Zechariah Chafee (1885–1957)

With the publication of this book, Chafee quickly became our first true scholar of free speech....Chafee documents nearly two thousand cases brought to trial under espionage and sedition laws, including the controversial Abrams trial. ...His criticism of government prosecution of political dissenters, particularly his stinging remarks on the Abrams case, brought Chafee to the attention of the Justice Department. ...That his own convictions had little to do with the beliefs of those he protected was precisely his point: "The real value of freedom of speech is not to the minority that wants to talk, but to the minority that does not want to listen." -- Classics of Liberty… (more)