THE ART OF ARGUMENT
DENNIS V UNITED STATES, FREEDOM OF SPEECH AS APPLIED TO COMMUNIST LEADERS IN 1951, DURING THE MOST INTENSE PERIOD OF THE COLD WAR
ESSAY ASSIGNMENT
Follow the instructions on essay-writing in Instructions in Writing an Essay.
In Dennis and (indirectly) in Terminiello, the justices argue whether there are situations that allow the government legally (that is, consistent with the US Constitution) to punish leading American Communists for speaking and writing to encourage the violent destruction of the United States government, but not making specific plans (criminal conspiracy) and not taking any violent action.
Compare the two arguments. On one side, allowing the punishment, are the arguments that the danger is very serious; that the Communists are planning violence in some way; and that the elected government is allowed to protect itself against people who would use freedom of speech and of the press to destroy a fairly elected government and to replace it with a government that destroys freedom and free elections. Justice Jackson in Terminiello and Dennis and Justice Frankfurter in Dennis provide such arguments.
On the other hand are the arguments that the danger to US security is overstated and that punishing people for only speaking and writing is a danger to our freedoms. Justices Douglas and Frankfurter in Dennis provide those arguments.
Remember that these arguments are being made at the height of the Cold War, where people believe that we are close to fighting World War III with nuclear weapons against Russia; Russia is run by a monster and mass-murderer named Joseph Stalin (Putin looks like a kitten -- a sane one -- by comparison); and American Communists are dedicated to supporting Stalin and Communist Russia.
Describe in detail one argument in favor of allowing the government to imprison the Communist leaders AND one argument against allowing the government to punish the Communists for speaking and writing and nothing more. Pick the arguments that you consider the strongest.
I suggest that you focus your attention in defense of broader freedom of speech on the middle of Part III of Frankfurter's opinion and on Douglas' opinion discussing the weakness of the US Communist party and also discussing the importance of freedom of speech in the US political system. In defending the imprisonment of the Communists, focus on the first 3 paragraphs of Frankfurter's Part III; In Part I of Jackson's opinion, toward the end, on the paragraph describing the events in Czechoslovakia during 1948; on the last few paragraphs in Part IV of Jackson's opinion; and in the Terminiello case, in Jackson's dissenting opinion, at 337 US pages 22-25 and 34 -37, where Jackson concentrates on the dangers that he sees from speeches.
The answer should be 400-600 words.