Quotes on Free Speech
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of relifion, or prohibiting the d in the principle of freedom of speech, or the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievences.”
— First Admendment to the Bill of Rights
“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
— George Washington (1732-
“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.”
— Benjamin Franklin (1706-
“Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom, and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech: which is the right of every man.”
— Benjamin Franklin (1706-
“The framers [of the Constitution] knew that free speech is the friend of change and revolution. But they also knew that it is always the deadliest enemy of tyranny.”
— Hugo Black (1886-
“The framers [of the Constitution] knew that free speech is the friend of change and revolution. But they also knew that it is always the deadliest enemy of tyranny.”
— Hugo Black (1886-
“It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them.”
— Mark Twain (1835-
“Everybody is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people’s idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage.”
— Winston Churchill (1874-
“The First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is besides the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech.”
— Anthony M. Kennedy (1936 ) Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
It is the soldier, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.
— Father Dennis Edward O’Brien, Sergeant, USMC
“Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom, and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech: which is the right of every man.”
— Albert J. Beveridge (1899-
“Whoever would overturn the liberty of the nation must begin by subduing freedom of speech.”
— Benjamin Franklin (1706-
“Freedom of speech is the great bulwark of liberty; they prosper and die together: And it is the terror of traitors and oppressors, and a barrier against them. It produces excellent writers, and encourages men of fine genius.”
— Benjamin Franklin (1706-
“To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.”
— Frederick Douglass (181-1895) Former slave, later abolitionist, author and statesman.
“Our Constitution is not alone the working plan of a great Federation of States under representative government. There is embedded in it also the vital principles of the American system of liberty. That system is based upon certain inalienable freedoms and protections which not even the government may infringe and which we call the Bill of Rights. It does not require a lawyer to interpret those provisions.
They are as clear as the Ten Commandments. Among others the freedom of worship, freedom of speech and of the press, the right of peaceable assembly, equality before the law, just trial for crime, freedom from unreasonable search, and security from being deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, are the principles which distinguish our civilization. Herein are the invisible sentinels which guard the door of every home from invasion of coercion, of intimidation and fear. Herein is the expression of the spirit of men who would be forever free. …
In the hurricane of revolutions which have swept the world since the Great War, men, struggling with the wreckage and poverty of that great catastrophe and the complications of the machine age, are in despair surrendering their freedom for false promises of economic security. Whether it be Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Communist Russia, or their lesser followers, the result is the same. Every day they repudiate every principle of the Bill of Rights. Freedom of worship is denied. Freedom of speech is suppressed. The press is censored and distorted with propaganda. The right of criticism is denied. Men go to jail or the gallows for honest opinions. They may not assemble for discussion. They speak of public affairs only in whispers. They are subject to search and seizure by spies and inquisitors who haunt the land. The safeguards of justice in trial or imprisonment are set aside. There is no right in one’s savings or one’s own home which the government need respect. …
But it would be better that we sacrifice something of economic efficiency than to surrender these primary liberties. In them lies a spiritual right of men. Behind them is the conception which is the highest development of the Christian faith – the conception of individual freedom with brotherhood. From them is the fullest flowering of individual human personality.”
— Herbert Hoover (1874-
“The frustrating thing is that those who are attacking religion claim they are doing it in the name of tolerance and freedom and open-
— Ronald Reagan (1911-