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Chronology
- University Press of Kansas
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chronology { 233 } 1727 Obscenity enters English common law (as obscene libel) in Regina v. Curll 1791 First Amendment added to the U.S. Constitution, adopted as part of the Bill of Rights 1798 Sedition Act passed; expires in 1801 without its constitutionality being tested 1820s States begin codifying obscenity, moving it from the common law to statutory law Early 1840s Prosecutions of flash-press publications in New York City signal both official resistance to “obscene” materials and relative unimportance of First Amendment 1865–1870 Reconstruction Amendments (Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth) show increasing role of the federal government 1868 British case Regina v. Hicklin introduces “deprave and corrupt” test for obscenity; materials to be evaluated on the basis of their parts and effects on the most vulnerable 1873 Comstock Act makes the mailing of obscene material a federal crime; New York antivice crusader Anthony Comstock appointed special agent of the Post Office to help enforce it 1875 National Liberal League begins to coalesce free-speech activism 1893 Samuel Roth born 1896 Supreme Court explicitly adopts Hicklin standards in Rosen; also restricts obscenity to matters of “sexual impurity” in Swearingen, then retreats from obscenity for next six decades 1902 Ida Craddock commits suicide in response to persecution by Anthony Comstock 1902 Free Speech League formed, takes radical libertarian approach to freedom of speech 1913 A jury refuses to convict Mitchell Kennerley of obscenity for publishing popular novel Hagar Revelly, reflecting increasing sexual liberalism among the public 1915 Anthony Comstock dies; leadership of New York Society for the Suppression of Vice passes to John Saxton Sumner 1917–1918 Espionage Act and Sedition Act lead to wartime government crackdown on dissent March 1919 Schenck v. U.S. upholds Espionage Act against First Amendment challenge; Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes articulates “clear and present danger” for first time, though does not yet assign great importance to the phrase November 1919 In Abrams v. U.S., Holmes gives new weight to “clear and present danger” in his dissent, though Court majority affirms convictions of revolutionaries under Sedition Act 1920 American Civil Liberties Union takes shape, growing out of World War I pacifist activism 1925 Gitlow v. New York incorporates the First Amendment for the first time, making it relevant at the state level 1927 Samuel Roth’s unauthorized version of James Joyce’s Ulysses leads to his exile from reputable literary circles and a career in smut 1928 Arrested for selling works including Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Roth receives his first prison sentence, of three months 1933 Judge John Woolsey allows importation of Ulysses despite customs officials’ efforts to ban it as obscene; his opinion weakens Hicklin standards 1936 Roth returns to prison for longest term yet, three years 1942 Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire upholds ban on “fighting words,” and Justice Frank Murphy lumps obscenity with them in a passing comment 1946 Hannegan v. Esquire restricts postal authority to bar nonobscene magazines from second-class mailing privileges 1948 Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (the first Kinsey Report) sparks national discussion of sexual practices, along with much controversy over its findings 1949 Supreme Court refuses to hear Roth’s challenge of postal authorities in Roth v. Goldman Early 1950s Intertwining of Cold War and domestic sexual conservatism results in more repressive sexual politics; both homosexuality and obscenity increasingly targeted, both linked to communism by opponents 234 { Chronology } [3.81.79.135] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 17:15 GMT) { Chronology } 235 1951 Supreme Court signals retraction of First Amendment in Dennis v. U.S., upholding Smith Act prosecutions of Communist Party leaders and weakening “clear and present danger” standard 1953 Second Kinsey Report, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, generates even greater outcry than the first, reflecting tenor of the times May 1955 Samuel Roth called before Kefauver Committee, is vilified in press February 1956 Roth convicted by federal jury on four obscenity counts based on Good Times and American Aphrodite; Judge John Cashin sentences him to five years’ imprisonment and $5,000 fine September 1956 Second Circuit Court of Appeals rejects Roth’s appeal, with concurrence from Judge Jerome Frank urging the Supreme Court to take the case January 1957 Supreme Court grants certiorari in Roth v. U.S. February 1957 In Butler v. Michigan, Supreme Court overturns state statute based on Hicklin standards, but avoids larger questions of obscenity per se June 1957 Supreme Court issues Roth v. U.S., bound with Alberts v. California, establishing William Brennan’s obscenity doctrine January 1958 Effects of...