First Amendment to the United States Constitution Archives

Pursuing Justice and Preserving Open Debate

Recently, over 150 notable journalists, writers, and academics signed a letter in Harper’s Magazine expressing concern over increasing intolerance on campuses, in newsrooms, and throughout our society. Numerous responses to this letter have raised important questions about freedom of expression and its limits, including the very possibility of truly “open debate” in a society where historic inequities have long suppressed the voices of those on the margins. Learn More ›

Public Square

Preserving Democracy Against Dis-information

Some solutions proposed to address the “fake news” problem have been enacted with a modicum of success, but they do little to address a more fundamental issue—the general lack of critical media literacy skills and dearth of civic online reasoning among internet users, especially the young. Learn More ›

Public Square

Freedom of Speech on Campus

Universities are bastions of inquiry, where ideas are both nurtured and challenged. But what should we do when the freedom to speak and debate conflicts with the need to provide a safe learning environment? How do we cope with ideologies we find intolerable and speakers who seek to inflame our communities? Learn More ›