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Free Speech

More from Jacob Mchangama on Frederick Douglass's Views on Free Speech

Eugene Volokh | 9.20.2026 4:04 PM

A short excerpt from Prof. Mchangama's Sept. 3 post (though the whole thing is much worth reading):

Frederick Douglass was a frequent target of vilification and smears—not to mention hostile mobs, stones and rotten eggs. His enemies—and sometimes even erstwhile allies—used press and pulpit to counter the growing influence of his oratorical genius and editorial prowess. Douglass' primary weapon consisted of words—but what to do when opponents turned this weapon against him? Was counterspeech a sufficient remedy, or should legal redress also be an option? What rules—legal or moral—should guide newspaper editors with power to shape public opinion? And as Douglass became an influential speaker, editor and publisher himself, did he practice what he preached?

Douglass the Defamed

"Nigger" and other racial epithets were routinely hurled at Douglass. But far more damaging than crude racist attacks were various allegations of sexual depravity, of lying about his life story, of being a paid anti-American agitator and of being a cowardly co-conspirator in the attack on Harper's Ferry….

To........

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