ABSTRACT
Donald A. Downs has made an effort to construct a vision of First Amendment safeguards that is compatible with Federalist concerns for the survival of the American commonwealth. The First Amendment is that set of principles which guarantees the perennial character of the struggle with the constitution in its original pristine form. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) position is based on First Amendment guarantees of unimpeded free speech for all Americans. The ACLU was careful to distinguish between support for free speech and support for the ideology of the National Socialist Party of America. Arguments over stratagems elevated to a level of principles have grave organization risks; hence the First Amendment literature must be addressed directly and carefully. Downs repeatedly and convincingly argues that abridgement of First Amendment rights should be permissible only when evidence is adduced showing the afflicting of a harm to specific individuals or definite groups.
