Destructive Messages : How Hate Speech Paves the Way for Harmful Social Movements

by Tsesis, Alexander

• ISBN13: 9780814782729
• ISBN10: 0814782728
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-08-19
• Publisher: New York University Press

Summary

"Tsesis lays out theoretical foundations that he argues should be intrinsic to a representative democracy . . . an important contribution to the literature about civil liberties and human rights." --Choice "The genuine accomplishment of Tsesis's book...is to focus the hate speech debate on explicitly normative issues." --Michigan Law Review "[A] comprehensive and brilliant book from both a historical and analytical perspective. Drawing from the lessons of history, Alexander Tsesis shows persuasively the relevance of the Thirteenth Amendment to a wide range of the social and economic issues currently facing America, and he offers highly creative arguments that support the use of congressional power under the Thirteenth Amendment as a potent and effective means of meeting and resolving these issues." --G. Sidney Buchanan, Baker & Botts Chaired Professor of Law, University of Houston Law Center "Tsesis vigorously presents a set of arguments that are rarely found in the conventional legal literature. . . . An interesting and challenging book." --Sanford V. Levinson, W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair in Law and Professor of Government, University of Texas at Austin School of Law In this narrative history and contextual analysis of the Thirteenth Amendment, slavery and freedom take center stage. Alexander Tsesis demonstrates how entrenched slavery was in pre-Civil War America, how central it was to the political events that resulted in the Civil War, and how it was the driving force that led to the adoption of an amendment that ultimately provided a substantive assurance of freedom for all American citizens. The story of how Supreme Court justices have interpreted the Thirteenth Amendment, first through racist lenses after Reconstruction and later influenced by the modern civil rights movement, provides valuable insight into the tremendous impact the Thirteenth Amendment has had on the Constitution and American culture. Importantly, Tsesis also explains why the Thirteenth Amendment is essential to contemporary America, offering fresh analysis on the role the Amendment has played regarding civil rights legislation and personal liberty case decisions, and an original explanation of the substantive guarantees of freedom for today's society that the Reconstruction Congress envisioned over a century ago.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	1	(8)
I Historical Lessons about the Dangers of Hate Speech	9	(72)
The Heart of German Anti-Semitism	11	(17)
Endearing Racism in American Minds	28	(21)
The Politics of Savagery and Indian Removal	49	(17)
A Glance at Contemporary Hate Speech	66	(15)
Mauritanian Slavery	66	(4)
Bigotry in Contemporary United States Society	70	(11)
II Hate Propaganda's Socially Destructive Force	81	(38)
The Social Psychology of Scapegoating	85	(14)
Spreading Group Hatred	99	(20)
III Legal Response to Hate Speech	119	(92)
United States Jurisprudence	121	(8)
The Roots of First Amendment Jurisprudence	121	(4)
Contemporary Formulations of First Amendment Doctrine	125	(4)
Reconsidering Supreme Court Precedents	129	(19)
``Marketplace of Ideas'' Doctrine	130	(7)
Imminent Threat of Harm	137	(3)
Content Regulations	140	(8)
Out of the Quagmire	148	(18)
The Reciprocal Duty of Humanity	148	(11)
Equality of Right	159	(7)
Destructive Messages' Threat to Justice and Equality	166	(14)
But Will It Work? Regulation of Hate Propaganda in Other Countries	180	(13)
Regulating Hate Speech	193	(18)
Developing a Policy Dealing with Hate Speech	193	(5)
Five Policy Considerations	198	(8)
Delimiting Restrictions on Hate Speech	206	(5)
Notes	211	(28)
Index	239	(7)
About the Author	246