Free Speech and its Relation to Self-Government

Meiklejohn, Alexander. Free Speech and Its Relation to Self Government. New York: Harper Brothers Publishers, [1948]. xiv, 107pp. Reprinted 2001 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. LCCN 99-87204. ISBN 1-58477-087-2. Cloth. $80. * "Dr. Meiklejohn [1872-1964], in a book which greatly needed writing, has thought through anew the foundations and structure of our theory of free speech...he rejects all compromise. He reexamines the fundamental principles of Justice Holmes' theory of free speech and finds it wanting because, as he views it, under the Holmes doctrine speech is not free enough. In these few pages, Holmes meets an adversary worthy of him... Meiklejohn in his own way writes a prose as piercing as Holmes, and as a foremost American philosopher, the reach of his culture is as great...this is the most dangerous assault which the Holmes position has ever borne." John P. Frank, Texas Law Review 27:405-412.Alexander Meiklejohn is the author of 'Free Speech and its Relation to Self-Government', published 2011 under ISBN 9781584770879 and ISBN 1584770872.