Unoriginal Misunderstanding: Press Freedom in Early America and Interpretation of the First Amendment.

• Position: Brief article - Book review

Unoriginal Misunderstanding By Kenneth Shear

Unoriginal Misunderstanding surveys American libertarian traditions of press freedom that underlie the First Amendment. Author and civil rights attorney Kenneth Shear collects extensive source material, overlooked in previous histories of this period, demonstrating the profound political insights that led Americans to demand broad protection of press freedom in the 18th century.

Shear's work shows how modern First Amendment law has deep roots in early America. It is especially important because Justice Antonin Scalia and others have argued that...