
Moses Harman was an American schoolteacher and publisher notable for his staunch support for women's rights. He was prosecuted under the Comstock Law for content published in his anarchist periodical Lucifer the Lightbearer. He was arrested and jailed multiple times for publishing allegedly...
, and D. M. Bennett
D. M. Bennett
DeRobigne Mortimer Bennett was the founder and publisher of The Truth Seeker, a radical freethought and reform American periodical. Bennett was a devout member of the Shakers for 13 years before evolving into a "freethinker", founding The Truth Seeker newspaper in 1873...
. The league was formed in 1902, and advocates published several polemics during the years 1900 to 1910. The League was officially incorporated on April 7, 1911 in Albany, NY. The league's charter included the goal: "by all lawful means to oppose every form of government censorship over any method for the expression, communication or transmission of ideas,... and to promote such legislative enactments and constitutional amendments, state and national, as will secure these ends."
One of the primary targets of the League was the Comstock Laws. After the Civil War, a social purity movement
Social purity movement
The social purity movement was a late nineteenth century social movement that sought to abolish prostitution and other sexual activities then considered immoral. Composed primarily of women, the movement was active in English-speaking nations from the late 1860s to about 1910, exerting an...
grew in strength, aimed at outlawing vice
Vice
Vice is a practice or a behavior or habit considered immoral, depraved, or degrading in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a defect, an infirmity, or merely a bad habit. Synonyms for vice include fault, depravity, sin, iniquity, wickedness, and corruption...
in general, and prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
and obscenity
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
in particular. Composed primarily of Protestant moral reformers and middle-class women, the Victorian-era campaign also attacked contraception
Contraception
Contraception is the prevention of the fusion of gametes during or after sexual activity. The term contraception is a contraction of contra, which means against, and the word conception, meaning fertilization...
, which was viewed as an immoral
Victorian morality
Victorian morality is a distillation of the moral views of people living at the time of Queen Victoria's reign and of the moral climate of the United Kingdom throughout the 19th century in general, which contrasted greatly with the morality of the previous Georgian period...
practice which promoted prostitution and venereal disease. A leader of the purity movement was Anthony Comstock
Anthony Comstock
Anthony Comstock was a United States Postal Inspector and politician dedicated to ideas of Victorian morality.-Biography:...
, a postal inspector
United States Postal Inspection Service
The United States Postal Inspection Service is the law enforcement arm of the United States Postal Service. Its jurisdiction is defined as "crimes that may adversely affect or fraudulently use the U.S...
who successfully lobbied for the passage of the 1873 Comstock Act, a federal law prohibiting mailing of any material deemed to be obscene or related to sex in any way. Many states also passed similar state laws (collectively known as the Comstock laws), sometimes extending the federal law by outlawing the use of contraceptives, as well as their distribution. Comstock was proud of the fact that he was personally responsible for thousands of arrests and the destruction of hundreds of tons of books and pamphlets.
When an English anarchist named John Turner
John Turner (anarchist)
John Turner was an English-born anarcho-communist shop steward. He referred to himself as "of semi-Quaker descent."Turner was the first person to be ordered deported from the United States for violation of the 1903 Anarchist Exclusion Act...
was arrested under the Anarchist Exclusion Act and threatened with deportation, Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the twentieth century....
joined forces with the Free Speech League to champion his cause. The league enlisted the aid of Clarence Darrow
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Seward Darrow was an American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, best known for defending teenage thrill killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks and defending John T...
and Edgar Lee Masters
Edgar Lee Masters
Edgar Lee Masters was an American poet, biographer, and dramatist...
, who took Turner's case to the US Supreme Court. Although Turner and the League lost, Goldman considered it a victory of propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
. She had returned to anarchist activism, but it was taking its toll on her. "I never felt so weighed down," she wrote to Berkman. "I fear I am forever doomed to remain public property and to have my life worn out through the care for the lives of others."
Margaret Sanger
Margaret Sanger
Margaret Higgins Sanger was an American sex educator, nurse, and birth control activist. Sanger coined the term birth control, opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, and established Planned Parenthood...
supported the cause of free speech throughout her career, with a zeal comparable to her support for birth control. Sanger grew up in a home where iconoclastic orator Robert Ingersoll
Robert G. Ingersoll
Robert Green "Bob" Ingersoll was a Civil War veteran, American political leader, and orator during the Golden Age of Freethought, noted for his broad range of culture and his defense of agnosticism. He was nicknamed "The Great Agnostic."-Life and career:Robert Ingersoll was born in Dresden, New York...
was admired. During the early years of her activism, Sanger viewed birth control primarily as a free-speech issue, rather than a feminist issue, and when she started publishing The Woman Rebel in 1914, she did so with the express goal of provoking a legal challenge to the Comstock laws banning dissemination of information about contraception. In New York, Emma Goldman introduced Sanger to members of the Free Speech League, such as Edward Bliss Foote
Edward Bliss Foote
Edward Bliss Foote was an American doctor and author writing about family and social issues and a pioneering advocate in birth control. He was a co-founder of the Free Speech League....
and Theodore Schroeder
Theodore Schroeder
Theodore Schroeder was a controversial author who wrote on issues pertaining to freedom of expression. Schroeder was perhaps one of the first authors to challenge the state of freedom of speech in the United States, claiming that the US government may be a tyranny and that the way Americans view...
, and subsequently the League provided funding and advice to help Sanger with legal battles.
Around 1917 to 1919 the League gradually disbanded.
Works by Free Speech League members
- Flower, Benjamin Orange; Schroeder, Theodore; Post, Louse, In Defense of Free Speech: Five Essays from the Arena, 1908
- Free Speech and the New Alien Law, Press Bulletins No. 1 and No 2. December 1903.
- Schroeder, Theodore, Freedom of the Press and 'Obscene' Literature: Three Essays. 1906
- Schroeder, Theodore, Constructive Obscenity, 1907
- Schroeder, Theodore, Our Vanishing Liberty of the Press, 1907
- Schroeder, Theodore, The Scientific Aspect of Due Process Law and Constructive Crimes, 1908.
- Schroeder, Theodore, The Conflict Between Religious and Ethical Science, 1909.
- Schroeder, Theodore, (Ed.), Free Press Anthololgy, Free Speech League, 1909.
- Schroeder, Theodore, Constitutional free speech defined and defended in an unfinished argument in a case of blasphemy, Free speech league, 1919
- Wakeman, Thaddeus, Administrtive Process of the Postal Department: A Letter to the President, 1906.