Topics: Publishers or Subjects of Attempted Censorship

• 2 Live Crew

  A Florida court said 2 Live Crew's rap lyrics were obscene, but a circuit court reversed the decision, saying the music was protected by the First Amendment...

• Alvin Goldstein

  Alvin Goldstein was an outspoken publisher of pornography and advocate of free speech who was engaged in several First Amendment battles in the courts...

• Arthur Miller

  Arthur Miller's criticisms of McCarthyism in one of his plays led to a congressional investigation, where he stood by his First Amendment rights of association...

• Benjamin Franklin

  Benjamin Franklin, a man of many talents, helped shape the U.S. Constitution and was a lifetime champion of First Amendment freedoms, particularly freedom of...

• Benjamin Franklin Bache

  Benjamin Franklin Bache, grandson of Benjamin Franklin, was arrested under the Sedition Act of 1798. In his partisan journalism he was accused of libeling...

• Daniel Ellsberg

  Daniel Ellsberg released the Pentagon Papers, leading to a ruling that said restricting publication of the papers represented prior restraint in violation of...

• Daniel Fowle

  Daniel Fowle highlighted freedom of the press in the Colonial period before adoption of the First Amendment. He was arrested for publishing a pamphlet...

• Dixie Chicks

  Through controversial political comments, the Dixie Chicks — a bluegrass trio — became a symbol of U.S. political polarization and the First Amendment’s...

• Elijah Lovejoy

  Newspaper editor Elijah Lovejoy, killed in 1837 by a mob incensed by his anti-slavery views, is a martyr in the causes of abolitionism and First Amendment free...

• George Carlin

  George Carlin was a controversial comedian whose "Filthy Words" monologue sparked a Supreme Court case concerning government regulation of indecent speech...

• Howard Stern

  Howard Stern, one of the most controversial radio personalities, consistently pushing the boundaries of First Amendment free expression rights on public...

• Hugh Hefner

  Hugh Hefner, founder of the controversial Playboy magazine, was a prominent advocate of First Amendment rights. His magazine was thought to be obscene by some...

• Julian Assange

  Julian Assange is the founder of WikiLeaks, an international non-profit organization that publishes leaks from across the globe.   In the First Amendment world...

• Larry Flynt

  Larry Flynt, controversial publisher of Hustler magazine, often claimed First Amendment free speech protection when charged with obscenity and pornography...

• Lenny Bruce

  Comedian Lenny Bruce was arrested numerous times due to alleged obscenity. Through his legal struggles, Bruce brought his craft more First Amendment protection...

• Luther Baldwin

  The sedition conviction of Luther Baldwin for drunken comments about President John Adams stirred opposition to the Sedition Act of 1798's restrictions on First...

• Matthew Lyon

  Matthew Lyon was the first person to be prosecuted under the Sedition Act of 1798. He challenged the Act on the grounds that it violated the First Amendment...

• Robert Mapplethorpe

  Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, who gained notoriety for his explicit images, was posthumously a central figure in a First Amendment clash over art and...

• Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

  The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour led to discussions of First Amendment free speech as it was regularly censored by CBS. The FCC refused to intervene...

• Thomas Bowdler

  Thomas Bowdler edited Shakespeare’s plays to ensure that they were family-friendly. Bowdler focused his efforts on revising sexual references and blasphemy...

• Ward Churchill

  Many defended the First Amendment academic freedom of Professor Ward Churchill after his essay asserting that U.S. foreign policies had incited the 9/11...

• William Benbow

  William Benbow (1784-1864) was a British champion of press freedoms found in the First Amendment of the American Constitution. He was convicted of seditious...