Chapter Eight-

“The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic…The question in every case is whether the words used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent. It is a question of proximity and degree.” [Page 282, Paragraph 1, Line 12]

The First Amendment was taking a beating; moral behavior and free speech was being addressed in courts. The com stock law treated discussion about sex, birth control as an obscenity and not apart of freedom of speech. The Espionage Act was used to stop people from talking about the government and its policies. This censorship was put into place by the government to suppress speech of its citizens that in fact undermined the amendment of freedom of speech. The right of freedom of speech was interpreted by the courts and not based on the constitution itself; leaving its people without its rights to speak freely.