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The Secret History of the First Amendment

Event
A black and white photo taken from behind a large crowd of people. They are facing a speaker at a podium, giving a speech next to a banner that reads "year of achievement".

Past eventMon., May 4, 2026, 6–7 p.m.

Free with reservation

Rothenberg Hall

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Join Fara Dabhoiwala, historian and senior research scholar at Princeton University, for a lecture on the gripping and unsettling global history of free speech.
Talks and Lectures

The First Amendment, drawn up in 1789, is globally unique. In no other nation have the liberties of speech and press ever been defined in its seemingly absolutist way. Where did that formulation come from, what did it really mean, and why did no one else adopt it? Previous treatments of the history and present interpretation of the First Amendment have been limited by their exclusively national approach to such questions. Fara Dabhoiwala, whose new book What is Free Speech? The History of a Dangerous Idea (Harvard UP, 2025) takes a global perspective, will reveal some of his startling and unsettling discoveries about the hidden history of the First Amendment — and illuminate how we’ve ended up in our current trans-national free speech wars.

This is the Crotty Lecture and is part of The Huntington Research 2025-2026 "Active in the Archive" lecture series.

The post-lecture reception will feature a book signing, with books available for sale.

Know Before You Go

  • A post-lecture reception will take place in front of the lecture hall at the Rose Hills Foundation Garden Court at 7 p.m.
  • Doors to the lecture hall will open at 5:30 p.m.
  • If you are visiting the gardens during the day and plan to stay for the lecture, please note that all guests must clear the grounds when The Huntington closes at 5 p.m. 

Top image: Christen, Harvey C., 1910-1993, Photos Series: 3000, 3100, 3200, 4000. Harvey C. Christen papers, 1916-2000 (bulk 1944-1993). | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.