Silencing the Opposition

Examines major challenges to the First Amendment and focuses on the extremely important paradigm shift of freedom of expression in the post-9/11 era.

The first edition of Silencing the Opposition examined major challenges to the First Amendment using illustrative case studies of the various forms of governmental suppression in our history. The essays showed that governmental forces have used rhetorical strategies in simple and sophisticated ways to silence opponents. By studying which strategies are effective, how they evolve, and how they are unmasked, the authors offered a better understanding to combat the strategies in the future. This second edition of Silencing the Opposition includes: a revised introduction and conclusion, updated chapters, and two new chapters, one on the Patriot Act and one on habeas corpus of 'enemy combatants.' In these revisions and additions, Smith has arranged a valuable, timely collection appropriate for its focus on the last eight years of civil liberty reforms in the United States.