Thurman Hart was an adjunct instructor of political science at New Jersey City University.

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Abolitionists and Free Speech

Before the Civil War, pro-slavery legislators attempted to squelch anti-slavery speech and writing through gag rules and other anti-First Amendment measures.

Christian Scientists

Many states have convicted Christian Scientists, who espouse healing through prayer, of neglect and manslaughter; others have granted exemptions under the First Amendment.

The Last Temptation of Christ

While conservative Christian groups denounced the controversial film The Last Temptation of Christ, Universal Studios publicly defended it as a matter of First Amendment rights.

Wicca

Wicca is a minority Neo-Pagan religion of relatively recent origins that was recognized as a religion protected under the First Amendment by a circuit court in 1986.

William Benbow

William Benbow (1784-1864) was a British champion of press freedoms found in the First Amendment of the American Constitution. He was convicted of seditious libel three times.