Desecrating the American Flag: Key Documents of the Controversy from the Civil War to 1995 - Paperback

by Robert Justin Goldstein (Editor)

Desecrating the American Flag is the only comprehensive, edited, and annotated collection of critical documents regarding the controversies swirling around the desecration of the American flag. Should violators of the Stars and Stripes be prosecuted? Or legally protected?

This issue reached center stage in American politics throughout the 1990s when Congress debated whether or not to amend the constitution to forbid flag desecration; but this debate has been hotly contested since the Civil War.

Robert Justin Goldstein brings together almost 150 key documents spanning more than 100 years. He culls from a variety of sources--Congressional hearings, debates, legal briefs, oral arguments, newspaper articles, and court rulings, for example--and then carefully edits each document to retain key material. Introductory essays place each document within a broader historical, political, and legal context.

Back Jacket

Desecrating the American Flag is the only comprehensive, edited, and annotated collection of critical documents regarding the controversies swirling around the desecration of the American flag. This issue reached center stage in American politics throughout the 1990s when Congress debated whether or not to amend the constitution to forbid flag desecration; but this debate has been hotly contested since the Civil War.

Author Biography

Robert Justin Goldstein is professor of political science at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, and the author of Saving "Old Glory" The History of the American Flag Desecration Controversy.