Protecting the Best Men: An Interpretive History of the Law of Libel
Norman L. Rosenberg.
Published September 1990. Order online through The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN: 978-0-8078-4290-4.
From the trial of John Peter Zenger in the eighteenth century to the recent libel cases of William Westmoreland and Ariel Sharon, political defamation cases have attracted considerable attention. As Norman Rosenberg shows, cases like these raise fundamental questions about how much criticism of public leaders a supposedly open, liberal society will permit.
Drawing upon a wide variety of historical sources, Protecting the Best Men argues that there exists no natural, evolutionary history of free speech. It also challenges interpretations that rest upon discovering an “original understanding” about the First Amendment. Instead, this interpretive history of the law of libel highlights the complexity and historically rooted nature of legal concepts and legal consciousness in the United States.
Endorsements
“Rosenberg has written a fine book that demonstrates that libel law, like other supposedly timeless and apparently fundamental legal doctrines, depends on historical forces and follows no clear line of development.
– Law & Society Review
Related Titles:
- Faithful Magistrates and Republican Lawyers (Sep 19, 1981)
A. G. Roeber. Published 1981. Order online through The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN: 978-0-8078-9766-9. Until the mid-1700s, law was not thought of as a science or profession. Most Virginians adhered to the English country tradition that considered law to be a local and personal affair. The growth of cities and business, however, guaranteed that disputes would spill over county …
- The Roots of Justice: Crime and Punishment in Alameda County, California, 1870-1910 (Sep 19, 1981)
Lawrence M. Friedman, Robert V. Percival. Published 1981. Order online through The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN: 978-0-8078-9748-5. Focusing on a single county at a time when the population grew from 24,000 to 246,000, the authors combine statistical analysis of documentary sources, contemporary newspaper accounts, and exploration in criminal case files to give a detailed …
- Heart versus Head: Judge-Made Law in Nineteenth-Century America (Sep 13, 1997)
Peter Karsten. Published September 1997. Order online through The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN: 978-0-8078-2340-8. Challenging traditional accounts of the development of American private law, Peter Karsten offers an important new perspective on the making of the rules of common law and equity in nineteenth-century courts. The central story of that era, he finds, was a struggle …
- On the Laws and Customs of England : Essays in Honor of Samuel E. Thorne (Sep 19, 1981)
Morris S. Arnold, Thomas A. Green, Sallay A. Sully and Stephen D. White. Published 1981 (out of print). Order online through The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN: 978-0-8078-7814-9. Investigating a wide range of problems in the development of English law, this collection of original essays honors the contributions of Samuel D. Thorne to the study of English legal history from the …
- Laws Harsh As Tigers: Chinese Immigrants and the Shaping of Modern Immigration Law (Nov 16, 1995)
Lucy E. Salyer. Published November 1995. Order online through The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN: 978-0-8078-4530-1. Focusing primarily on the exclusion of the Chinese, Lucy Salyer analyzes the popular and legal debates surrounding immigration law and its enforcement during the height of nativist sentiment in the early twentieth century. She argues that the struggles between …